§ Mr. Parkinsonasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will state the number of men registered as unemployed who last worked in the building and construction industry and the number of notified unfilled vacancies in that industry, showing the regional distribution of both unemployment and vacancies for the most recent convenient date.
§ Mr. Dudley SmithFollowing is the information for males for November 1972:
Unemployed Unfilled Vacancies South East 17,803 8,436 East Anglia 1,782 744 South West 4,884 2,275 West Midlands 8,699 1,332 East Midlands 5,028 1,296 Yorkshire and Humberside 10,855 1,552 North West 19,207 1,243 North 13,076 1,613 Wales 10,284 834 Scotland 21,262 1,382 Great Britain 112,880 20,707 The vacancy statistics relate only to notified vacancies remaining unfilled and do not purport to measure the total unsatisfied demand for labour.
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are 46W the present average waiting periods before places become available at training centres for courses in bricklaying, carpentry, heating and ventilating, fitting, painting and decorating, plumbing, and slating and tiling.
§ Mr. Chichester-ClarkWaiting lists vary by region and by trade. In many regions waiting lists for places in these trades are six months or over. Urgent steps are being taken to provide 900 additional places in construction trades. The first are already available and most should be available by the spring.