HC Deb 21 January 1994 vol 235 cc851-2W
Mrs. Beckett

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer given to the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) of 7 December,Official Report, column 212, if he will give a breakdown for the same periods as in that question of the total numbers of temporary and permanent vacancies for each region by industrial classification as employed by his Department.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mrs. Margaret Beckett, dated 21 January 1994: The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the numbers of vacancies notified from April 1987, broken down by region, industrial classification and whether temporary or permanent. I am sorry I am unable to supply information in the form requested. Prior to April 1992, information was not collected in a way which fitted in with the sub-divisions which you are interested in. From April 1992 onwards, it has been collected but it is not collated in a way which fits your requirements. I am afraid it could only be provided at a disproportionate cost as a large number of separate returns are involved. You may like to know that information about the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) of vacancies notified to Jobcentres, covering the period April 1987 to February 1992, is held on the National On-Line Manpower Information System (NOMIS). Information for vacancies in each region by SIC is available, but it cannot be further broken down to distinguish between temporary and permanent vacancies. Information can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the House of Commons library. Similar information can be provided by the Employment Service in respect of the period from April 1992 onwards. If you would like to have this please let me know. I hope this is helpful.