§ Mr. Richard Wainwrightasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list in the Official Report the average size of payment made to unemployed persons under the Employment Services Agency's service to geographical mobility, for each year since the scheme came into operation.
§ Mr. GoldingI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that this information is not available in the form requested. The annual expenditure on the Employment Transfer Scheme, the Job Search Scheme, the Key Workers Scheme and the Nucleus Labour Force Scheme since 1st April 1972 is recorded in the table below. The number of moves assisted under the scheme in each of those years is also stated but it is not possible to equate the expenditure in one financial year with the number of moves in the same year as some payments made in that year would relate to moves undertaken in the previous financial year; certain of the grants and allowances are available up to two years after the move takes place.
Period Expenditure Number of Moves £ Year ended: 31st March 1973 4,463,000 19,406 31st March 1974 4,518,000 15,995 31st March 1975 4,372,000 15,120 31st March 1976 5,965,000 16,143 1st April 1976–30th September 1976 4,734,000 11,619
§ Mr. Hicksasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish for 91W the South-West Region and the United Kingdom the total number of people unemployed and the percentage these figures represent of the total work force for these
South West region United Kingdom Numbers unemployed Per cent. Numbers unemployed Per cent. January 1966 … 25,635 1.9 371,253 1.5 January 1967 … 38,752 2.9 565,527 2.4 January 1968 … 38,449 2.9 638,927 2.7 January 1969 … 38,004 2.8 624,655 2.6 January 1970 … 42,241 3.1 649,252 2.8 January 1971 … 44,793 3.3 714,379 3.1 January 1972 … 56,302 4.1 971,489 4.2 January 1973 … 44,854 3.1 806,270 3.5 January 1974 … 41,904 2.7 627,483 2.7 January 1975* … 61,000 4.0 771,800 3.3 January 1976 … 100,899 6.4 1,303,243 5.5 January 1977 … 113,119 7.1 1,448,193 6.1 * Because of industrial action at local offices of the Employment Service Agency the figures for January 1975 are estimates based on a simplified counting procedure. Rates of unemployment are calculated by expressing the numbers unemployed as a percentage of total employees, including the unemployed.