§ 27. Mr. Formanasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will introduce further measures to extend and improve policy designed to assist the long-term unemployed.
159W
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe way to help the long-term unemployed is to maintain our economic policies, which is the guarantee of sustainable growth in output and jobs in the long term. Meanwhile, the community programme will provide 130,000 job opportunities for long-term unemployed people at a cost of £571 million in 1984–85 and this should help up to 200,000 in a full year. The Government are also operating a range of special employment and training measures designed to help unemployed people at a total cost of some £2 billion in 1984–85. Some 645,000 were being assisted at the end of March.
The Government will consider a specific proposal made by the Manpower Services Commission to incorporate more training or work experience into the community programme when the results of the commission's survey of that programme become available.