HC Deb 23 April 1971 vol 815 c467W
Mr. Dormand

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of mineworkers presently unemployed in the Easington constituency, and the number of those aged 55 years and over.

Mr. Dudley Smith

At 5th April, 1971, 497 people who last worked in coalmining (minimum list heading 101 of the Standard Industrial Classification) were registered as unemployed in the area covered by the Peterlee and Wingate Employment Exchanges which approximates broadly to the Easington constituency. There is no age analysis of this figure, but a special quarterly return in March, 1971 confined to workers affected by the contraction of the coalmining industry showed that 383 such workers, including 345 aged 55 and over, were registered as unemployed in this area.