§ Mr. Terlezkiasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) whether he will consider, in order to tackle the problem of youth unemployment, seeking to establish a youth civil defence group;
(2) whether he will consider, in order to tackle the problem of youth unemployment, seeking to establish a youth conservation corps, similar to that established in the United States of America in 1973, to build roads and bridges and plant trees and shrubs and so on.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe problem of youth unemployment is of great concern to the Government and990W we have introduced a number of measures to provide assistance specifically for young people in the labour market. The youth training scheme guarantees every 16-year-old school leaver who wants it a year of planned training and work experience. The young workers scheme is designed to encourage employers to take on young workers at a realistic rate of pay.
Other Government measures, notably the community programme and the voluntary projects programme, provide opportunities for young people and others to take part in work of benefit to the community, inlcuding conservation projects. All these schemes are kept under regular review and, while we are always interested and willing to consider new proposals which might enhance the employment prospects of young people, we have no immediate plans to extend the range of measures available.