§ Miss Geraldine SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will set out, including statistical information, the effect on the Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [149124]
§ Mr. Alan JohnsonMy Department does not maintain statistical information at constituency level.
My hon. Friend's constituents, like many others throughout Lancashire, will have benefited from my Department's Employment Rights policies which include National Minimum Wage, Working Time Directive, Part Time Working Regulations and improved Maternity Leave.
All of the wards in the City of Lancaster have been included in the revised Assisted Area map for Regional Selective Assistance and the Enterprise Grant Scheme.
In the North West region my Department's policies have contributed to growth in employment by 107,000 and a fall in unemployment by 63,000; reductions in youth unemployment by 75 per cent. and long-term unemployment by 54 per cent.