HC Deb 16 July 1992 vol 211 cc927-9W
Mr. Watson

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what steps she intends to take to ensure that the United Kingdom provides national retraining

Mr. McLoughlin

The table sets out the information on claims to industrial tribunals of unfair dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy under section 60 of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 in the five financial years to 31 March 1991.

programmes and professional child care for women at the workplace, on an equal basis with other EC member countries;

(2) what steps she intends to take to bring the level of investment in training for women in the United Kingdom to a level comparable with that in other EC countries.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard

We already have substantial arrangements for training for women, in particular within the employment training programme. There are flexibilities within the programme which allow women to reconcile their training with their domestic commitments and which offer support towards the cost of child care.

Investment in training provision is further encouraged by the investors in people initiative, which rewards employers who develop all their employees, and by a new national training award for the training of women.

I will also be introducing a grant to help set up out-of-school child care provision, which I hope will have the involvement of employers. My Department will continue to encourage employers to provide workplace child care facilities for all employees with children.

Against this background, I have written to all training and enterprise council chairmen specifically asking them to help by devising local strategies to take forward action on women's issues. Training will have a key role in these.

At a European level, the United Kingdom is an active member of the IRIS network of training schemes for women which promotes interchange of ideas and good practice, and through which good United Kingdom practice is widely shared with our European partners.

Ms. Short

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will provide tables showing the latest results from the youth training leavers survey for each TEC—training and enterprise council—area in England and Wales and each LEC—local enterprise company—area in Scotland broken down to show the number and proportion of youth training leavers who(a) had worked towards a vocational qualification or credit, (b) had gained a vocational qualification or credit, (c) had not gained a vocational qualification or credit, (d) were awaiting results and (e) had completed their training.

Mr. McLoughlin

I will write to the hon. Member.

Mr. Hardy

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment on what occasions the European Commission has refused to pay grants from the social fund to the United Kingdom to assist industrial training; and what were the reasons for each refusal.

Mr. McLoughlin

The Commission has yet to make certain 1992 payments in respect of the fund's objectives 2 and 5b—areas of industrial and rural decline—and has provided no reasons for this delay. The Commission has now agreed to release all 1992 advances in respect of objectives 3 and 4—long-term unemployment and young people.

Ms. Short

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will provide tables showing the latest results from the youth training leavers survey for each TEC area in England and Wales and each LEC area in Scotland broken down to show the number and proportion of youth training leavers who were(a) in a full-time job with their work experience employer, (b) in a full-time job with another employer, (c) employed in their own business, (d) in a part-time job, (e) in voluntary work, (f) on a full-time course at a college or training centre, (g) on another youth training scheme. (h) doing something else or (i) unemployed.

Mr. McLoughlin

I will write to the hon. Member.

Ms. Short

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she plans to publish(a) the monthly reports of supply and demand of youth training places in each TEC area which are required from 7 July and (b) the quarterly statistical stock takes by her Department of the youth training supply and demand position on the guarantee in each TEC area.

Mr. McLoughlin

Information on the numbers of young people covered by the YT guarantee will be subject to the new monitoring arrangements which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment announced in the House on 7 July. Information gathered in the quarterly stock takes is in the form of estimates that are not sufficiently reliable to merit publication.

Mr. Steinberg

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list the number of young persons in the Durham constituency who have gained full-time employment after completing the youth training scheme.

Mr. McLoughlin

It is estimated from the latest available information that 60 per cent. of youth training trainees who completed their agreed training in the Durham training and enterprise council area during April to September 1991 were in full-time employment six months after leaving.