asked the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to the statement of the Under-Secretary of State for Industry concerning the average unemployment rates of all intermediate areas remaining in existence after August, Official Report, 22 April, c. 519–20, if he will publish in the Official Report a table giving the latest available annual rate of unemployment for each travel-to-work area which will remain an intermediate area after 1982, and the average annual rate thereof, and for each of the Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley, Nelson and Rossendale travel-to-work areas.

[pursuant to his reply, 5 May 1982, c. 70–71.]: The travel-to-work areas with intermediate area status designated to retain that status after August 1982 were listed in the September 1979 issue of the Department of Employment Gazette although a few revisions were made subsequently. Table 1 gives annual average unemployment rates for 1981 for these area, Table 2 gives corresponding rates for the Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley, Nelson and Rossendale travel-to-areas.