§ 76. Mr. David Watkinsasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many coal miners are at present unemployed in the Consett, Stanley, Lanchester travel-to-work area; how many are over 55 years of age; and how many have been unemployed for more than one, two and three years, respectively.
§ Mr. Dudley SmithAt 9th October 533 males who last worked in coal mining were registered as unemployed in the area covered by the Consett, Stanley and Lanchester employment exchanges. There is no age analysis of this figure by a special quarterly return in September of colliery workers unemployed through the contraction of the coal mining industry showed that 422 such workers, including 405 aged 55 and over, were unemployed in this area. I regret that information showing how long these workers have been unemployed is not available.