§ Mr. Fittasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the longest period in which a person has been unemployed and has been signing on the unemployment register in (a) West Belfast, (b) North Belfast, (c) Derry, (d) Strabane and (e) Newry.
§ Mr. ConcannonThe information is as follows:
Information of this kind can now be made available for the first time because a new computer system has been introduced in Northern Ireland. This can provide not only the regularly published unemployment figures but also numbers of unemployed for a variety of areas.
- (a) West Belfast (Parliamentary Constituency) 28 years 2 months.
- (b) North Belfast (Parliamentary Constituency) 38 years 2 months.
- (c) Londonderry (Employment Service Office Area) 20 years 10 months.
- (d) Strabane (Employment Service Office Area) 28 years 1 month.
- (e) Newry (Employment Service Office Area) 21 years 8 months.
Data from the regular analysis, much of which appears in various Government publications, is freely available on request. In addition, data already extracted from the computer for specific purposes can be made available, but while requests for special analyses to meet specific needs will also be considered, it will be necessary, in certain circumstances, to seek reimbursement of the cost.