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(i) at any time between 22 May 1989 and 31 March 1990 a person is in receipt of income support but is not receiving housing benefit ; and

(ii) from April 1990 where a person is awarded income support but has not made a claim for community charge benefits.

Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has received a copy of the comparative training of clothing workers in Britain and West Germany by the National Insitute of Economic and Social Research ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Cope : My Department has received a copy of the National Institute Economic Review (No. 125, May 1989) in which the article "Productivity, Machinery and Skills : Clothing Manufacture in Britain and Germany" appears.

The article points to long standing differences between the training arrangements adopted in Britain and Germany and warrants careful consideration by the industry. In doing so they will be aware of the considerable progress made in recent years, notably through the introduction of two-year YTS and the "Clothing Skill Awards" accredited by the National Council for Vocational Qualifications in 1988.

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YTS (Teachers)

Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many teachers are involved in full-time YTS and in what capacities ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Cope : There are no statistics on the full-time involvement of teachers in YTS. Scheme staff frequently have teaching qualifications, and teachers are often employed in delivery of off-the-job training.

To promote closer co-operation and understanding between teachers and trainers, the Training Agency has run two successful pilot schemes under which 78 teachers were seconded to YTS managing agents for periods of up to 16 weeks. Consideration is being given to the introduction of a national scheme of short duration secondments.

Rexo (Member's Letter)

Mr. Ashton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment why it took from 11 April to 30 May for his Department to decide that a letter from the hon. Member for Bassetlaw regarding redundancy payments at Rexo was the responsibility of the Department of Energy.

Mr. Cope : The hon. Member's letter was received by my Department on 19 April. My Department considered that the issue was the responsibility of the Department of Energy and the letter was forwarded to them on 21 April. Subsequently checks showed that the letter had been lost in transit. Action was taken immediately to despatch a further copy. I apologise for the delay.

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Departmental Expenditure Plans

Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much the change in the expenditure plans for his Department for 1989-90 from the 1988-89 estimated outturn will be (a) in percentage terms and (b) after adjustment for the gross domestic product deflator.

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Mr. Cope : The expenditure plans for my Department for 1989-90 are 2.3 per cent. higher than the 1988-89 estimated outturn. After adjustment for the gross domestic product deflator, the expenditure plans for 1989-90 are £85 million 2.6 per cent. below the 1988-89 estimated outturn.

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