asked the Minister of Labour how many unemployed disabled persons were registering at Blaydon-on-Tyne employment exchange in June, 1963; and how this compares with the figures for June last year.

There were 97 disabled persons registered as unemployed on 10th June, 1963, the same number as on 18th June, 1962.

Does not the Parliamentary Secretary appreciate that this tragedy is likely to get worse because of the declining basic industries and seasonal factors? Does he not also appreciate how these disabled persons have to try to exist on a miserable dole? What steps is he prepared to take to provide suitable employment for the disabled, especially to deal with the long-term problem?

Everyone in the House would accept what the hon. Member says about the importance of the problem which he has raised. From what he has said, I think that he would also accept that the employment difficulties experienced by disabled persons are an integral part of the general employment problem on Tyneside. Therefore, the measures which the Government are taking to improve that position are bound also to help the disabled.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps he is taking to provide a training centre in Blaydon-on-Tyne for unemployed juveniles.

My right hon. Friend is not proposing to set up a training centre for unemployed juveniles at Blaydon, although he is enlarging the facilities of the centre at Felling for the training of first year apprentices.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware of the high rate of juvenile unemployment throughout the Blaydon Parliamentary division? Is he further aware that on present indications there is a substantial risk of more juveniles being unable to get employment? Does he not agree that there should be close liaison with education authorities on matters such as pre-industrial training and that if the plans of the National Economic Development Council are to be carried into effect, increased training on that scale is vital?

I would agree at once that the closest liaison possible should be maintained with the education authorities, and that certainly is the case. I think that the N.E.D.C. Report has shown how valuable will be the Government's proposals in the White Paper on Industrial Training. We hope to convert these proposals into action soon.

asked the Minister of Labour when he hopes to be able to de-casualise dock labour in the United Kingdom.

It is the declared objective or the National Joint Council for the Port Transport Industry, which I strongly support to achieve further decasualisation of the dock labour force at the earliest possible date. The Council has called upon local port committees to prepare plans to this end on the basis of principles agreed by the Council. Discussions are at present proceeding between the employers and union representatives in most of the major ports and have reached an advanced stage in the Port of London. Complex problems are involved in translating the general principles agreed by the Council into practical measures which have regard to the varying circumstances in the ports. I am hopeful, however, that agreement in London will not be long delayed and that rapid progress will be achieved in the other ports. I am keeping in close touch with representatives of both sides of the Council.

I thank my right hon. Friend for his interest in this matter. Can he speed up conclusions, because this system is degrading in the second half of the twentieth century and brings with it all the evils of insecurity?

My hon. Friend knows what I feel about this subject. I am doing all in my power to see that concrete proposals are brought forward, and I hope that a conclusion for London will not be too long delayed.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will take steps to expand the Youth Employment Service so as to provide comprehensive vocational guidance for young people entering employment, and to ensure that it may continue to be available during their first few years at work.

The Service already offers vocational guidance and help to all young people up to the age of 18 or over 18 if still at school; and staffing levels are kept under regular review by the Central Youth Employment Executive. I do not think it appropriate to extend the scope of the Service beyond these age limits.

Would the Minister agree that a number of young people try one job and then want to change to another and that they would benefit from advice during the early years of their working life? Should it not be his objective to convert this excellent service into something which provides for longer and more comprehensive training of young people in industry so that it can become a full-scale vocational guidance service?

What we want to do now is to improve the quality of the service for school leavers and those under 18 rather than to extend its scope. The hon. Member will realise what a great strain the service is working under, particularly in dealing with the bulge. It is our intention to improve the quality of the whole service; in particular the quality of the vocational guidance given.

Will my right hon. Friend look particularly at youth employment liaison between one area and another to improve the links between youth employment officers in areas of high unemployment and those where unemployment is not so high?

I think my hon. Friend is right. This is exactly what I have in mind in trying to improve the quality of the existing service.

asked the Minister of Labour how many retired officers from the Services are now on his Department's books; and how many have been on them for six months or more.

At 31st March last 645 retired Regular officers were registered as unemployed, 322 of them for six months or more.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that—as these figures seem to indicate—retirement becomes a very anxious time for many officers because it is necessary for them then to find a job and they find that difficult on account of Service experience? Will he try to help them a little more in one way or another?

I shall try to help, but we have to look at this matter in perspective. I think my hon. Friend realises that since 1957 18,600 retired officers have registered with the Ministry of Labour. We have to keep in mind exactly how much has been achieved in placing the balance in employment. Of course, we must try to continue to help as much as we can, but, with the background I have given, I think my hon. Friend may see that the situation is not so bad as he thought.

asked the Minister of Labour how many unemployed boys and girls there now are in the Northern Region; how many there were on the same date last year; and how many have been placed in training schemes established by Her Majesty's Government in the course of the past year.

