HC Deb 23 February 1987 vol 111 cc65-6W
Mr. Wareing

asked the Paymaster General what expenditure has been incurred by his Department since

  1. Avanced Electronics Ltd. to establish a factory unit providing training and work experience, particularly in microelectronics—a grant of £197,500.
  2. (12) Centre for Hi-Tech Activity in North Tyneside (CHANT), a project also sponsored by MARI Advanced Micro Electronics Ltd. to establish a centre for training and business development for new small enterprises in the high technology sector—a grant of £80,000.

These projects will make a significant contribution to tackling directly the need for jobs in the north-cast and also to providing a foundation for future enterprise development in the region. In many cases the grants complement support from the urban programme, some have DTI support, others combine other Government schemes such as YTS and the community programme and some include significant private sector contributions.

Major projects are proposed for Cleveland but at this stage the other public and private sector contributions have to be confirmed.

Mr. Holt

asked the Paymaster General how many people in total were employed in the furniture industry in each of the years 1986, 1981, 1976, 1971, 1966 and 1961; what percentage were (a) male and (b) female; and how many apprentices there were in each of these years.

Mr. Lee

Separate statistics for the furniture industry are not available for the period specified and the series is broken by the introduction of the 1,980 standard industrial classification which reclassifies certain activities. The available information is as follows:

November 1983 in enforcing the statutory obligations of employers to fulfill the 3 per cent. quota of disabled people in their work force.

Mr. Lee

Precise information is not available in the form requested. The administration and enforcement of the provisions of the quota scheme are an integral part of the Manpower Services Commission's employment services for people with disabilities which are provided through jobcentres and the Disablement Advisory Service. However, the Manpower Services Commission estimates expenditure on administration and enforcement of the scheme to be between £1 million and £2 million each year.