§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment why the number of places under the community enterprise programme for adults unemployed in Wolverhampton has been reduced from 340 to less than 200; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter Morrison[pursuant to his reply 6 July 1981]: On 1 April 1981 the Government replaced the special temporary employment programme with the—much expanded—community enterprise programme. Under the new programme, 25,000 places will be available nation-wide, as compared with 12,500 under STEP, concentrated in development areas, special development areas and designated inner urban areas. The number of places allocated to the Midlands region has increased, both in absolute terms—from 1,110 to 3,110—and as a percentage of the places available nation-wide—from 8.9 per cent. to 12.4 per cent.
Under STEP, only the inner urban areas were eligible for an allocation of places. CEP can provide places all over the region, although concentrated in areas of high unemployment. While this may mean that the number of places available in certain specific areas—such as the Wolverhampton inner urban area—has reduced, the number of opportunities available throughout the region has greatly increased.