On 10th June, 6,505 boys and girls were unemployed compared with 3,694 a year ago. Since June, 1962, 60 boys have commenced training in first-year apprenticeship courses at Government training centres. I understand that some 960 young people are also attending full-time first year apprenticeship courses or pre-apprenticeship courses at technical colleges in the region. The proportion of boys in the region entering apprenticeships continues to be well above the national average.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that those places will cope with less than one-third of the rise in unemployment since this time last year? Is he aware that the situation is now so serious that emergency Government training and employment schemes are required? Is he aware that the kind of reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon (Mr. Woof) simply will not do? Is he aware that, for example, in Middles rough alone 1,050 school leavers are joining the 600 already unemployed and the average period of unemployment that a young person can expect on Tees-side today is two terms before he gets a job?

I do not think the hon. Member would expect me to agree that any answer I make personally will not do, but he has done me the courtesy of writing a letter, asking for a full report on this, and I shall certainly give it to him.

In view of the large number of young people who will be requiring a job in the near future, will my hon. Friend consider a request—or even an exhortation—to employers and trade unions in the area to combine together to take on supernumary apprentices to deal with this very human problem?

My right hon. Friend will be very pleased to respond to that.

asked the Minister of Labour how many youths and girls were registered as unemployed in the burghs of Clydebank and Kirkintilloch, respectively, at the latest available date; and what steps he is taking to place young people into suitable employment.

On 10th June, 86 in Clydebank and 30 in Kirkintilioch. The Youth Employment Service is doing all it can to find suitable jobs for the young people.

Does the hon. Gentleman appreciate that in the Burgh of Kirkintilloch particularly, where there is an overspill agreement with Glasgow, this is likely to be added to considerably during the latter part of 1963? Will he do all he can to encourage employers to take on more apprentices?

I accept what the hon. Member says. I think we have reason for some modest encouragement in that there were 361 school leavers in Clydebank and Kirkintilloch at Easter and of these only seven were still registered, for first employment in June.

asked the Minister of Labour how many men and women are registered as unemployed in the Burghs of Clydebank and Kirkintilloch, respectively.

On 10th June, 1,425 men and 334 women at the Clydebank Employment Exchange and 312 men and 182 women at the Kirkintilloch Exchange.

This is far more serious; it is very serious indeed. Development is taking place in both burghs to reduce the labour force in respective industries, for instance, Singers at Clydebank. Will the hon. Gentleman keep in touch with other Departments of State, particularly the Board of Trade, to see what can be done to require industry to settle in Clydebank by getting a factory there which could employ the enormous surplus of labour?

There is some satisfaction in the fact that, although the figures are higher than they were a year ago, they have fallen since last month. There is also encouragement in the measures being taken to improve the position. I shall see that the particular point made by the hon. Member is brought to the attention of my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade.

asked the Minister of Labour if the fair wages agreement, which requires recognition of trades unions, applies to firms contracting with nationalised industries and services in the same way as is the case with Government Departments.

The Fair Wages Resolution applies only to contracts placed by Government Departments. I understand that it is the general practice of the nationalised industries to include clauses based on the resolution in their contracts. The resolution requires Government contractors to recognise the freedom of their employees to be members of trade unions. It does not require them to recognise trade unions.

If Government Departments require the liberty of trade union membership and recognition, should this not also apply to nationalised industries and public services? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that I have particularly in mind the firm of Securicor which has dismissed its trade union members at Slough, whose case I raised in this House on 18th December? As reported in columns 1078–9 of that date, the First Secretary of State gave my right hon. Friend the Member for Belper (Mr. G. Brown) and me assurances that trade union membership and recognition would be allowed. Is the Minister aware that these men are still victimised? Will he do something about it?

I remember well the case the hon. Member has referred to, but I think he also knows that the company has given a categorical assurance that it has not dismissed employees for the reason that they are trade union members

It dismissed them all.

I have received categorical assurances that this is not so. This is the difference between the hon. Member and myself. As to compelling a particular company to negotiate with trade unions, that is not laid down in the Fair Wages Resolution.

As there appears to be a conflict of opinion and evidence between my hon. Friend the Member for Eton and Slough (Mr. Brockway) and the Minister on this important and serious matter, will the Minister give an assurance that he will take immediate steps to look into it?

I can assure the hon. Member that I have looked very carefully into this. I looked very carefully into it when I answered Questions about it some time ago, and I naturally checked on what I have said here today. I have been fully informed on it and made the statement on that basis.

In view of the unsatisfactory reply, I beg to give notice that I shall raise this matter on the Adjournment at the first opportunity.

asked the Minister of Labour what instructions he has given to deal with redundancies at Swindon British Railways workshops which will affect boiler makers for whom other local employment is not available; and what discussions he has had with the men's trade union and the British Railways Board.

