§ Mr. Winnickasked the Paymaster General how many of those in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) the west midlands and (c) the Black Country area of the west midlands have been unemployed for 12 months and more; what the numbers were in May 1979; and what has been the percentage change in the three groups, retrospectively.
§ Mr. LangThe following table gives the available information for the United Kingdom and the west midlands.
Unemployed-Over 12 months United Kingdom West Midlands Unemployed Registrants April 1979 366,711 34,154 October 1982 1,169,558 155,741 Percentage increase +219 +356 Unemployed Claimants October 1982 989,306 129,706 April 1983 1,143,436 154,460 Percentage increase +15.6 +19.1 April 1983 1,143,436 154,460 October 1983 1,142,874 152,423 Comparisons over this period are affected by the provisions in the 1983 Budget, which removed 160,000 people overall from the count, some 18,700 in the west midlands.
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United Kingdom West Midlands October 1983 1,142,874 152,423 January 1986 1,371,632 165,824 Percentage increase +20 +8.8 On 9 January 1986, the latest date for which an analysis of unemployment by duration is available, in the Dudley and Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton travel-to-work areas, that closely correspond to the Black Country area, the number of claimants who had been unemployed for over 12 months was 50,082.
Comparisons of unemployment over the period specified are difficult to make because of the change in the basis of the count in October 1982, the 1983 Budget provisions, which mean that some men, mainly aged 60 or over, no longer need to sign on at unemployment benefit offices to receive benefit, and, for local areas, the change to a ward-based system for allocating claimants to localities. However, in April 1979 (not available for May 1979) the number of registrants at jobcentres within the old Dudley and Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton travel-to-work areas as definded in 1978, who had been unemployed for over 12 months was 8,164.
§ Mr. Winnickasked the Paymaster General how many persons under 21 years in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) the west midlands and (c) the Black Country area of the west midlands have been unemployed for 12 months and more; what the numbers were in May 1979; and what has been the percentage change in the three groups, respectively.
§ Mr. LangThe following table gives the available information for the United Kingdom and the west midlands.
Under 20 years of age and unemployed for over 12 months United Kingdom West Midlands Unemployed registrants April 1979 19,799 1,837 October 1982 101,414 12,805 Per cent. Per cent. Percentage increase +412 +59 Unemployed claimants October 1982 88,595 11,387 January 1986 104,600 12,499 Per cent. Per cent. Percentage increase +18.1 +9.8 On 9 January 1986, the latest date for which an analysis of unemployment by age and duration is available, in the Dudley and Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton travel-to-work areas that closely correspond to the Black Country area, the number of unemployed claimants aged under 20 years (not available for under 21 years) who had been unemployed for over 12 months was 3,778.
Comparisons of unemployment over the period specified are difficult to make because of the change in the basis of the count in October 1982 and, for local areas, the change to a ward-based system for allocating claimants to localities. However, in April 1979 (not available for May 1979) the number of unemployed registrants at jobcentres within the old Dudley and Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton travel-to-work areas, as defined in 1978, aged under 20 years and who had been unemployed for over 12 months was 434.
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§ Mr. Winnickasked the Paymaster General if he will give the total number of full-time employees made redundant in (a) the west midlands and (b) the Black Country area of the west midlands since May 1979; what were the figures for the seven years prior to May 1979; and what is the change in percentage terms in the two areas, respectively.
§ Mr. LangThe latest available figures for all confirmed redundancies are set out in the table. To extract the information on redundancies of full-time employees would involve disproportinate cost. Data on confirmed redundancies are not available for years before 1977.
Redundancies*confirmed as due to occur 1977 to 1985 Black Country Period Jobcentre areas West Midlands May 1979 to December 1985† 82,410 277,788 January 1977 to April 1979 6,908 20,200 *Confirmed by the Manpower Services Commission as due to occur and based on notifications of impending redundancies involving ten or more workers. † Includes provisional figures for December 1985.