§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what public funds he has devoted to training the people aged 25 years and under in order to get them out of unemployment in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. Redwood[holding answer 9 March 1995]: Figures covering youth training, youth credits and modern apprenticeships are given in the following table. These programmes are specifically aimed at people under 25 years of age. In addition, adult training schemes are available to people over 18 but figures are not available for expenditure on those aged 18 to 25 within these schemes.
Provision has fluctuated over the period concerned in line with demand and changes to the programmes. Reductions in the numbers of 16-year-olds and increases in the proportion staying on at school or entering further education have caused demand to reduce since 1991–92.
441WFunding has always been more than adequate to meet the youth guarantee by providing training and those young people up to the age of 18 who have required it; and 18 to 25-year-olds are treated as a priority group under the adult training for work programme.
Youth training, youth credits and modern apprenticeships provision in Wales Year £million 1990–91 42.252 1991–92 48.897 1992–93 42.683 1993–94 40.424 1994–95 49.421 Notes:
1 Figures for first four years represent outturn expenditure; that for 1994–95 is the level of provision available.
2 Youth credits commenced in 1991–92 on a pilot basis and are now being progressively introduced by training and enterprise councils throughout Wales. Modern apprenticeships were introduced in 1994–95.