The full facilities of my Department are being made available to workpeople of all trades. Forty of the boilermakers at present under notice have so far sought our help and have all been offered employment locally. I am hopeful that the prospects for the others will prove as good. I have had no discussions with the trade union, but I am in close touch with the Railways Board.

I am grateful for anything the Minister can do. What kind of jobs have these men been offered? Secondly, is the Minister aware that these boilermakers have all been under the impression that their jobs were safe for at least another 12 months? When they got the news in the middle of June that they would be redundant it was a great personal shock to them.

In reply to the latter part of that supplementary question, there has been no variation in the scheme announced for the run-down at Swindon. In reply to the first part, these men will be employed on general engineering work, including machine operating and, possibly, panel beating. Probably the hon. Member knows the two firms which will be largely responsible for giving them employment.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that I have a similar problem in Bromsgrove at a wagon works there, and that Sir Stewart Mitchell has been extremely good over the whole matter in that he has given every encouragement to these men to find other jobs and has endeavoured to ensure that they do not lose the benefits which they would have received from the railways if they had stayed with them for the full term?

It is true that the Railways Board are doing all they can to give as much prior notice as possible to men who will become redundant. A newspaper report, which the hon. Member for Swindon (Mr. F. Noel-Baker) has probably seen, gave a slightly wrong impression—namely, that people were given notice to terminate rather earlier than would normally have been the case. In fact, the redundancy will not take place before the time originally planned.

asked the Minister of Labour how many men are being trained in all Government retraining centres; and what proportion of them are training in the skills of building.

On 10th June, 1963, which is the latest date for which figures are available, 1,998 men were attending Government training centres of whom 89 were being trained in building skills.

A figure of 89 out of 1,900 does not coincide with the hopes expressed by the right hon. Gentleman on 8th April as reported in column 931 of HANSARD. Why is this so?

We have been proceeding on the basis of providing very little training in the building trade until my new programme for extending adult retraining becomes effective. The reason is that there was considerable union opposition to it.

Is it the Government's intention to expand training for skilled jobs in the building industry in their new programme of expanding Government training centres? Can the Minister give any estimate of the figures and when some of these courses will start?

I hope that when the full programme has been achieved we shall provide about 1,250 places for training in the skilled trades of the building industry. That will allow for an output of about 2,500 people to be trained in one year.

asked the Minister of Labour how many men are retraining at the Government centres at Motherwell, Dunfermline, Glasgow, Dumbarton, Irvine and Greenock, respectively; and how many of these are being trained annually in skilled building trades.

None of these centres is yet open, but those at Dunfermline and Motherwell are expected to be ready for occupation by September next. When in operation the six centres will be capable of training up to about 450 men per year for employment in the building industry.

Should not facilities be dramatically extended above 450 in the light of the argument by the Secretary of State for Scotland that the unsatisfactory house-building rate in Scotland is due to bottlenecks in building?

As the hon. Member will realise from my Answer to his earlier Question, this is a very considerable increase in the training arrangements for people in skilled trades in the building industry. We may wish to extend it as time goes on, but it is a very marked increase on what has hitherto been done. Up to now we have had a great deal of objection from the unions.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will make a statement on the progress of his consultations with trade unions and employers' organisations arising from the White Paper on Industrial Training; and when he expects to introduce legislation on this subject.

Consultations with the British Employers Confederation and the T.U.C. have enabled good progress to be made in preparing draft legislation. These consultations are to continue and discussions are also taking place with other industrial organisations and with employers' and workers' associations in individual industries. I hope to introduce legislation as soon as the Parliamentary programme permits.

On the latter part of the Minister's reply, would he agree to make a more detailed announcement as soon as he can, giving as much information as he can? Will he bear in mind that certain problems arise in industry because of the uncertainty of the timetable? Does he agree that unfortunately some employers are holding back their own training plans and waiting to see what the Government will produce? Therefore, the sooner the Minister can make a definite pronouncement on the timetable the better.

I share the hon. Gentleman's eagerness to have this Measure on the Statute Book. It will not be any fault of mine if it is unduly delayed. I obviously cannot say more on timing than I have said at the moment. As to employers who are holding back, I have already said in the House how foolish and wrong they are to take this attitude.

Does the Minister realise that this White Paper on Industrial Training is particularly relevant to places where there are industries involving high technical skills, such as Aberdeen with its shipyards and engineering shops? Will he say what advice he has sought from the local trade unions about local conditions relevant to the White Paper?

I am in full accord with the hon. and learned Gentleman's view about the importance of Aberdeen. However, he must realise that this is a national scheme and other Members of the House may think there are other places just as important as Aberdeen. That is not a subject on which I should like to have a debate. I can assure the hon. and learned Gentleman that we are discussing with both sides of industry and with individual industries how to implement the proposals put forward in the White Paper.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will have regard to the part-time courses already provided in technical colleges when inaugurating training courses envisaged in the White Paper on industrial training.

