§ Mr. Dormandasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of coal miners presently unemployed in the Easington constituency; and what is the number aged 55 years and over.
§ Mr. Dudley SmithOn 8th January 635 males who last worked in coal mining were registered as unemployed in the area covered by 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 December 1972 of colliery workers unemployed through the contraction of the coalmining industry showed that 473 such workers including 391 aged 55 and over, were unemployed in this area.
§ Mr. Dormandasked the Secretary of State for Employment what action he is taking to reduce the number of unemployed persons in the Easington constituency.
§ Mr. Dudley SmithThe best prospects for Easington lie in the continued expansion of the national economy which our policies are designed to promote. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry will continue to draw the attention of mobile firms to the considerable inducements to industrial expansion which are available in the hon. Member's constituency.
§ Mr. Dormandasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number and percentage of unemployed, by sex, in the Easington constituency at the latest available date; and how these percentages compare with the national figures.
§ Mr. Dudley SmithOn 8th January 1973 there were 1.893 males and 260 females unemployed in the area covered by the Peterlee and Wingate employment exchanges. The corresponding rates of unemployment were 10.8 per cent. for males and 3.3 per cent. for females. For Great Britain the rates were 4.6 per cent. for males and 1.6 per cent, for females.