HC Deb 04 March 1986 vol 93 cc98-9W
Sir Trevor Skeet

asked the Paymaster General (1) how he proposes to seek to overcome trade union resistance to community programme schemes;

(2) whether he will remove the need to obtain trade union consent to community programme schemes as a precondition to obtaining Manpower Services Commission approval to such schemes.

Mr. Lang

The undoubted success of the community programme is due to the support of many organisations including employers and trade unions. Where local difficulties arise, efforts are made to seek local solutions and experience has shown that this is the best approach.

Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Paymaster General what proportion of the places available on the community programme are currently taken up by participants in (a) Wolverhampton, (b) Birmingham, (c) Coventry and (d) Walsall; and how many of the additional places will be distributed among participants in these towns.

Mr. Lang

At the end of January the proportion of available community programme places taken up by participants in these areas were:—

  1. (a) 84.3 per cent. (3,380 filled places) in Wolverhampton/ Walsall.
  2. (b) 82.2 per cent. (6,591 filled places) in Birmingham/ Solihull.
  3. (c) 86.8 per cent. (3,080 filled places) in Warwickshire, including Coventry.

Between 1 February and the end of May the number of filled places in these areas is planned to increase by:

  1. (a) 720 in Wolverhampton/Walsall.
  2. (b) 1,009 in Birmingham/Solihull.
  3. (c) 320 in Warwickshire, including Coventry.

Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Paymaster General if he will list the number of people who have been employed on a full-time basis on community programme projects in each year since 1982; and what this number represents as a percentage of the total number of participants in the community programme in each year during the same period.

Mr. Lang

The numbers and percentages of people employed on a full-time basis on community programme projects at the end of each year since 1982 are as follows:

per cent.
1982 980 46.1
1983 39,200 34.1
1984 38,100 29.3
1985 48,400 26.5