I have every hope that the training boards to be set up under the White Paper proposals will want to take full advantage of courses provided in technical colleges.

Will the Minister see that wasteful competition and duplication of services are prevented, if at all possible? With this type of training, is it the intention to train, for example, redundant railway men, redundant steel workers, and redundant workers about to lose their craft work because of the technological revolution that has taken place in this country, so that they may be fitted into some other craft, and given employment?

Retraining will certainly come within the scope of these boards. In reply to the first part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question, one of the jobs of the boards will be to co-ordinate activity. There will be representatives of education as well as of both sides of industry represented on the boards and I hope that the sort of duplication and waste that the hon. Gentleman has in mind will be avoided.

asked the Minister of Labour how many men and women, respectively, were wholly unemployed, and how many were unemployed on at least one day a week, in the Rotherham Employment Exchange area at the latest available date.

739 men and 147 women were wholly unemployed on 10th June and 496 men and 12 women registered as temporarily stopped on at least one day in that week.

Would not the Parliamentary Secretary regard these figures as being extremely unsatisfactory? Is he aware that as a result of short-time working and under-employment in the Rotherham area the pay packets have dropped, it has been estimated, by as much as £2 a week in the last twelve months? What consideration has the Minister given to the implications of technological unemployment? Will he consider this as a matter of urgency so that unemployment and technical change do not go along as concomitants as they are at the moment?

What the hon. Member said about technological advance is extremely important and I respond to it in that spirit. What he said about the position in Rotherham should be seen against the background of the fact that the unemployment rate there at present is 2·2 per cent. It is right to see it against that background.

asked the Minister of Labour how many boys and girls are at present unemployed in Rotherham; how many are expected to leave school in July; and how many school-leavers it is expected will be found jobs.

Altogether, 144 boys and girls were unemployed on 10th June. It is expected that about 580 will leave school in July. Although the placing of the summer leavers may take a little time, we are hopeful that they will obtain employment without too great difficulty. The Youth Employment Service will do all it can to help them.

Does not the Parliamentary Secretary find this an unsatisfactory situation? Is he aware that the Youth Employment Service in Rotherham is finding, and has found in the last 18 months, increasing difficulty in finding jobs for these people who are unemployed? Will he take positive steps once again to see that the reduction in demand for young labour through technological change, particularly for young people of lower educational attainments, does not continue and that the situation is improved in the near future?

I must again put the matter in fair perspective. I accept some of what the hon. Member said, but the truth is that, although there were 334 Easter school leavers, the number still registered for first employment in mid-June was 33. This shows that considerable progress has been made.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the rate of unemployment at the employment exchanges of Coatbridge, Airdrie and Wishaw, at the latest available date and at the same time last year.

Separate percentage rates are not available for these offices but the rate for the north Lanarkshire travel-to-work group, of which they form part, was 7·4 on 10th June compared with 5·7 in June, 1962.

First, is the Minister aware that it is highly unsatisfactory that we cannot get separate figures for unemployment in such a wide area an Lanarkshire? Secondly, is he aware that these figures show very clearly indeed the great problems which are facing our people in these three areas? Will he do everything possible to bring to the notice of his right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade, in deciding where the new industrial estates must go, that these two areas—Airdrie-Coatbridge and Wishaw—are the two areas which have been worse neglected by the President of the Board of Trade in giving any new industry in the last 12 years?

May I answer the three points in turn? The first concerned giving percentages for particular areas. I feel that this problem should be appreciated: if people travel from their home area to work they are counted as employees in the area where they work, but when they become unemployed they tend to register at the exchange nearest their home. This makes it difficult to calculate a percentage for a single exchange area where there is considerable travel-to-work, I am sure that the hon. Lady accepts that this is the case in north Lanarkshire, and from my own knowledge of the area I know that it is the case. It would be quite unrealistic to give separate percentage figures.

The Minister has missed the whole point of my supplementary question. As long as he refuses to give the separate figures and his right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade does not know where the highest unemployment in this very wide county is situated, how can the President of the Board of Trade decide fairly where this new industrial estate should go?

I note the hon. Lady's point, but surely, in an area where there is substantial travel-to-work, it would be right to place any industrial estate in a position where it would draw people for employment from all over the area. After all, this is the purpose of it.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the insured population in the area covered by Shotts Employment Exchange in the month of June in each of the years 1951, 1961 and 1963.

The estimated number of employees was 9,443 in 1951 and 6,544 in 1961; I regret that the figure for 1963 is not yet available.

Surely the Minister must agree from the two figures which have been given that there has been a great fall in the number of insured workers in this area? Is he also aware that this is due to the fact that every colliery in the area has closed and that 12 years of the Tory Government have failed to provide employment in their own area for people who would like to live in an area which is famed in Scotland for its community spirit and its worth-while ness?

