§ Mr. Masonasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what resources from the European social fund have been allocated to South Yorkshire to alleviate the problems of high youth unemployment; and if he will make a statement;
(2) in view of the high rate of youth unemployment in South Yorkshire, if he will claim youth unemployment priority area status for South Yorkshire with a view to obtaining additional benefits from the European Economic Community social fund.
§ Mr. AlisonThe European Commission announced in May 1981 its designation of regions which are to receive priority in applications in 1982 under that section of the social fund which provides assistance for training and employment schemes which are specifically for young people. These youth priority regions in the United Kingdom are Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, North and North-West England.
As a result, schemes for young people in South Yorkshire and other areas in the Yorkshire and 416W 1978. Censuses were not taken in 1979 and 1980. Employment information for 1981 is currently being collected. The figures are analysed according to the Standard Industrial Classification, which does not distinguish between light and heavy engineering. The following table gives information for each of the main groups of engineering industries in the area.
Humberside region are at present in general unlikely to attract social fund assistance, although there are certain aspects of the fund under which successful applications may be mounted. For example, in 1981 Barnsley education authority was allocated fund assistance for a scheme providing vocational experience for handicapped young people and the Sheffield employment rehabilitation centre was included in the fund allocation towards work preparation courses run by the employment service division of the Manpower Services Commission for handicapped young people at ERCs. Assistance is also in principle available for South Yorkshire under the fund's provisions concerning the training of girls for occupations in which women are under-represented and the improvement of local training structures.
There is to be a thoroughgoing review of the fund in 1982, which makes it impossible to predict the structure and priorities of the fund in future years. However, the Government want the review to lead to a fund which gives greater priority to assistance for young people, and which contains more satisfactory regional criteria reflecting the 417W needs of areas which are suffering from high unemployment and a decline in traditional manufacturing industries.
§ Mr. Masonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what form of assistance has been given to the textile and clothing sectors of Yorkshire from the European social fund in 1979, 1980 and 1981.
§ Mr. AlisonMost allocations under the European social fund are in respect of schemes which operate nationally or in a number of parts of the country. I regret that it is therefore not possible to identify separately total fund assistance which was allocated in respect of operations within Yorkshire.
The main allocations in respect of schemes operating in the textiles and clothing industries were in respect of the temporary employment subsidy scheme and of schemes run by the training services division of the Manpower Services Commission and by the Cotton and Allied Textiles and Clothing and Allied Products Industry Training Boards.
In 1979, 1980 and 1981, the United Kingdom was allocated £2.5 million, £1.2 million and £1.96 million respectively under the fund's budget line which is specifically concerned with the textile and clothing industries. Assistance for schemes benefiting these industries was also provided under other budget lines, but I regret that again this cannot be quantified precisely.