HC Deb 21 June 1984 vol 62 cc247-8W
Mr. Madden

asked the Secretary of State for Employment why, in the current review of travel-to-work areas, it is proposed the new Bradford travel-to-work area should cross local authority boundaries.

Mr. Alan Clark

The current review of travel-to-work areas is using ward-based data on travel-to-work patterns, obtained from the 1981 census of population. Persons

travelling to work do not observe administrative boundaries and hence the draft map shows TTWA boundaries which cross those of local authorities, as they have done in the past. Where a ward, or small group of wards, at the margins of a TTWA does not have a strong statistical relationship to the TTWA area to which it has been allocated, and representations have been made at the consultative stage of the review, the Department will, in finalising the definition of the new areas, follow the administrative rather than the statistically-produced boundaries. In moving over to a ward-based system, the Department will, in future, be able to provide unemployment figures for local authorities, irrespective of the authorities' location in TTWA terms.

Mr. Madden

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) why, in the current review of travel-to-work areas, it is proposed to bring a large part of the M62 corridor within the Bradford travel-to-work area;

(2) why, in the current review of travel-to-work areas, it is proposed to split the district of Dewsbury between the Bradford, Wakefield and Huddersfield travel-to-work areas;

(3) why, in the current review of travel-to-work areas, it is proposed the new Bradford travel-to-work area should be significantly bigger than the existing travel-to-work area.

Mr. Alan Clark

The current review of travel-to-work areas, using 1981 census of population travel-to-work data, will result in changes to the present travel-to-work area map which reflects changes in travel patterns since the previous census of population in 1971.

The review is still in progress, and hence the boundaries of the new areas have not yet been finalised.