asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the facilities that exist in Devon and Cornwall for retraining, their location, size and the nature of the courses available.
I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that there is a skillcentre at Plymouth with 277 training places in construction, engineering, electrical/electronics and automotive trades. Another skillcentre at Redruth has 106 training places in construction, engineering and automotive trades. There are also educational establishments in most towns in Devon and Cornwall offering training in a much wider variety of occupations. For these establishments a precise number of training places cannot be given as, in addition to exclusive TOPS courses in shorthand-typing, typing and clerical occupations, TOPS trainees can be accommodated on an "in-fill" basis on existing college courses. Some engineering training is provided in employers' establishments as arrangements can be made.
| Year/Month | Net cost to dismissing employers (after receiving rebate) | Cost to Redundancy Fund | Total received by employees | ||||
| £ | £ | £ | |||||
| 1971 | … | … | … | … | 57,166,000 | 57,107,000 | 108,273,000 |
| 1972 | … | … | … | … | 46,738,000 | 50,775,000 | 97,513,000 |
| 1973 | … | … | … | … | 32,054,000 | 34,519,000 | 66,573,000 |
| 1974 | … | … | … | … | 35,005,000 | 38,555,000 | 73,560,000 |
| January 1975 | … | … | … | … | 5,511,000 | 6,424,000 | 11,935,000 |
| February 1975 | … | … | … | … | 5,297,000 | 5,757,000 | 11,054,000 |
| March 1975 | … | … | … | … | 4,886,000 | 5,241,000 | 10,127,000 |
| April 1975 | … | … | … | … | 5,493,000 | 6,227,000 | 11,720,000 |