§ 53. Mr. Stodartasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity how many vacancies there are for joiners in the Edinburgh area; how many joiners there are unemployed; and why the number of construction workers unemployed in the Edinburgh area has risen from 1,315 in June, 1969 to 1,910 at the present date.
§ Mr. Harold Walker:At 13th April, 1970, 110 men registered as wholly unemployed in the Edinburgh travel-towork area who last worked in construction (Minimum List Heading 500 of the Standard Industrial Classification) were registered as carpenters, joiners, etc. and 39 notified vacancies for men in these occupations remained unfilled. The number unemployed from construction in the area increased from 1,347 in June, 1969 to 2,008 in April, 1970. This increase has arisen largely from the generally reduced level of activity in the industry 319W and there have been some substantial redundancies in the period. I am hopeful that recent Government measures will lead to an improvement.