§ 51. Mr. CarringtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on his Department's contribution to the inner city initiative.
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§ Mr. CopeMy Department makes a substantial contribution to inner city regeneration through its employment. Training and enterprise programmes which bring an estimated expenditure of £1.1 billion to the 57 urban programme authorities. Our aim is to ensure that inner city residents share in the growing prosperity of their cities and, in particular, to help them acquire the self-confidence, training and motivation to enable them to compete on equal terms in the jobs market, or in setting up and running their own businesses.
In addition to existing programmes we have, as part of the action for cities programme, committed £3.25 million this year towards the development of 30 schools/industry compacts which guarantee jobs or training to school-leavers. We have opened six new inner city offices of the small firms service and appointed specialist inner city business advisers.
We have established a £600,000 loan fund to support projects by local enterprise agencies in inner cities and extended the guarantee on Government loans to small firms in task force areas to 85 per cent. We have provided extra training and advice for enterprise allowance scheme participants and given special help to unemployed people with language, literacy and numeracy difficulties. We continue to improve access to information on jobs and training opportunities and on my Department's programmes.