§ Mr. Muddasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will equate the average cost of retraining with the number of unemployed men and women in Cornwall, and indicate the global cost involved and his estimate of the time-span necessary to retrain all those who have applied.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the average cost of a training course under the Training Opportunities Scheme246W (TOPS) is approximately £1,300. The number of men and women unemployed in Cornwall at the last count was 6,779 and 1,234 respectively. Assuming all applied and were suitable for retraining the cost would therefore be £10,416,900. The total expenditure by the Training Services Agency on TOPS in the financial year 1974–75 was £60 million.
It is not possible to calculate the length of time necessary to train all those on the waiting lists for TOPS courses. There are over 600 courses varying in length from four to 52 weeks. Waiting periods for admission vary between trades and regions. For example, the estimated waiting period for the skill-centre at Redruth is one to three months for bricklaying and four to 12 months for electric are welding.