§ Mr. Sheermanasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people 21 years and under and 18 years and under, listed separately, and if possible according to sex and ethnic origin, are benefiting from job promotion schemes, giving the numbers benefiting from each scheme, in the Huddersfield travel-to-work area for the latest available date and for the equivalent date for each corresponding month in each year since the schemes were started.
§ Mr. Jim LesterI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that it is not possible to provide information for the Huddersfield travel-to-work area. Figures for the youth opportunities programme are collected by local authority district. The smallest area which covers the Huddersfield travel-to-work area is the Kirklees LAD. Neither is it possible to provide a breakdown according to sex and ethnic origin, although, nationally in the year to date, some 48 per cent. of all YOP entrants were female.
However the following information, which relates to entrants to special programmes gives some indication of the numbers helped by the youth opportunities programme and the special temporary 493W employment programme since their introduction in the Kirklees local authority district.
KIRKLEES LOCAL AUTHORITY DISTRICT YOP (aged under 19) STEP (aged 19–24) 1 April 1978 to 31 Marct 1979 635 23 1979— April 28 2 May 37 10 June 62 7 July 59 3 August 105 — September 233 2 October 96 2 November 55 1 December 35 — 1980— January 48 1 Total year to date 758 28