§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many places he now expects to be available in the community enterprise programme in the year 1982–83; if the number falls short of that required for the purposes of the Manpower Services Commission's corporate plan; how many places have so far been allocated or are pending allocation; and if further applications can still be considered.
§ Mr. AlisonThe Manpower Services Commission is being given resources under the community enterprise programme to support 30,000 places at any one time in 1982–83. That will mean that 40,000 to 50,000 will be able to pass through the programme. The Commission had 259W asked for resources to support a build-up to 60,000 filled places at the end of March 1983. I understand that places have been allocated to regions taking into account the number of people already on schemes and the proportion of eligible unemployed people in the region. At the end of February, about 36,000 places had been approved, of which 26,500 were filled. The scheme is, therefore, nearly full, and, in general, further applications can be approved only if they replace schemes that are coming to an end.