asked the Paymaster General what is the number of people living in (a) Lancashire, (b) Greater Manchester, (c) Merseyside and (d) Cheshire who have never worked since leaving school.

The following information is in the Library. The table shows the numbers of unemployed claimants in the counties of Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire of all ages who had not had a job since leaving full-time education, as at 8 January 1987, together with those aged under 18 years.

asked the Paymaster General (1) if he will give the total numbers of men and women employed in Yorkshire and Humberside, South Yorkshire and Barnsley travel-to-work area in 1979, and each succeeding year to date;(2) what is the up-to-date average unemployment figure for each of the travel-to-work areas in the United Kingdom, specifying the male, female, long-term unemployed and youth unemployed, separately.

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Paymaster General what assumption is made for the purposes of compiling his Department's estimates of the number of employees in employment of the number of YTS trainees with contracts of employment.

None. Employers are instructed to include, but not separately identify, only those YTS trainees with contracts of employment in completing the statistical returns from which the employees in employment series is derived.

asked the Paymaster General if he will give the total number of men and women employed in Yorkshire, Humberside, South Yorkshire and the Sheffield travel-to-work area in 1979 and each succeeding year to date.

I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.