§ 23. Mr. Colin Shepherdasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the present number of vacancies for work experience in the youth opportunities programme.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonAbout 130,000 young people are participating in work experience schemes. Approximately 50,000 vacancies are currently available.
29. Mr. Ron Brownasked the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of youth opportunities programme trainees have secured permanent employment so far in 1981.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonI refer the hon. Member to my reply of 19 June.—[Vol. 6, c.312.]
§ 62. Sir Anthony Meyerasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether young people may be placed under the youth opportunities programme on schemes which manufacture goods which are donated to charities.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonUnder the community projects element of the youth opportunities programme, young people may be engaged in activities concerned with producing goods. The goods produced are normally low-cost items and may be donated to local charities.
§ Mr. Fosterasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will now review the regulation whereby school leavers are ineligible for entrance into the youth opportunities programme until six weeks after they first register as unemployed.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonNo. The careers service has already wide discretion to place young people on the youth opportunities programme within six weeks if they are unlikely to find work without the help of the programme.
§ Mr. Fosterasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the average gross and net cost, for the latest available date, of maintaining a young person on a youth opportunities programme on (a) work introduction courses, (b) short training courses, (c) young people's work preparation courses, (d) employment induction courses, (e) work experience on employers' premises courses, (f) the community project courses, (g) the training workshop course and (h) the special programmes division community industry course for one week.
§ Mr. Peter Morrison[pursuant to his reply, 25 June 1981, c. 160]: The information is not available in exactly 348W the detail requested. The following table gives information from the Manpower Services Commission for the various schemes in the Youth Opportunities Programme:
Type of Scheme Gross Cost per week £
Net Cost per week £
Short Training Courses 78.00 55.00 Employment Induction Courses 70.00 48.00 Work Experience on Employers Premises 23.50 16.00 Community Projects 55.00 21.00 Training Workshops 74.00 35.00 Remedial and Preparatory Courses 114.00 88.00 These figures, which are at November 1980 prices, exclude administration costs and are rounded.
Community Industry is not part of the youth opportunities programme but is run under the auspices of the National Association of Youth Clubs and is funded by a grant from the Department of Employment, administered by the Manpower Services Commission.
The gross cost per week to the Exchequer of a place in community industry is £54 and the net cost £20. In addition local authorities in areas where community industry operates incurred during 1980–81 estimated expenditure in the order of £1 million on premises, equipment and transport.
Since community industry and the youth opportunities programme are diferently structured and organised, exactly comparable costs cannot be produced.