HC Deb 22 November 1977 vol 939 cc715-21W
Mr. Noble

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many staff are employed in processing temporary employment subsidy claims in the North-West.

Mr. Golding

As at 18th November, 23 staff were employed in processing temporary employment subsidy claims in the North-West.

Mr. Noble

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many applications there have been for temporary employment subsidy supplement since its introduction (a) by industry and (b) by region and how many have been approved.

Mr. Golding

I regret I am unable to give information in the precise form requested.

As at 30th September 1977, the number of applications for TES (Supplement) received were as follows:

Received Approved
Northern 17 5
Yorks and Humberside 49 21
South East 83 20
South West 49 31
Midlands 112 53
North West 190 76
Wales 53 34
Scotland 66 35
Total 619 275

Details of approved applications for supplement, also at 30th September 1977, analysed by industry and region are shown in the attached schedule.

Mr. Noble

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the criteria for granting temporary employment subsidy; and what are the criteria for granting the temporary employment subsidy supplement.

Mr. Golding

The criteria for granting TES are that in the opinion of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment:

  1. (a) There is evidence of a decision in good faith to declare a redundancy affecting 10 or more workers in an establishment;
  2. (b) The company has begun consultations about the redundancies with the trade union(s) concerned, has notified the Department of the threatened redundancy in accordance with the provisions of the Employment Protection Act 1975, and the application is jointly signed by the company and the trade union representative(s) concerned;
  3. (c) The company is not insolvent or about to become insolvent;
  4. (d) The provisions of any Government pay policy in force at the time of the application are adhered to.

The criteria for granting the supplement are the same as those above with the added proviso that without further subsidy, the company would be obliged to declare redundancies.

Mr. Noble

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current real value of a temporary employment subsidy payment, expressed as a percentage of its value when the scheme was introduced.

Mr. Golding

The current real value of the present subsidy of £20 per week per job maintained expressed as a percentage of the original subsidy of £10 per week is 150 per cent.

Mr. Noble

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many firms have exhausted their entitlement to temporary employment subsidy (a) since introduction and (b) since April 1977.

Mr. Golding

As at 11th November 1977 (a) 1,856 establishments had exhausted payment of TES since introduction and (b) 1,156 since April 1977.

Mr. Noble

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs have been saved by temporary employment subsidy since its introduction by region and by industry.

Mr. Golding

Since the inception of the scheme some 344,000 jobs have been supported with 60,000 in the pipeline under consideration. Details of jobs supported by TES, by industry and region, as at 30th September 1977—the latest available figures—are shown in the schedule below:

