§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to introduce a scheme to question members of ethnic minorities who apply for unemployment benefit; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AlisonThe policy of this and of previous Governments is to eliminate discrimination on the grounds of race or colour and to promote equal opportunities for all. To establish whether this policy is working, it is necessary to identify and count the number of unemployed who belong to the ethnic minority groups so that a comparison can be made between their unemployment situation and that of other workers. Since 1963 unemployed adults from these groups registered at employment offices and jobcentres have been identified and counted, but when registration at jobcentres becomes voluntary in October 1982 it will not be possible to make an accurate count in these offices and it is proposed to try out the collection of the statistics in benefit offices to see how it works in practice for claimants and staff.