§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a Statement showing how the low paid have benefited under incomes policy since 1975 relative to workers earning average or median earnings.
608W
§ Mr. Golding:I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that in the period September 1978 to August 1979 a maximum of 82,000 filled places is expected on the youth opportunities Programme, enabling 187,000 young people to enter the programme during that time. The target for the special temporary employment programme is to have 25,000 continuously filled places and it is hoped that this will be achieved by end of June 1979. The Manpower Services Commission states that no specific targets were set for 1st December. The latest available information about programme places related to the end of October, and is set out below:
§ Mr. John Grant,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 4th December 1978], gave the following information
I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave him earlier today concerning the lowest paid decile of male and female earnings. There is no generally accepted precise definition of low pay.