NUMBER OF WORKERS IN APPROVED APPLICATIONS BY INDUSTRY AND REGION 18TH AUGUST 1975–30TH SEPTEMBER 1977
Northern Region Yorkshire and Humberside South East South West Wales Midlands Region North Western Scotland Totals Jobs supported at 30th September 1977 (estimate)
1. Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing 70 82 419 89 407 161 26 644 1,898 984
2. Mining and Quarrying 256 65 10 1,302 189 108 160 50 2,140 1,110
3. Food, Drink and Tobacco 446 1,221 841 858 807 1,128 812 2,684 8,797 4,555
4. Coal and Petroleum Products 230 230
5. Chemicals and Allied Industries 118 1,056 508 35 529 188 1,269 118 3,821 1,980
6. Metal Manufacture 509 195 257 216 630 3,151 1,115 1,171 7,244 3,752
7. Mechanical Engineering 1,147 1,144 2,398 1,147 1,223 2,307 4,031 2,220 15,617 8,087
8. Instrument Engineering 28 98 299 682 423 419 212 427 2,588 1,342
9. Electrical Engineering 1,135 2,317 2,921 420 2,576 3,582 2,267 1,618 16,836 8,718
10. Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering 40 369 1,405 208 43 828 1,247 4,140 2,146
11. Vehicles 120 330 169 21 316 3,468 716 548 5,688 2,946
12. Metal Goods Not Elsewhere Specified 329 1,815 1,475 172 956 3,787 3,743 1,188 13,465 6,973
13. Textiles 3,890 7,709 396 1,513 3,316 17,106 31,588 7,561 73,079 41,314
14. Leather, Leather Goods and Fur 395 1,054 1,002 70 113 454 810 1,187 5,085 2,634
15. Clothing and Footwear 8,161 12,009 8,999 1,572 5,161 13,866 22,559 11,364 83,691 43,130
16. Bricks, Pottery, Glass, Cement etc 115 366 43 380 548 3,761 1,581 792 7,586 3,929
17. Timber, Furniture etc 1,789 1,362 3,542 1,009 643 2,127 3,168 1,603 15,243 7,894
18. Paper, Printing and Publishing 142 953 8,608 1,828 582 1,078 2,904 1,439 17,534 9,079
19. Other Manufacturing Industries 356 279 403 387 1,729 787 1,699 682 6,322 3,275
20. Construction 542 909 2,015 1,979 641 2,009 1,641 2,302 12,038 6,233
21. Gas, Electricity and Water 20 20
22. Transport and Communication 20 234 620 164 137 356 598 126 2,255 1,170
23. Distributive Trades 155 639 1,590 705 359 1,710 2,731 1,121 9,010 4,667
24. Insurance, Banking, Finance and Business Services 15 44 10 22 15 90 301 41 538 286
25. Professional and Scientific Services 146 74 32 20 62 63 397 211
26. Miscellaneous Services 234 418 2,601 849 646 856 1,032 385 7,021 3,635
27. Public Administration and Defence
Totals 20,012 34,668 40,677 15,702 22,021 62,769 85,853 40,581 322,283 170,050

TES (SUPPLEMENT)
WORKERS IN APPROVED APPLICATIONS 30TH MARCH 1977–30TH SEPTEMBER 1977
Northern Region Yorkshire and Humberside South East South West Wales Midlands Region North Western Scotland Totals
1. Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing 74 14 88
2. Mining and Quarrying 10 35 45
3. Food, Drink and Tobacco 535 262 12 40 849
4. Coal and Petroleum Products
5. Chemicals and Allied Industries 16 30 46
6. Metal Manufacture 348 29 23 400
7. Mechanical Engineering 100 95 113 47 33 83 471
8. Instrument Engineering 52 52
9. Electrical Engineering 107 11 217 6 341
10. Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering 33 37 70
11. Vehicles 119 49 168
12. Metal Goods Not Elsewhere Specified 18 10 446 68 270 812
13. Textiles 372 505 15 460 47 1,610 2,281 720 6,010
14. Leather, Leather Goods and Fur 10 10
15. Clothing and Footwear 406 567 86 101 1,169 1,357 2,004 1,357 7,047
16. Bricks, Pottery, Glass, Cement etc. 32 11 70 113
17. Timber, Furniture etc. 31 97 90 110 328
18. Paper, Printing and Publishing 895 342 86 11 419 12 1,765
19. Other Manufacturing Industries 12 517 30 559
20. Construction 75 73 40 56 22 266
21. Gas, Electricity and Water
22. Transport and Communication 14 71 85
23. Distributive Trades 69 80 10 36 204 121 520
24. Insurance, Banking, Finance and Business Services 10 10
25. Professional and Scientific Services
26. Miscellaneous Services 14 52 14 35 107 25 247
27. Public Administration and Defence
Totals 909 1,654 1,372 1,581 2,667 3,966 5,685 2,468 20,302

Mr. Noble

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the estimated saving to the Exchequer in unemployment benefit as a result of temporary employment subsidy.

Mr. Golding

It is not possible to quote a figure for unemployment benefit savings, as this would depend on the wages, personal circumstances, etc., of the workers who, but for TES, would have claimed unemployment benefit. The saving is, however, considerable.

Mr. Noble

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the cost of the temporary employment subsidy from the introduction of the scheme to the latest available date.

Mr. Golding

I regret that I am unable to give information in the precise form requested.

As at 11th November 1977, the estimated cumulative total of subsidy cash commitment—assuming 12 months' payment in each case for the main scheme and six months' payment for the supplement scheme—is £332 million. Actual expenditure as at 31st October was £197 million.

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