§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Prime Minister how many people have been unemployed for more than 12 months, 18 months, 24 months and 36 months; and what particular measures the Government are taking to help the long-term unemployed.
§ The Prime MinisterThe following table gives the numbers of unemployed people in the UK who at 8 October 1981, the latest date for which figures are available, had been on the register for 52 weeks or more.
Duration Number over 52 weeks and up to 78 weeks 369,905 over 78 weeks and up to 104 weeks 142,814 over 104 weeks and up to 156 weeks 119,402 over 156 weeks 152,515 We are giving particular help to the long-term unemployed through the community enterprise programme, the expansion of which was recently announced, and the youth opportunities programme, which aims to prevent long-term unemployment among young people under 18.
Our aim, however, is to improve the prospects of all unemployed people by pursuing policies to tackle the underlying causes of economic decline and rising unemployment. As a result of these policies, industry and commerce are becoming more competitive and the prospects for regaining lost markets and therefore lost jobs are more encouraging.