§ 47. Mr. Mikardoasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is aware that unemployment in Stepney and Poplar has increased by 63 per cent. in the last 12 months and has now reached 12 per cent.; and what he is proposing to do about it.
§ Mr. John FraserThe number of unemployed people registered at the Stepney and Poplar Employment Offices has increased by 84 per cent. over the last year. This increase was slightly above the increase for the country as a whole but well below the increase in Greater London.
A relatively high proportion of those living in Stepney and Poplar work in other parts of the Greater London travel-to-work area. Similarly a high proportion of those working in Stepney and Poplar live in other parts of the London area. For this reason, it is not possible to calculate meaningful unemployment rates for Stepney and Poplar. Unemployment in the Greater London travel-to-work area of which Stepney and Poplar are constituent parts is currently 3.2 per cent.
The measures announced on 24th September were designed to mitigate the worst effects of unemployment throughout the country by enabling up to 100,000 people to obtain jobs which otherwise would not have been available.