To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what have been the numbers on employment training and youth training schemes in Scotland in each of the past five years.

[holding answer 11 February 1992]: The information requested is set out in the table.

Employment training and youth training scheme/youth training in training in Scotland 1987 to 1991
Date	Employment training	YTS/Youth training
March 1987	1—	38,000
March 1988	1—	46,000
March 1989	21,200	49,800
March 1990	26,400	45,100
March 1991	25,200	237,000
1 Not collected—employment training programme did not start until September 1988.
2 Excludes figures for the national providers unit provision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has about the financial contribution of employers to youth training and employment training.

[holding answer 11 February 1992]: My right hon. Friend does not seek to obtain detailed information about financial contributions made by employers, either in money or in kind, to the youth training or employment training programmes. It is in the interest of employers to contribute towards training costs and they are encouraged by local enterprise companies to do so. Furthermore, local enterprise companies work to maximise employer contributions through their contracts with providers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many people in Scotland are currently on youth training and employment training schemes;(2) if he will make a statement on the arrangements made for the independent national monitoring of the quality of youth training and employment training schemes;(3) how many people on youth training and employment training schemes in Scotland have employee status.

[holding answer 11 February 1992]: In Scotland responsibility for monitoring the delivery of youth training and employment training rests with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. I have asked the chairmen of these two bodies to write to the hon. Member with the information that he has requested about the numbers and status of people on the youth training and employment training schemes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of (a) persons aged 16 years and (b) persons aged 17 years who are on youth training schemes are classified as special needs trainees; and how the numbers and percentages have changed in the years that youth training has been in operation.

[holding answer 20 December 1991]: For years 1986–87 to 1989–90 it is not possible to identify precisely by age the numbers and percentages of trainees with special training needs in Scotland. However, it is possible to identify the numbers of trainees in respect of which payments to providers were made at rates equivalent to special training needs rates. These numbers will include some payments made in respect of trainees who did not have special training needs and will contain instances of double counting. On this basis for each of the years the estimated number and proportion of trainees for whom payments at special training needs rates were made are:

	Trainees aged 16 years		Trainees aged 17 years
	Estimated number	Per cent.	Estimated number	Per cent.
1986–97	105	0·4	56	1·0
1987–88	117	0·5	61	1·1
1988–89	167	0·7	94	1·2
1989–90	1,403	6·7	364	5·7

No information is available about payments made to providers in respect of trainees with special training needs in 1990–91; and Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise do not collect data on special needs trainees broken down by age. That information will therefore not be available for 1991–92 and later years.Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise are required to collect data on the total number of trainees with special needs. The proportion of Youth Training starts by trainees who have special training needs which are expected this year, and the targets which have been set for 1992–93, are as follows:

	1991–92 (per cent.)	1992–93 (per cent.)
Scottish Enterprise	19	20
Highlands and Islands Enterprise	21	21

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many youth training placements in electrical and electronic engineering in Scotland went (a) to young men and (b) to young women; and if he will provide comparable figures for health, community and personal services placements.

I regret that this information is not available.