asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity how many wholly unemployed were registered in the Northern Region in the years 1962, 1963, 1967 and 1968, giving the highest and lowest figures for each of those years.

Following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity how many men over 40 years of age are unemployed in the Northern Region and Hartlepool, respectively; how many have been out of work for more than six months and 12 months; and if she will make a statement on the future prospects of this age group.

Detailed age analyses of the unemployed register are made only in January and July each year. They relate to the wholly unemployed and exclude casual and temporarily stopped workers.At 8th January, 1968, there were 915 men over 40 years of age registered as wholly unemployed in the area covered by the Hartlepool and Hartlepool Headland Employment Exchanges. Of these 427 had been registered for more than 26 weeks, and 277 for more than 52 weeks. Comparable figures for the Northern Region were 24,272, 11,006 and 6,912, respectively.Like my hon. Friend, I am very concerned about the difficulties which face older men in the present economic climate. My local officers are doing all they can to persuade employers to select staff on merits, rather than age.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if she is aware that recent figures show that the unemployment position in the Northern Region has considerably worsened over the past year; and what steps Her Majesty's Government are now taking to reverse this trend.

I am aware that the number of unemployed in the Northern Region is now some 15 per cent. higher than it was a year ago. The introduction last year of the Regional Employment Premium and additional incentives to industrial expansion in places where collieries, are closing are recent measures designed to reinforce existing policies for