§ Mr. Sheermanasked the Secretary of State for Employment what new employment initiatives he has been responsible for since May 1979.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonDetails of the Government's special employment measures for 1980–81 and 1981–82 were announced by my right hon. Friend on 14 February 1980 and 21 November 1980 respectively.
The special employment measures are operated for a year at a time and are subject to annual review, at which time consideration is given to the size and scope of the measures having regard to what the country can afford.
§ Mr. David Youngasked the Secretary of State for Employment what were the figures region by region of the numbers of workers involved in applications awaiting approval under the temporary short-time working compensation scheme on 31 March 1980 and 1981.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonI regret that the statistics in the form requested are not available. Statistics are available of the numbers of applications awaiting approval but those for the date requested have not yet been published. However, the following table shows the number of applications awaiting a decision on 28 February 1981 and on 29 February 1980.
Region Awaiting a decision 28.2.81 Awaiting a decision 28.2.80 Northern 32 15 Yorks and Humberside 202 64 South-East 151 27 London 137 34 South-West 167 20 Wales 74 27 Midlands 123 98 North-West 575 97 Scotland 107 25