§ Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in each of the last five available years how many salmon redds were counted in the rivers under the control of the Foyle Fisheries Commission; and, of these, what percentage was in rivers in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Adam Butler[pursuant to his reply, 18 June 1981]: The information is as follows:
with industry training organisations that the number of places this year will be some eight to 10 thousand fewer than last year.
The Government and Commission are concerned at the prospect of such a reduction both because it represents a loss of skilled job opportunities for young people at a time of high youth unemployment and because it may lead to skill shortages in the upturn. We are currently considering jointly whether the provision of further Exchequer assistance, in addition to the 25,000 places already receiving support, could usefully supplement the efforts of employers, whose primary responsibility it is to assess and meet their needs for skilled manpower.