HC Deb 04 July 1980 vol 987 cc758-60W
Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many job losses in the last 12 months there have been in the North-West, Merseyside, Kirkby and Ormskirk.

Mr, Jim Lester

[pursuant to his reply, 3 July 1980, c 636]: Precise information job gains and losses is not available but an indication of the net change can be seen by comparing the levels of the estimates of employees in employment at different dates.

Between December 1978 and December 1979, the latest date for which information is available, the number of employees in employment in the North-West region fell by 33,000. The figure is provisional. The latest employment estimates for Merseyside, Kirkby and Ormskirk are for June 1977.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many closures were notified in the 12 months since May 1979 in the North-West, Merseyside, Kirkby and Ormskirk.

Mr. Jim Lester

[pursuant to his reply, 3 July 1980, c. 636]: Precise information May 1980, the number of intended closures in the above areas, notified to my Department under the redundancy handling provisions of the Employment Protection Act 1975, is as follows:

Employees Establishments
North-West 39,710 592
Merseyside 8,896 104
Kirkby 460 8
Ormskirk 48 1

The figures are for redundancies involving 10 or more employees.

Employers are not required to notify the Department when proposed closures do not take place.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many redundancies are pending and how many workers are involved in the North-West, Merseyside, Kirkby and Ormskirk.

Mr. Jim Lester

[pursuant to his reply, 3 July 1980, c. 636]: The information as requested is not available. However, I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that information already available to it shows that redundancies recorded so far as due to take place between July and September 1980 in the above areas, are as follows:

North-West 4,178
Merseyside 658
Kirkby 90
Ormskirk 99

These figures are for redundancies involving 10 or more employees.

Mr. Kilroy-Silk

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his analysis of the prospects for those leaving school in the current year in Merseyside, Kirkby and Ormskirk have for finding jobs; and what action he proposes to take to improve their prospects.

Mr. Jim Lester

[pursuant to his reply, 3 July 1980, c. 636]: The employment prospects for those leaving school in the Merseyside, Kirkby and Ormskirk areas, as elsewhere, depend on the success of the Government's policies designed to reduce inflation, encourage investment and enterprise, which will in turn lead to lower unemployment.

In the meantime, the Government have agreed to the Manpower Services Commission's proposal to expand the youth opportunities programme by 25 per cent. to over a quarter of a million places in 1980–81. This has enabled the MSC to renew its undertakings to unemployed school leavers and the long-term young unemployed that they will be offered a place on the programme. The youth opportunities programme will continue to make a significant contribution to helping unemployed school leavers in Merseyside. Kirkby and Ormskirk.

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