§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Paymaster General how many people have completed youth training schemes in Leicester and the east midlands to date; how many left before completing their full entitlement to training; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Lee[pursuant to his reply, 5 February 1987, c. 763–64]: By the end of March 1986, around 2,500 young people in the local authority district of Leicester had completed YTS schemes since the scheme was introduced in 1983. The comparable figure for the Manpower Services Commissions east midlands and eastern region is 44,000. Over the same period around 3,600 young people in Leicester and 59,000 in the east midlands and eastern region, left the scheme before completing their full entitlement.
Independent research has shown that most of these early leavers left to take up jobs. For example, of those young people who left YTS early, in Leicester between April 1985 and March 1986, 55 per cent. were in work some three months after leaving. All in all, the figures demonstrate that large numbers of young people are both taking up, and benefiting from, the opportunities which YTS has to offer in Leicester and the east midlands.