§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people under the age of 20 years are registered as unemployed; and if he will break down the total figure to show the position in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Jim Lester[pursuant to his reply, 28 November 1980]: The following table gives for 9 October, the latest date for which an age analysis is available, the numbers of registered unemployed people aged 19 and under.
Number Scotland 50,543 England 353,619 Wales 28.617 Northern Ireland 21,938 United Kingdom 454,117 The youth opportunities programme is available to help unemployed young people, and I announced on 21 November 1980 that the Government have decided to expand YOP from 250,000–260,000 places in the current year to 430,000–440,000 places in 1981–82. The programme will focus particularly on the groups of young people in the immediate post-school years.