From close personal interest in and knowledge of the area I can certainly agree with the last point which the hon. Lady made. She referred to the fall in the number employed. It is fair to remember that nearly two-thirds of this has taken place in coal mining, where there have been special difficulties, ft is also fair to give credit where it is due in this matter—and that is to the National Coal Board. For example, since 1962 530 miners of the 839 affected by closures have been found work elsewhere.

asked the Minister of Labour what information he has from his factory inspectors as to whether the provision of a supply of clean running hot and cold or warm water is now available in all factories.

The experience of the Factory Inspectorate is that compliance with this requirements of the Factories Act, 1961, is generally satisfactory.

In view of the importance of this requirement in preventing industrial dermatitis, will the Minister watch the situation and ensure that there is no falling off in compliance with this provision?

I certainly give that undertaking to the hon. Gentleman.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the increasing number of complex chemical substances used in industry which cause irritation of the skin, he will make industrial dermatitis a notifiable disease, and issue a code of preventive practice embodied in regulations.

My Department receives comprehensive information about cases of industrial dermatitis giving rise to successful claims for industrial injuries benefit. Statutory requirements providing safeguards against dermatitis risks are included in the Factories Act and in particular Codes of Regulations. These are supplemented by detailed guidance of preventive measures given in advisory publications issued by my Department. I think that these measures offer the most practical way of providing safeguards against the incidence of this disease.

Is it not fair to say that, because of the complexity of the substances which are now in use and which are coming into use, the number of cases of industrial dermatitis tends to rise and that the consequent loss of productivity, loss of wages and suffering are very serious matters indeed? Does the Minister agree that at least one thing would help, namely, compulsory notification so that the right hon. Gentleman himself and the Factory Inspectorate would know just what the situation is?

I agree with the hon. Gentleman about the seriousness of this disease and its high incidence in industry. As the hon. Gentleman will admit, many things cause dermatitis. Some of the precautions advised, such as the maintenance of a high standard of personal hygiene, cannot be suitably imposed as statutory requirements. Therefore, we must draw a line as to where we can have compulsory codes of regulations and where we have to appeal to commonsense. I will certainly study what the hon. Gentleman has said.

Is it not true that many new chemical substances are constantly changing and different compositions are being used? Has not the time now arrived for his Department and the Ministry of Health to keep a watch on new substances and study their effect on health? Is not this the time to review the situation in regard to compulsory notification?

I assure the hon. Lady that we are constantly studying the problem. What she says is right: as new inventions come along, we get new complications. I do not think that anything that has been said today necessarily proves that we should take more compulsory action than we are taking at the moment.

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons were at the latest available date registered unemployed at the Brook Green, Edgware Road, Hackney and Holloway exchanges; and what were the corresponding figures last year.

As the Answer contains a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate the information in the Official Report.

Would the Parliamentary Secretary at least give the total figures for these four exchanges last year and this year?

If I were to do that, I should be giving exactly what I shall give the hon. Gentleman in the Official Report. I will give one as an example. The figures for Brook Green are as follows: 2,892 in 1963 and 2,854 in 1962. The other figures are correspond-dingly all slightly higher than last year.

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons were registered as unemployed at the Brixton ex- change at the latest available date; and what was the corresponding figure last year.

Two thousand six hundred and one on 10th June and 2,437 in June, 1962.

Will the Parliamentary Secretary bring these dismal figures to the notice of the Colonial Secretary, who recently told the people of Malta that there were tens of thousands of vacant jobs in the south of England, which is certainly not true of the London area, where unemployment and housing shortages would certainly be aggravated if the people of Malta were so foolish as to follow the Colonial Secretary's advice?

Whatever the hon. Gentleman may say, there is no doubt that in certain trades and in certain parts of London and the South-East there are vacant jobs which cannot be filled.

asked the Minister of Labour how many redundancies among workers in Glasgow have been reported to his Department over the year up to the latest convenient date.

asked the Minister of Labour how many redundancies among workers in Lanarkshire have been reported, to his Department over the year up to the latest convenient date.

asked the Minister of Labour how many redundancies among workers in Fife have been reported to his Department over the year up to the latest convenient date.

asked the Minister of Labour how many redundancies among workers in Dunbartonshire have been reported to his Department over the year up to the latest convenient date.

asked the Minister of Labour how many redundancies among workers in Renfrewshire have been reported to his Department over the year up to the latest convenient date.

In the 12 months ending mid-June, 1963, 202 redundancies were reported in Glasgow, 66 in Lanarkshire, 32 in Fife, 20 in Dunbartonshire, and 53 in Renfrewshire affecting 10,169, 3,285, 2,378, 923 and 2,252 workers, respectively.

