§ Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Paymaster General how many places have been removed from the planned community programme targets in each region, Scotland and Wales; and what is the saving as a result.
§ Mr. LeeThe planned maximum allocation for the community programme in 1986–87, together with the provisional allocation of places for 1987–88 for each region, Scotland and Wales are given in the table.
Community programme expenditure is planned to be some £1,120 million in 1987–88 compared with £1,038 in 1986–87.
The net saving to the Exchequer is estimated to be about £15 million.
The programme will continue to provide opportunities for some 300,000 people in 1987–88.
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November 1986 profile Proposed 1987–88 allocation Reduction South-East 14,299 13,050 1,249 London 17,970 17,330 640 South-West 17,000 15,790 1,210 West Midlands 29,153 28,640 513 East Midlands 19,669 18,830 839 Yorkshire and Humberside 29,150 28,430 720 North-West 39,078 38,440 638 Northern 29,800 29,240 560 Wales 22,440 21,340 1,100 Scotland 31,400 30,910 490 National Charities Initiative 1,000 1,000 —
November 1986 profile Proposed 1987–88 allocation Reduction Total 250,959 243,000 7,959
§ Dr. Godmanasked the Paymaster General if he will list in the Official Report the percentage of community places under the Manpower Services Commission's community programme granted to religious bodies in each of the past five years; and if he will break this figure down by way of religious denomination.
§ Mr. LeeIt is not possible to give a breakdown of places in the form requested from records held centrally and this could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the table shows at March 1984, the earliest date for which detailed statistics are available, and for each subsequent year, the total number of authorised community programme places, the number of those places sponsored by religious bodies and the percentage this represents of the total.
Position at Total number of authorised places Number of places sponsored by religious bodies Per cent. 15 March 1984 130,312 1,771 1.3 27 March 1985 150,272 7,471 5.0 14 March 1986 219,722 12,426 5.6
Employees in employment (thousands) June 1978 September 1981 Net change Absolute 1978 to 1981 Per cent. Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield 52.0 51.9 -0.2 -0.3 Hertfordshire 408.9 412.4 +3.5 +0.9 Great Britain 22,273.0 21,309.0 -964.0 -4.3 Between censuses, employment estimates are based on small scale sample inquiries which cannot produce reliable results for areas smaller than the standard economic regions.
These estimates show that at March 1983 there were 20,402,000 employees employed in Great Britain compared with 21,169,000 in September 1986 (the latest date for which figures are available); a net increase of 767,000. Between the same dates the employed labour force (that is including the self employed and Her Majesty's forces) increased by 1,317,000.
§ Mr. Forthasked the Paymaster General if he will give the unemployment figure for the constituency of Mid-Worcestershire for January 1986, June 1983 and June 1979.
§ Mr. LeeThe following information is in the Library. On 9 January 1986 the number of unemployed claimants in the Mid-Worcestershire parliamentary constituency was 6,491. The corresponding number on 9 June 1983 was 6,608. This comparison is affected by seasonal factors and by the 1983 Budget provisions for certain older men. Unemployment statistics for parliamentary constituencies are derived from the ward-based system and are available only from June 1983.
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Position at Total number of authorised places Number of places sponsored by religious bodies Per cent. 24 November 19861 272,980 16,489 6.0 1 The latest date for which statistics are available.