§ Mr. McMahonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how much in grants has been paid during the period March 1981 to March 1982 to persons in the Strathclyde region of Scotland who have left in search of work; and how many families have returned to Strathclyde as a result of being unable to secure employment.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherInformation is not available in the precise form requested. Under the Manpower Services Commission's job search scheme grants are available to help unemployed people or those under threat of redundancy to attend pre-arranged interviews or to spend a short period seeking work beyond normal daily travelling distance of their home. During the period 1 April 1981 to 31 March 1982, 722 people in the Scotland west area of the commission's employment service division—which covers Strathclyde and Dumfries and Galloway regions—received grants totalling £23,934 under the job search scheme.
Nearly all of these grants were of a free return fare to attend a pre-arranged interview. No figures are available for the number of applicants who did not secure employment as a result of these interviews, but grants are made only where it is considered that the applicant is likely to obtain employment and if there are no suitable unemployed people already in the new area.
The scheme is intended to help individuals seek work beyond normal daily travelling distance and consequently not all of the interviews would have been outside Strathclyde region. No records are kept under the scheme of families who leave the region and subsequently return.