§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many 16 to 19-year-olds and what proportion of the age group are (a) in full-time work and (b) unemployed.
§ Mr. AlisonI shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Year Number of Establishments Percentage Inspected *Percentage found to be underpaying Arrears paid to workers £ 1970 17,739 10.4 24.8 7,865 1971 17,028 9.5 23.9 8,391 1972 16,517 9.1 27.8 9,775 1973 16,197 9.4 22.3 10,844 1974 16,303 8.2 24.7 10,810 1975 15,629 7.8 29.7 15,739 1976 15,152 6.3 40.2 32,623 1977 14,968 6.3 40.0 63,869 1978 14,248 6.9 33.1 45,707 1979 11,486 10.6 25.0 31,713 1980 10,898 9.4 32.3 62,844 * As the inspectorate concentrates its resources on areas where underpayments are most likely to be found, these percentages cannot be taken as typical of all establishments. A statistical count of the number of workers in establishments covered by the clothing industry wages council is not made. However, estimates are prepared based on the records of inspections kept by the wages inspectorate. The records, however, are not a representative sample and the resultant estimates can be regarded only as a guide. They show that the average numbers of workers during various periods since 1968 were as follows:
Average number of workers 1968–72 374,500 1970–74 372,500 1972–76 367,000 1975–79 339,750