§ Mr. Barry Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Employment how much the European Economic Community has contributed to the youth opportunities programme and the young workers scheme in the current year, and, where relevant, in previous years; to what extent he expects the new training initiative to be funded from European Economic Community resources; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AlisonAllocations from the European social fund in respect of the youth opportunities programme have been as follows:
Year Amount (in £ million) *1978 13 1979 39 1980 47 1981 59 * In respect of the period May to December only. No allocations have been made in respect of the young workers scheme. The European Commission is not expected to make decisions on 1982 applications until the autumn.
We expect that a range of activities under the new training initiative will be eligible for support from the European social fund but it is not possible to produce any reliable estimate of the amount of assistance which may be received from this source.
The youth training scheme represents a substantial step forward in the provision of training opportunities for young people in this country, and reflects the conclusions of the European Council in Brussels on 29–30 March that member States would strive to ensure over the the next five years that all young people entering the labour market for the first time would receive vocational training or initial work experience. The Government welcome the valuable contribution made by the European social fund to the level of employment and training effort in this country.