§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report the total amounts of money which have been spent in Scotland on the Manpower Services Commission's youth opportunities programme; and how many youngsters in total have been involved in this programme, giving if possible a breakdown by sex.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherExpenditure on the youth opportunities programme and the numbers of young people entering the programme in Scotland in each financial year since its inception on 1 April 1978 are shown in the following table.
Expenditure £million Number of Entrants 1978–79 7.743 23,600 1979–80 17.136 36,300 1980–81 (to 31 January 1981) 23.646 38,300 It is estimated that expenditure in the current financial year will total £32.67 million with 48,000 entrants. A precise breakdown by sex is not available but it is estimated that overall the proportion of boys and girls entering the programme is about equal.