§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total unemployed in the construction industry on Merseyside to the latest available date; what is the percentage of unemployed; and how these figures compare with other special development areas.
§ Mr. Jim LesterAt 14 February, the latest date for which an industrial analysis of the unemployed is available, the number of people registered as unemployed in the Merseyside special development area who last worked in the construction industry was 12,129, an unemployment rate of 26.3 per cent. The corresponding figures for the special development areas excluding Merseyside were 42,248 and 21.1 per cent.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to help reduce unemployment in the construction industry on Merseyside, in view of the recently announced figures.
§ Mr. Jim LesterThe prosperity of the building industry is largely dependent upon the strength of the country's economy as a whole and I am confident that the measures which we are taking to regenerate the economy will provide the sound base which the construction industry needs if it is to expand.
In the meantime, the construction industry on Merseyside should continue to benefit from the measures we are taking to help inner city areas, and should be further assisted by plans to establish an Urban Development Corporation in the disused land of the Merseyside docks.