§ 28. Mr. Willeyasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will make a statement on the effect of the special measures introduced by the Government on the level of unemployment in Sunderland.
§ Mr. GoldingI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that from 1 April 1978 to the end of December 1978 1,330 places were created under the youth opportunities programme in Sunderland and 135 under the special temporary employment programme. In this period a total of 1,943 young people joined the youth opportunities programme and 62 adults joined the special temporary employment programme.
Good progress is being made in the Sunderland area towards securing the objective that no Easter or summer school 75W leavers of 1978 who remains unemployed at Easter 1979 should be without the offer of a suitable place on the youth opportunities programme. On 7 December 1978 there were 489 unemployed school leavers covered by this undertaking in the Sunderland area who had not received such an offer but on the same date 612 places in the programme were available in the area.