To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report a detailed breakdown of skill shortages on both a regional and a national basis.

The detailed information is not available as requested. However similar information on the manufacturing and construction industries is reported in the Training Commission's skills monitoring report for February 1988 which is available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if his Department is carrying out any studies into skill shortages found by small businesses in East Anglia concerning (a) recruitment of school leavers, (b) trainee and apprentice pay level, (c) recruitment of skilled labour, and (d) of management training; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer Thursday 30 June 1988]: No studies are proceeding in the form suggested.The Training Commission's computer-assisted local labour market information system is already used to analyse information relevant to local employers' needs for training in East Anglia as elsewhere. Information is collected from a wide range of employers, including small businesses.