asked the President of the Board of Education whether he can state the number of qualified male teachers and female teachers who, after leaving their training colleges in England and Wales, have failed to secure positions?

Mr. WOOD:

The latest information in my possession, which is not, however, quite recent, shows that out of about 7,000 students (1,775 men and 5,218 women) who left training colleges in England and Wales last summer, roughly 2,000 (489 men and 1,517 women) were not at that time known to have secured positions. No doubt some of these have obtained appointments since the date of my last information.

Can the right hon. Gentleman tell us if it is a fact that there are a number of ex-service men who are still unemployed, although they have been trained for the teaching profession?