§ 33. Mr. Moonmanasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report the more recent percentages for unemployment in the new towns ringing London compared with the national average.
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§ Mr. GoldingUnemployment rates are calculated only for the whole of a travel-to-work area and not separately for its constituent parts. The following table shows the rates of unemployment for the areas which include the new towns:
Percentage rate of unemployment October Travel to work area 1976 Southend on Sea (including Basildon) 7.2 Reading (including Bracknell) 3.9 Crawley (including Burgess Hill, East Grinstead, Haywards Heath, Horsham and Redhill) 2.4 Harlow (including Bishops Stortford and Epping) 4.3 St. Albans (including Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City) 2.7 Watford (including Hemel Hempstead) 2.9 Bletchley (Milton Keynes) 3.9 Northampton (including Towcester) 3.9 Peterborough 4.7 Stevenage 4.4 Great Britain 5.7