HC Deb 29 April 1970 vol 800 cc347-9W
Mr. John Page

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if she will publish a list of those in-

England Scotland Wales
April, 1965 1.2 3.1 2.5
April, 1966 1.1 2.7 2.7
April, 1967 2.2 3.9 4.2
April, 1968 2.3 3.9 4.0
April, 1970(provisional) 2.4 4.1 4.1

Mr. Gwynfor Evans

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what, according to her new method of correcting seasonal factors, she now estimates to be the percentage of hard-core unemployment in England, Scotland and Wales, respectively.

Mr. Dell:

Registered unemployed persons are not classified under the heading "hard-core". Analyses are, however, made of the duration of current spells on the register of the wholly unemployed. The latest available information shows that in January, 1970 the numbers and percentages of wholly unemployed persons who had been on the register in England, Scotland and Wales for more than 26 weeks and for more than 52 weeks were as follows:

dustrial training boards which net the levy and grant due for the same period and collect or disperse the net sum due and also list the various cut-off points at which they treat firms as outside the scope of the levy.

Mr. Dell:

The following industrial training boards operate " netting" arrangements:

  • Chemical and Allied Products.
  • Cotton and Allied Textiles.
  • Engineering.
  • Food, Drink and Tobacco.
  • Iron and Steel.
  • Gas.
  • Petroleum.
  • Printing and Publishing.
  • Water Supply.

In addition, the Air Transport and Travel Industry Training Board proposes to introduce a " netting " procedure in 1972, and other boards are considering the possibility of instituting such arrangements.

The levy orders of the following boards currently provide for the exclusion of employers from the levy arrangements if their total emoluments, or numbers employed, are less than the total shown:

Air Transport and Travel Less than 11 employees.
Ceramics, Glass and Mineral Products Less than £5,000.
Chemical and Allied Products Less than £10,000.
Cotton and Allied Textiles Less than £5,000.
Distributive Less than £5,000.
Engineering Less than £7,500.
Food, Drink and Tobacco Less than £15,000.
Footwear, Leather and Fur Skin Less than £1,000.
Furniture and Timber Less than £5,000
Hotel and Catering Less than £4,000.
Knitting, Lace and Net Less than £5,000
Paper and Paper Products Less than £15,000.
Petroleum Less than 6 employees
Printing and Publishing Less than £12,500.
Rubber and Plastics Processing Less than 10 employees
Wool, Jute and Flax Less than £5,000.