HC Deb 12 November 1985 vol 86 cc133-7W
Ms. Clare Short

asked the Paymaster General what information he has on the age of black and white trainees on youth training schemes.

Mr. Trippier

Information is available on the age of young people joining the youth training scheme but it is not further broken down by ethnic groups.

Mr. Sheerman

asked the Paymaster General if he will give, from the most recent survey of youth training scheme providers, the number and proportion of trainees on mode A, mode B1 and mode B2 schemes, respectively, who will spend fewer than 13 weeks on off-the-job training.

Mr. Trippier

There has been no further survey of training providers since that referred to by my hon. Friend the former Minister of State for Employment in his reply to the hon. Member on 8 May 1985 at column 432. The details given in that reply, therefore, remain the most current available.

Mr. Sheerman

asked the Paymaster General what are the current numbers of vacant places on the youth training schemes.

Mr. Trippier

I regret that the information is not available in the precise form requested. However, at the end of September 1985 some 377,000 youth training scheme places had been approved in the current financial year, while there were around 317,000 young people in training. It is not possible to give a precise figure of vacant places because not all approved places will actually be available for occupation.

Mr. Sheerman

asked the Paymaster General how many young people entered the youth training scheme in 1985; and how many places they occupied.

Mr. Trippier

In the period January to September 1985 there were 304,000 entrants to the youth training scheme. A number of these entrants will have joined more than one scheme and it is not possible to say how many places they actually occupied. However, at the end of September 1985 there were more than 317,000 young people in training on the scheme (this figure includes some young people who joined the scheme before January 1985).

Mr. Sheerman

asked the Paymaster General what measures have been taken in the last six months to reduce the under-occupancy of mode A youth training scheme places.

Mr. Trippier

Area offices of the Manpower Services Commission have made strenuous efforts in negotiation with providers to ensure that the number of mode A places available is closely related to the anticipated needs of young people. In addition they, and careers offices, have been reminded that where there is a choice of suitable places, young people should be submitted in preference to mode A. The result of this action has been an increase in occupancy on mode A schemes from 72 per cent. at the end of September 1984 to 83 per cent. at the same time this year.

Mr. Sheerman

asked the Paymaster General how many young people in training on the youth training scheme are estimated to be employees on current year schemes; how these figures compare with the previous year; and what the anticipated figures are for the two-year scheme.

Mr. Trippier

Between April 1985 and September 1985 there were over 286,000 entrants to the youth training scheme of which some 12,000 (4 per cent.) had employee status on joining. These figures compare with around 236,000 entrants to the scheme during the same period last year approximately 8,500 (4 per cent.) of whom had employee status on joining. No figures are kept on those youngsters who gain employee status after joining the scheme.

It will not be possible for some time to say how many entrants to the new two-year youth training scheme will have employee status.

Mr. Sheerman

asked the Paymaster General if he will publish, for each area office of the Manpower Services Commission, current accident figures for the youth training scheme in the following form (a) for the area for each of the last three available months, (b) by travel-towork area for the last available month, (c) by parliamentary constituency for the last available month and (d) by local authority for the last available month.

Mr. Trippier

Youth training scheme accident statistics are collected quarterly and they relate to Manpower Services Commission training division areas. Comprehensive information is not readily available for all parliamentary constituencies, travel-to-work areas or local authority districts and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The latest figures for each area office are provided in the table below:

Youth training scheme accidents 1 July 1985-30 September 1985*
Region Area Fatalities Major injuries† Minor injuries
Scotland Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway 7
Central and Fife 2 5
Glasgow city 1 9
Grampian and Tayside 3 7
Highlands and Islands 2
Lanarkshire 3 11
Lothian/Borders 1 4
Renfrew, Dumbarton and Argyll 1 7
Northern Cleveland 14
Durham County 3 18
Newcastle 1 15
South Tyne 2 16
Yorkshire and Humberside Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees 1 12
Humberside 1 3
Leeds/North Yorkshire 1 14
Sheffield/Rotheram 3 8
Wakefield, Barnsley, Doncaster 1 7
North West Cheshire 3 9
Cumbria 1
Greater Manchester Central ‡1 5
Greater Manchester East
Greater Manchester North 2 28
Lancashire 1 2 14
Merseyside Inner 2 10
Merseyside Outer 1 15
Midlands Birmingham 2 14
Coventry 1 2
Derby 1 18
Dudley/Sandwell 5
Leicestershire 2 3
Lincoln 10
Nottingham 1 9
Staffordshire 7
Telford/Shropshire/Herefordshire and Worcester 5
Wolverhampton/Walsall 2 7
Wales Cardiff 4 18
Gwent 4
Swansea 1 10
Wrexham 6
South West Avon 6
Devon and Cornwall
Gloucester and Wiltshire 2 9
Taunton/Somerset/Dorset 5
South East Chatham Kent 2
Chelmsford 1 4
Fareham 1 8
High Wycombe 1 4
Horsham 1 6
Ipswich 2 3
Luton 1 14
Reading 5
London London North 1 4
London North East 7
London South East 1 1
London South and West 5
Totals 2 59 442
* Manpower Services Commission accident figures for the Youth Training Scheme are compiled on a similar basis to those prepared by the Health and Safety Executive on employed persons. However, Commission figures will include a number of accidents, in particular road traffic accidents during scheme time and accidents to trainees in educational establishments, which may not have been reportable to the Executive had the individuals been employed.
† Major injuries are classified according to the severity criteria laid down in the Notification of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1980.
‡ Road traffic accident.

Mr. Sheerman

asked the Paymaster General if he will publish the 1985 incidence of major and fatal accidents to trainees on the youth training scheme, together with the figures for each of the last two years.

*Accidents Annual incidence rate per 100,000 trainees
Period Average number in training Fatalities Major injuries Fatalities Major injuries
1 April 1983 to 31 March 1984 161,500 ‡4 100 2.5 61.9
1 April 1984 to 31 March 1985 282,408 ║5 184 1.8 65.2
* Manpower Services Commission accident figures for the youth training scheme are compiled on a similar basis to those prepared by the Health and Safety Executive on employed persons. However, Commission figures will include a number of accidents, in particular road traffic accidents during scheme time and accidents to trainees in educational establishments, which may not have been reportable to the executive had the individuals been employed.
† Major injuries are classified according to the severity criteria laid down in the Notification of Accidents and Dangerous Occurences Regulations 1980.
‡ This figure includes one road traffic accident.
║ This figure includes two road traffic accidents.