Do not these figures show that it is a waste of time for skilled men to put themselves on to the Ministry of Labour's books? There have been 202 redundancies in my constituency. Within the last fortnight another closure in the shipbuilding industry has been announced. Consequently, there will be more redundancies to add to the figure of 202. This is an inexcusable waste of skilled manpower in the Glasgow area. Surely the Government have some plan to cope with this problem. These men do not serve their time merely to become ciphers on the Ministry's books.

I think that the hon. Gentleman misunderstood my Answer. I said that 202 cases of redundancy were reported, affecting 10,169 people in the Glasgow area.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that hon. Members on both sides of the House find it difficult to understand a long series of figures such as he has just given? As these were separate Questions, why could we not have been given separate information? Will the Minister bear in mind that those figures represent jobs that have disappeared? This is not merely unemployment. These jobs have disappeared. Does the Minister agree that, according to the information available, the number of jobs disappearing exceeds the number of new jobs appearing?

I thought it only right to try to answer the Questions in the way I did, not from any desire to be discourteous to individual Members of the House, but because there were a large number of Questions on the Order Paper. I thought it would probably suit the convenience of the House if I answered them in that way.

Is the Minister aware that to talk in terms of one or two new factories here or there will not solve this problem because the number of new jobs which, we hope, will be provided will not make up for the number of workers who are receiving redundancy notices? Is he aware, for example, that at the end of this week 750 of my constituents will be out of work because of the closure of the local linoleum factory? Will he treat this matter as one of great urgency and urge his local officers to deal with those who will become unemployed at the end of this week with special consideration and expedition?

I will certainly do all I can, and I am sure that my officers will do the same. As the hon. Member and the House knows, for I have said this repeatedly, there is no short cut to the solving of Scotland's unemployment problems. They can be solved only by the provision of more new jobs and this is the aim to which the Government are committed.

Would the right hon. Gentleman repeat, for my benefit, the Dunbartonshire figures?

Twenty in Dunbartonshire, affecting 923 workers.

Does the right hon. Gentleman not realise, arising out of these questions, that we are now being faced more and more with a quite new problem relating to unemployment; namely, unemployment which is attributable in the main to mechanical and technological changes? Would it be possible for the Minister to institute inquiries in order to provide clear figures to show the number of persons who have been thrown out of work during, say. the last twelve months, through technological change and rationalisation, and those who have been made unemployed as a result of ordinary trade recessions?

I will see if that can be done. The right hon. Gentleman is correct in saying that a part of these figures for redundancy is due to what he describes as technological change. However, I am sure that he will also agree that another part of them is due to the fact that certain of our older industries are contracting in size.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the increase in the number of male insured employees from mid-1959 to the latest available date in Great Britain and in Scotland, respectively.

The number of male employees, employed and unemployed, rose by 450,000 in Great Britain from mid-1959 to mid-1962 and by 3,000 in Scotland.

Is the Minister aware of the differential which is shown in those figures, and should not something be done, having regard to the total of insured employees, to create more job opportunities in Scotland?

As I have said, I think that we are all resolved in this House to see that more new jobs are provided in areas of high unemployment, that is in Scotland, the North-East and else-where. The actions of the Government are geared to achieve that objective.

Can the Minister give any idea of the number of people who have had to leave Scotland, apart from those registered as unemployed in Scotland, during this period?

I would be grateful if the right hon. Gentleman would put down that Question. It is not easy to give accurate figures of this sort but, if he will table a Question seeking the information, I will probably be able to give him some statistics which will be of assistance to him.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the increase in the number of female insured employees from mid-1959 to the latest available date in Great Britain and in Scotland, respectively.

The number of female employees, employed and unemployed, rose by 480,000 in Great Britain from mid-1959 to mid-1962 and by 35,000 in Scotland.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that many female school leavers in Fife have managed to secure employment this summer only by travelling to the North of Scotland and taking jobs in the hotel industry? What steps does the Minister propose to take to ensure that there will be employment in Fife for these girls when they return at the end of the holiday season?

Fife is one of the areas which I hope will benefit from the plans the Government have set in being. I think that there is some comfort to be gained from the fact that there is less disparity between the increase in the number of female employees in Scotland and in Great Britain as a whole than that for males.

Is the Minister happy in the knowledge that young girls aged 16 are having to leave their mining villages and seek work in the Isle of Man and elsewhere? Should he not be doing something more to find work for these young people in their own home towns so that, at these young ages, their parents can exercise some influence over them?

I can assure the hon. Lady that I shall never be satisfied with this sort of happening. It is to ensuring that more local employment is made available in areas of high unemployment that the actions of the Government are being directed.

asked the Minister of Labour when he proposes to publish the 1961 Annual Report of his Department.

The hon. Member and the House will recall that in December, 1961, I announced that the publication of the Ministry's Annual Report was to cease.

