asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many men over 55 years of age are at present registered as unemployed in the Macclesfield and Congleton area; and for what period they have been unemployed.
Following is the information:
| Unemployed men aged 55 and over in the Macclesfield and Congleton Employment Office areas at 14th July 1975 | |
| Duration of unemployment in weeks | |
| One or less | 2 |
| Over 1 and up to 2 | 9 |
| Over 2 and up to 3 | 8 |
| Over 3 and up to 4 | 3 |
| Over 4 and up to 5 | 3 |
| Over 5 and up to 6 | 5 |
| Over 6 and up to 7 | 2 |
| Over 7 and up to 8 | 1 |
| Over 8 and up to 9 | 4 |
| Over 9 and up to 13 | 13 |
| Over 13 and up to 26 | 34 |
| Over 26 and up to 39 | 25 |
| Over 39 and up to 52 | 16 |
| Over 52 | 74 |
| TOTAL | 199 |
asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many school leavers are now registered as unemployed in the Macclesfield and Congleton area; and how this figure compares with the figures for the same period in each year since 1970.
Following is the information:
| Unemployed school-leavers aged under 18: Macclesfield and Congleton Employment Office areas | |
| 14th July 1975 | 62 |
| 8th July 1974 | 4 |
| 9th July 1973 | 6 |
| 10th July 1972 | 8 |
| 12th July 1971 | 3 |
| 13th July 1970 | 12 |
asked the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to assist the prospects of school leavers in the North-West Region, with particular reference to the area covered by the Macclesfield constituency.
The main responsibility for helping school leavers to find employment rests with the careers service provided by local education authorities and, as announced by my right hon. Friend on 24th July—[Vol. 896, c. 782–3]—funds have been made available for the strengthening of these services.
Employment prospects for school leavers in the North-West Region, as elsewhere, will be helped by the special training measures introduced by the Manpower Services Commisson, acting through the Training Services Agency and the industrial training boards. The Engineering ITB has already provided for 740 extra training places on first-year apprenticeship courses in the region; and the Training Services Agency is arranging special short industrial training courses for young people, 28 of which are now available in the North-West. If necessary, more will be provided where-ever suitable training facilities are available.
The outlook for school leavers is more favourable in Macclesfield than in most other parts of the region. It is estimated that just under 800 young people left school to seek employment this summer and already over half of these are understood to have obtained offers of employment.