§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects full employment to have been achieved (a) in the North-West and (b) in Merseyside.
§ Mr. GoldingI regret that I am unable to give my hon. Friend any precise indication as to when full employment may be achieved in these areas, as this depends on a number of complex and variable factors. However, I can assure him that the Government remain firmly committed to achieving a substantial reduction in unemployment throughout the country at the earliest opportunity and are pursuing a national economic strategy which aims to achieve this.
In the meantime, the special employment measures which we have introduced, and plan to bring into operation, should continue to be of considerable help in alleviating the worst effects of unemployment. So far these measures are estimated to have assisted 150,000 persons in the North-West, including nearly 36,000 on Merseyside.