HC Deb 15 May 1987 vol 116 cc440-1W
Mr. Leighton

asked the Paymaster General (1) if he will list the skillcentres open in (a) June 1979 and (b) June 1986; and if he will give the unemployment rate for each of the centre's respective travel-to-work areas at those times;

(2) if he will list the number of trainees completing courses, and the total training weeks offered for each skillcentre, for each year since 1979 for which figures are available.

Mr. Trippier

The available information is contained in the table.

1984–85 1985–86 1986–87
Number of trainees completing courses Total training weeks offered Number of trainees completing courses Total training weeks offered Number of trainees completing courses Total training weeks offered Travel-to-work area6 Unemployment rate5 6 12 June 1986 per cent.
Lambeth — — 64 663 348 7,418 London 10.4
Lambeth YTC2 — 3,467 — — — — London 10.4
Leeds 401 16,536 483 9,769 650 12,902 Leeds 12.3
Leicester 450 9,557 236 7,160 452 8,447 Leicester 10.4
Letchworth 245 14,165 462 14,319 575 15,583 Hitchin and Letchworth 8.1
Liverpool (MATU) 600 6,240 549 7,970 791 13,053 Liverpool 20.3
Liverpool (old)3 582 18,720 125 4,129 — —
Llanelli3 140 5,029 114 2,035 — — Llanelli 17.8
Long Eaton3 299 7,113 254 5,636 — — Nottingham 13.3
Manchester (Denton)3 186 7,904 103 2,375 623 — Manchester 14.0
Manchester (Trafford Park) 349 15,028 477 10,861 — 12,875
Manchester (Hindley Annexe)4 127 4,765 — — — —
Medway 226 10,953 306 11,385 463 12,926 Medway and Maidstone 11.9
Medway Annexe (Sittingbourne)4 136 4,767 111 2,793 — — Sittingbourne and Sheerness 14.0
Middlesbrough3 123 7,070 75 1,775 — — Middlesbrough 21.9
Millbrook (Southampton) 238 8,440 271 7,130 154 6,221 Southampton 10.6
Milton Keynes 140 4,717 153 5,451 427 5,444 Milton Keynes 12.7
North Staffordshire 393 5,796 212 4,749 274 5,536 Stoke 11.8
Northampton 69 1,883 89 1,881 107 3,318 Northampton 9.5
Norwich 147 7,535 250 7,160 381 7,656 Norwich 10.0
Nottingham (Long Eaton Annexe) 145 4,103 136 4,779 382 9,577 Nottingham 13.3
Perivale 137 7,869 160 6,667 146 6,271 London 10.4
Peterborough 184 5,956 162 5,445 180 5,725 Peterborough 12.5
Plymouth 240 7,944 438 8,208 496 12,557 Plymouth 14.4
Plymouth Annexe3 126 2,938 121 1,967 — —
Portsmouth 292 9,379 277 8,231 311 8,826 Portsmouth 12.0
Preston 333 9,984 300 5,927 329 6,968 Preston 11.2
Reading 171 4,790 178 6,309 194 7,573 Reading 7.2
Redditch3 81 5,344 218 4,114 — — Birmingham 16.0
Redruth 265 6,561 311 6,599 340 8,043 Redruth and Camborne 20.5
Rochdale 233 10,192 286 6,180 387 8,127 Rochdale 17.4
St. Helens 263 8,528 211 5,896 331 8,308 Wigan and St. Helens 18.8
Sheffield 378 16,016 359 8,246 241 9,815 Sheffield 16.1
Slough 205 8,063 226 8,405 213 7,324 Slough 6.5
Slough Annexe3 193 5,400 159 4,916 — —
Southampton 307 9,613 319 961 346 11,604 Southampton 10.6
Swindon 279 7,568 228 6,509 255 8,829 Swindon 12.0
Twickenham 111 7,341 262 8,898 322 9,791 Heathrow 7.1
Tyneside 319 12,765 737 12,449 573 17,827 South Tyneside 25.9
Tyneside Annexe4 5 13 — — — —
Waddon3 64 3,431 64 1,156 — — London 10.4
Waddon Annexe3 68 5,271 49 2,552 — —
Wakefield 257 14,248 206 4,727 277 6,215 Wakefield and Dewsbury 15.2
West Glamorgan 220 9,508 477 9,826 871 12,687 Neath and Port Talbot 14.7
West Gwent3 347 5,380 87 1,804 — — Newport 15.5
West Sussex 156 5,994 295 8,487 414 11,795 Worthing 8.3
West Sussex Annexe3 143 5,441 87 2,993 — —
Wigan 267 8,632 192 4,872 259 7,025 Wigan and St. Helens 18.8
Wolverhampton 247 9,308 321 7,415 477 10,090 Wolverhampton 18.3
Wolverhampton Annexe3 63 4,074 87 4,546 — —
Worsley (Manchester Annexe)3 194 6,032 36 1,198 — — Manchester 14.0
Wrexham 311 7,478 334 6,647 349 6,579 Wrexham 16.7
Total 19,951 679,507 21,935 521,280 24,344 572,484
1 No figures available. Charlton skillcentre closed during 1985–86.
2 Trainees completed their courses at other skillcentres.
3 This skillcentre annexe closed down during 1985–86 and the figures for 1985–86 are correspondingly reduced.
4 This annexe closed during 1985–86. Separate statistics for 1985–86 are no longer available.
5 The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed expressed as a percentage of employees in employment plus the unemployed.
6 Comparable unemployment statistics are not available for 1979 because of major revisions to travel-to-work area boundaries in 1984 and changes in the method of compiling the unemployment figures. Statistics of unemployed registrants in 1979 in travel-to-work areas as defined in 1978 are available in the Library.
7 The Blaenau Gwent skillcentre closed in February 1983. The unemployment rate in that month in the Ebbw Vale travel-to-work area was 24.3 per cent. This area is now covered by the Blaenau, Gwent and Abvergavenny travel-to-work area, and the unemployment rate for this area on 12 June 1986 was 19.5 per cent.