Mrs Shirley Williams: What about the hon. Gentleman's Government?
Mrs Shirley Williams: A quarter of European youth are unemployed. In the United Kingdom, the figure is even higher: 28 per cent. of our young people under the age of 25 are unemployed. Rather like the hon. Member for Flint, East (Mr. Jones), some of us represent areas where unemployment is above this level and are conscious that it does not matter how many jobs a young person applies for, he is not likely to get...
Mrs Shirley Williams: I am sorry, the right hon. Sir Ian Gilmour, in the book that he published this month called "Britain Can Work"—
Mrs Shirley Williams: I apologise, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I was referring to the right hon. Gentleman in his capacity as an author. If that is the best contribution that the hon. Member for Northampton, North (Mr. Marlow) can make to a serious debate, I am bound to say that it is a pretty pathetic one. In his book "Britain Can Work" which was published earlier this week, the right hon. Member for Chesharri and...
Mrs Shirley Williams: Will the Lord President consider planning time for a debate on political education in schools? A questionnaire on political education is being sent to London schools which, while unexceptionable in the sense that most of us want to see our children educated in democracy, is objectionable because the ILEA is dominated by one party. This is an urgent matter and I ask him to find time to enable...
Mrs Shirley Williams: Is the Minister aware that, compared with most industrial countries, we are cutting back on higher education? Can he justify the savage attacks on the technological universities, which one would think should be at the centre of our industrial recovery?
Mrs Shirley Williams: Is the Minister aware that grammar schools imply secondary modern schools and that very few parents would choose to send their children to secondary modern schools? Will the hon. Gentleman therefore stop using the term "parental choice", as it is meaningless to four fifths of parents in this country?
Mrs Shirley Williams: Will the Secretary of State distinguish between the Opposition parties? May I ask him, in the hope of wishing the scheme well, the following questions? Will the trainees be subject to military law? At the end of the training period, will the trainees have any special status? I ask that because I am sure the right hon. Gentleman will recognise that some of us are very concerned at the comments...
Mrs Shirley Williams: In the light of the disturbing indications from the National Economic Development Council about growth and employment prospects for the next part of this decade, will the Secretary of State seriously consider looking again at his Green Paper with a view to combining proposals for industrial democracy with the proposals for secret ballots that he took from my party and a proposal for an...
Mrs Shirley Williams: The new one.
Mrs Shirley Williams: Is the Minister aware that his enthusiasm and optimism are not shared in Scotland or Merseyside, where regional officers say that they do not expect to get sufficient mode A places? Secondly, is he aware that my local Conservative-controlled authority, Sefton, has announced that it expects to have to introduce a rescue attempt in the summer because its co-operation with the Manpower Services...
Mrs Shirley Williams: Will the Minister reconsider his disappointing answer to the question on unemployment benefit? Long-term supplementary benefit rates are not made available to the long-term unemployed, and the Government's advice that the unemployed should save their redundancy pay is made an ass of because those involved cannot draw benefit if they have saved their money. Therefore, will the hon. Gentleman...
Mrs Shirley Williams: asked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of young people who completed youth opportunities programme courses between one year and six months previously entered (a) full-time employment and (b) further education.
Mrs Shirley Williams: No. 8, Sir.
Mrs Shirley Williams: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I regret that I am completely unable to hear the Minister's reply owing to barracking from across the Floor.
Mrs Shirley Williams: Is the Minister aware that on 23 April 1979 the Prime Minister said in Darlington—[HON. MEMBERS: "Reading".]— We Tories believe in policies that will create real jobs—not just paying youngsters to do artificial jobs without a future". In view of the Prime Minister's remarks at Darlington, will the Minister now redeem the Prime Minister's promise by representing to his right hon. and...
Mrs Shirley Williams: I offer the Minister my contribution to a shrivelled bouquet to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Ardwick (Mr. Kaufman), who obviously single handedly sorted out the strike. Will the Minister ponder on the fact that the result of the settlement is not that there are no winners but that the country is to some extent the loser? Will he confirm that there has been a substantial...
Mrs Shirley Williams: In view of the Secretary of State's accountability to the House, why will he not give the names of the local education authorities involved? Secondly, will the scheme that he is now discussing include private schools?
Mrs Shirley Williams: Is not the Minister's answer incompatible with his Department's decision to cut back teacher training colleges with a religious base more severely than the usual teacher training colleges, and especially the De La Salle college, which is one of the few Roman Catholic colleges in the north-west?
Mrs Shirley Williams: Is the Prime Minister aware that the police support unit of the Greater London council is recommending a grant of £50,000 to the "Troops Out" movement? Will she, in an effort to improve Anglo-Irish relations, confirm that her Government have no intention of amending the Ireland Act 1949 to disfranchise Irish citizens resident in Britain?
