§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in theOfficial Report the number of officers employed in careers centres and the job creation programme in Cambridgeshire; and what has been their success in respect of school leavers to date.
§ Mr. GoldingI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that no Job Creation Programme officers are permanently stationed in Cambridge, and1148W applications are dealt with by the area office for London and South-East England based in London. Job Creation Programme staff visit projects and potential sponsors whenever necessary. No projects have so far been approved in Cambridge.
Under the Employment and Training Act 1973, provision of the Careers Service is a mandatory function of local education authorities. Although advice is available from my Department's Careers Service Inspectorate, staffing is the responsibility of the authorities.
The absorption of summer school leavers into employment is normally spread over the period July to October. About 4,400 young people are expected to leave educational institutions in Cambridgeshire for employment this summer and at the beginning of August almost three-quarters of them had received offers of employment.
§ Mr Freudasked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the current criteria which would merit special aid in the form of training courses and job creation programmes for a region.
§ Mr. GoldingApplications under the Job Creation Programme may be made for any area of Great Britain, but priority is given to areas of high unemployment. In addition, the Manpower Services Commission is also providing financial support for employers who are prepared to recruit additional trainees, to offset a national shortfall in training places, and where necessary, to offset the cost of training provided by industrial training boards, for young people unable to secure an employer from the outset. These schemes operate nationally, and are not directed to any region in particular.
§ Mr. Cyril Smithasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs have been created in Rochdale under the Job Creation Programme.
§ Mr. GoldingI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that up to 5th August nine projects providing up to 114 jobs in Rochdale have been approved.
§ Mr. Cyril Smithasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make 1149W a statement outlining the Government's policy towards the decision of NUPE which requires the sacking of 20 teenagers in Rochdale who were employed under the Job Creation Programme.
§ Mr. GoldingJob Creation Programme applications require the full agreement of local trades unions. This consultation is necessary to the implementation of the programme and has been a major reason for the programme's success. I understand that modifications have now been made to the project which have allowed NUPE's reservations to be withdrawn.
§ Mr. Michael McGuireasked the Secretary of State for Employment, if he will give details of the various schemes which the Government have introduced since March 1974 to find jobs for the unemployed, especially the young unemployed, giving details of the numbers employed in the Ince parliamentary constituency, the name of the scheme and the costs.
§ Mr. Golding,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 3rd August 1976; Vol. 916, col. 770]gave the following information:
The manpower measures introduced include the Temporary Employment Subsidy scheme, the MSC's Job Creation Programme, and the recruitment subsidy for school leavers. These measures, together with the expansion of training and the community industry scheme and selective action on the construction industry, have particularly assisted young people. In addition, many more jobs have been saved or created by Government assistance to industry under the industry Act or through the National Enterprise Board. Details of further temporary and selective measures aimed primarily to help unemployed school leavers were announced in the House on 3rd August. Thirty jobs have so far been created under the Job Creation Scheme in the Ince parliamentary constituency at a cost of £33,268. Similar figures for the recruitment subsidy scheme are not readily available and would involve a disproportionate amount of staff time to extract. The Temporary Employment Subsidy scheme, although not a scheme to find jobs, has helped maintain 1,134 jobs at a cost of £1,179,360 if the subsidy is paid for the full twelve months.