§ Mr. Winnickasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of those unemployed for 12 months and over in (a) the west Midlands and (b) the Walsall travel-to-work area in May 1979 and at the latest date.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe following table gives, for the areas specified, the numbers registered as unemployed for over 52 weeks in April 1979—not available for May—and the corresponding numbers for unemployed claimants in April 1984, the latest date for which an analysis by duration of unemployment is available. It also gives the figures on both registration and claimants bases for October 1982. The comparisons between the figures are affected by the change in the basis of the unemployment count in October 1982 and by the 1983 Budget provisions which meant that some men aged 60 and over no longer had to sign on in order to receive supplementary benefit or national insurance credits.
Unemployed for over 52 weeks West Midlands region Walsall travel-to-work area Registered April 1979 34,154 2,495 October 1982 155,741 13,452 Claimants October 1982 129,706 11,286 April 1984 157,561 13,465