I must confess that I do not remember that statement having been made. Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the feeling I had when I looked for this document was that the Ministry was too ashamed to publish this Report? Since we are all anxious for this kind of information to be supplied, particularly hon. Members who represent Scottish constituencies—so that we may know something about what the right hon. Gentleman's Department is doing, how it is behaving and what it is achieving—will the Minister consider this matter afresh and, perhaps, publish these Reports again?

When I made my announcement I think it was agreed that it was a sensible thing to do. The main topics previously covered in the Ministry's Annual Report have been dealt with in the Ministry of Labour Gazette. The hon. Member may also like to know that I am intending to make a report on the major trends in industrial relations at reasonable intervals. I am thinking of my responsibilities under the Conciliation Act and Section 13 of the Industrial Courts Act. I am considering making these major trends available from time to time, and it so happens that I think that the end of this year would be an appropriate time to publish these details. It will be seen, therefore, that the House will not be losing any information.

asked the Minister of Labour how many Scottish engineering craftsmen have been assisted under the Resettlement Transfer Scheme over the past three years to find employment in England.

In the three years ended 31st May last, the totals were 439, 220 and 147, respectively.

Would it not be much better to provide jobs in Scotland rather than to incur the expense associated with resettlement and bringing workers south of the Border?

There can be no doubt that it is the policy of the Government to increase growth in Scotland rather than to encourage emigration of this sort. However, I am sure that it will be agreed by many people that for many years Scotsmen have left Scotland to go to all parts of the world, with valuable results to those parts of the world as well as to Scotland.

asked the Minister of Labour how many workers from Scotland over the past three years have been assisted under the Resettlement Transfer Scheme to find employment in England.

In the three years ended 31st May last, the totals were 1,697, 1,244 and 505 respectively.

Does the fact that there has been a decrease mean that the situation in Scotland is so much better?

No, and the hon. Member knows that.

asked the Minister of Labour what proportion of his youth employment offices in Scotland reported difficulties in the placing of boys in suitable employment; and what advice he gave to those so reporting.

asked the Minister of Labour what proportion of his youth employment offices in Scotland reported difficulties in placing girls in suitable employment; and what advice he gave to those so reporting.

All youth employment offices in Scotland report regularly on the employment situation. Where there are particular difficulties in a specific area we are, of course, kept informed. In general, more difficulties have been reported in placing boys than girls. The position is kept under regular review by me and by my Scottish Youth Employment Advisory Committee.

What does the right hon. Gentleman mean by"kept under regular review", because the situation in regard to young people is getting worse and worse while the Government, according to the latest Report of the Estimates Committee on the Local Employment Act, are doing less and less? What does the right hon. Gentleman propose to do about it?

Of course, we want to do more, but I think that the hon. Member will agree that this matter must be kept in perspective. To say that the Government are doing nothing, which is what his remarks implied, is absolutely unfair. The hon. Member should know that out of 16,302 Easter school leavens the number of those unemployed has been reduced to 549. Our object is to get those 549 boys and girls into employment.

Will the right hon. Gentleman come to Scotland and see for himself?

In view of what has been said by my hon. Friends about unemployment generally in Scotland, particularly the remarks of my hon. Friend the Member far Lanarkshire, North (Miss Herbison) and my hon. Friend the Member for Kirkcaldy (Mr. Gourlay) about young girls being forced to leave their homes and seek work elsewhere, providing a constant worry to their parents, has the right hon. Gentleman nothing to say about what is to be done to reverse this trend and create more jobs in Scotland?

I cannot say more at the moment than I have already said to the hon. Member and his hon. Friends. The Government have embarked on a considerable programme of expansion and this will help towards solving the unemployment problem, which worries me as well as the hon. Member.

Is the Minister aware that his replies to my hon. Friends would be more convincing if it were not for the fact that for the first quarter of this year more industrial development certificates were issued for the Midlands than for the whole of Scotland? What is he doing to discuss this matter with the President of the Board of Trade in an effort to get this trend reversed?

This matter has certainly been brought to the attention of my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade. He will do all he can to further the policies of Her Majesty's Government to provide more employment in areas of high unemployment.

asked the Minister of Labour what plans he has to find employment for redundant railway workers in Scotland.

Arrangements are already being made at both local and regional level to make the full facilities of my Department available in advance of redundancy to all railway workers who seek our help.

I regard that as a very poor statement, because the facilities of the right hon. Gentleman's Department may continue to be made available but we are still not getting the additional jobs Scotland needs. Will the Minister get down to the problem of framing a blueprint of phased employment development to ensure that railway workers who become redundant in Scotland, and particularly in Airdrie, will find jobs available for them and not pie in the sky?

