§ Mr. Parkasked the Paymaster General how many full-time vacancies were available at Coventry careers office at the latest available date.
§ Mr. LangOn 7 February 1986, the latest date for which vacancy figures are available, there were 42 unfilled full-time vacancies at Coventry careers office.
§ Mr. Parkasked the Paymaster General what proportion of the work force in Coventry were unemployed in 1979; and what is the proportion unemployed at the present time.
§ Mr. LangThe following information is in the Library. On 6 February 1986 the unemployment rate for the Coventry and Hinckley travel-to-work area was 15.6 per cent. Comparable rates for 1979 are not available because of changes in the way figures are collected. However, in February 1979 the unemployment rate for registrants in the old Coventry travel-to-work area was 6.5 per cent.
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§ Mr. Parkasked the Paymaster General how many people in Coventry, having successfully completed a YTS course, have found work.
§ Mr. TrippierThe Manpower Services Commission conducts a regular follow-up survey of young people some three months after they leave YTS. The latest results cover young people who left YTS between April and September 1985. They show that 60 per cent. of those young people who completed YTS in the Coventry local authority district were in work.
§ Mr. Parkasked the Paymaster General how many businesses have been set up in Coventry under the enterprise allowance scheme.
§ Mr. TrippierIn the Coventry area 3,115 people have set up in business with the help of the enterprise allowance scheme since January 1982.
§ Mr. Parkasked the Paymaster General how many Coventry men and women over 50 years of age have been unemployed for more than one year, two years and three years, respectively.
§ Mr. LangThe following information is in the Library. The figures relate to unemployed claimants on 9 January 1986, the latest date for which an analysis of unemployment by age and duration is available.
The table shows the numbers of male claimants and female claimants aged 50 years and over in the Coventry local authority district who have been unemployed for the durations specified.
Numbers of unemployed male and female claimants aged 50 years and over in the Coventry local authority district
(9 January 1986)
Duration of unemployment Males Females More than one year 2,155 690 More than two years 1,634 468 More than three years 1,253 324
§ Mr. Parkasked the Paymaster General what is his estimate of the number of young people in Coventry likely to be affected by their removal from the protection of wages councils; and how many new jobs are likely to be created by this measure in Coventry.
§ Mr. TrippierInformation is not available on a local basis about the number of young people within scope of wages councils. Whilst we are not aware of any studies which estimate the number of jobs which will arise from the specific reforms we have proposed, there are many studies which provide evidence of the link between pay and jobs or indicate that statutory minima affect employment. The removal of regulations which prevent employers offering jobs at rates which young people would accept must result in increased employment, in Coventry as elsewhere.
§ Mr. Parkasked the Paymaster General what new initiatives will be undertaken to fight unemployment in Coventry.
§ Mr. LangCoventry will benefit from the new package of measures announced in the Budget statement at columns166–184.
In particular, there is the boost to enterprise. The enterprise allowance scheme will be increased to help 100,000 unemployed people a year nationally; and small 356W firms will benefit from the extension and improvement to the small firms loan guarantee scheme and the business expansion scheme.
To help young people, the two year YTS starting on 1 April will provide 16 and 17-year-old school leavers with high quality training leading to a recognised qualification. The new workers scheme will help 18 to 20-year-olds to find work.
To help the long-term unemployed the new national Restart programme will provide counselling on job opportunities; the jobstart allowance will give unemployed people a financial incentive to return to work; and the community programme is to be improved and expanded to 255,000 places nationally by November 1986.
Coventry already derives considerable benefit from our employment and training measures which are currently helping nearly 10,000 people in Coventry and Warwickshire. However, the main impact on unemployment must come from employers and those who decide to work for themselves. It is their drive towards competitiveness, profitability and keeping costs down that will provide new jobs in Coventry and elsewhere.
§ Mr. Parkasked the Paymaster General how many places have been taken up in the YTS in Coventry over the last three years; and how many places have been allocated for the two-year scheme.
§ Mr. TrippierThere have been some 9,309 entrants to YTS in the Coventry local authority district between the inception of YTS in April 1983 and the end of February 1986. This figure includes some young people who have entered YTS more than once.
Approximately 3,900 places have been allocated to the Coventry local authority district for the two-year scheme.