To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of those applicants for unemployment benefit who were disqualified for any period were disqualified for the maximum 26 weeks under section 20 of the Social Security Act 1975 in each of the last five years (a) in Wales as a whole and (b) in each county or district in Wales.

Questions on operational matters in the Employment Service executive agency are the responsibility of Mike Fogden, the agency's chief executive, to whom I have referred this question for reply.