As I have already said, it is the object of Her Majesty's Government to provide more employment in Scotland. I hope that the hon. Gentleman is not trying to decry the work done by my Department, all of whose members are doing their very best in very difficult circumstances to look after people. As to the hon. Gentleman's general thesis, he will know that if the plan is implemented the reduction would be about 5,000 jobs. The anticipated wastage during this period is about 4,800 jobs. I cannot tell more precisely, nor can anyone else, what the actual redundancy is likely to be until these individual closure proposals are investigated by the Transport Users' Consultative Committee.

asked the Minister of Labour how many building trade workers are currently unemployed in Scotland; and what was the corresponding figure for last year.

At 10th June, 1963, 13,511 workers whose last employment was in the construction industry were unemployed in Scotland, compared with 10,723 a year earlier. For skilled building trade workers, the numbers wholly unemployed were 1,665 and 1,198 respectively.

How can the right hon. Gentleman explain the logic of an economic system in which Scotland has the worst housing position of the whole of Western Europe, with every local authority clamouring for more schools yet the Government refusing to let local authorities get on with the building, while at the same time we have thousands of building workers on the dole?

The answer is that we have to train more skilled building workers if the building industry in Scotland is to be able to cope with the very large programme of public investment—which, I hope, will be followed by private investment—in the whole sector of the Scottish economy. That is why I am producing a plan very considerably to increase the number of skilled workers to be trained for the building industry.

Does the Minister of Labour realise that many of these unemployed building workers are living in slum houses or overcrowded houses? If so, does he not think that there is something wrong in such a system?

The hon. Gentleman, who is very fair on these matters, will realise that we will not be able to get the unskilled workers employed until more skilled workers are available. This will be the problem.

How long has the Minister and his hon. Friend been in office?

The hon. Gentleman is well aware of that information without my having to give it to him.

asked the Minister of Labour how many Scottish building trade workers have been assisted under the Resettlement Transfer Scheme over the past three years to find employment in England.

In the three years ended 31st May last the totals were 57,33 and 29, respectively.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that in this respect I am becoming, like Alice in Wonderland,"curiouser and curiouser"? The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the Scottish Office has an ambitious programme of new schools, hospitals, industrial building, etc.; by what mental gymnastics does he intend to fulfil that programme while transferring workers to the South?

The hon. Gentleman should first of all appreciate that there is a very considerable programme of construction building work in Scotland. Secondly, it is very dangerous to generalise about figures of construction workers unemployed without breaking the figures down into trades. If hon. Members did that, they would find that already in Scotland there is, or is likely to be, a shortage of bricklayers. If there is a shortage of bricklayers, it is very difficult to employ many of the other skilled trades. It is because of that that my right hon. Friend is stepping up the training of skilled workers in order to cover all the trades concerned.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that he can go to any building site in London and find that half the bricklayers speak with a Scottish accent, and that if he would advise his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland to get on with building we could employ those bricklayers in Scotland?

I should not like to dispute with the hon. Gentleman who speaks with a Scottish accent and who does not. It still remains a fact that, if we are fully to employ all the skilled building workers there are in Scotland at present, we have to make sure that there is not a shortage in one of the particular trades concerned.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the total of unemployed in the North-East at the end of June; how this figure compares with that of 12 months ago; and what percentage rate it represents.

On 10th June—the latest date for which figures are available—the total was 52,480, or 4·5 per cent., compared with 39,121 or 3.4 per cent. on 18th June, 1962.

Can my right hon. Friend tell me how many of these people are likely to find jobs as a result of the Government's programme of bringing in new industry? Can I now ask my right hon. Friend in person whether he, as Minister of Labour, will issue an exhortation to employers and trade unions to take on supernumary apprentices to cope with the problem of school leavers which will come before us in the very near future?

My hon. Friend—and we work closely together—has already given that undertaking, and I will very willingly do so, too.

asked the Minister of Labour how many shipyard workers were employed in Govan in 1953 and in 1963.

There were 9,333 in May, 1953, and 5,581 in May, 1963.

Do not those figures awaken the hon. Gentleman and his right hon. Friend, and the Government, from the sleep in which they have been indulging? Can the hon. Gentleman say what is being done to try to do something for the tremendous number of persons who have been thrown out of work as the result of the decline of the shipbuilding industry in Govan?

The hon. Gentleman is very well aware of the £30 million scheme to help ship owners recently announced by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport to finance new orders. To that, there has been an encouraging response—

rose—

—and the hon. Gentle-had better remain in his place, because I have more to say. The industry must do all in its power to make itself competitive with foreign shipyards. My right hon. Friend has established a joint working party to work out practical proposals for improving the industry's relations and competitive ability. This working party is making progress though, my right hon. Friend must say, not as rapidly as the urgency of the situation demands.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary not aware that the £30 million scheme was only announced about a month ago, and that it has taken nearly ten years to accumulate those 4,000 unemployed in Govan? What was he doing before the £30 million scheme was introduced?

Much consideration has been given to improving the position of the shipyards, but the hon. Gentleman will be the first to appreciate that this is a worldwide problem of supply and demand.