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Mr. Etherington : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list, by each of the 13 careers service pathfinder areas, the total numbers of bids received per area and the name of each successful bidder to run each of the pathfinder services from 1 April.
Miss Widdecombe : Information on organisation tendering to provide careers services is commercial in confidence. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will announce those organisations with whom he will contract when negotiations are finalised.
Leeds Development Corporation
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will set out the number of people in employment in the area covered by the Leeds development corporation on (a) 1 April 1990 and (b) the latest available figures.
Miss Widdecombe : The information is not available for the area requested. The most detailed geographical area
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for which information is published is the electoral ward. The Leeds development corporation area cannot be approximated from any combination of these wards.Employment estimates for individual wards within Leeds local authority district are available from the periodic censuses of employment, the most recent of which was conducted in September 1991. These can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library.
Business Start-up and Enterprise Allowance
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have participated in (a) business start-up and (b) the enterprise allowance scheme in each year since their inception.
Miss Widdecombe : The information requested is given in the following table. I expect the business start-up scheme to continue to help those people wishing to set up in business and that the additional funding announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the March 1993 Budget will help more people in 1993-94.
Enterprise Allowance Scheme (EAS)<1> Business Start-up Scheme (BSUS) Entrants 1982-83-1993-94 Great Britain Year |Number ------------------------- 1982-83 |2,500 1983-84 |27,600 1984-85 |46,000 1985-86 |60,000 1986-87 |86,800 1987-88 |106,300 1988-89 |98,500 1989-90 |78,000 1990-91 |60,000 1991-92 |50,000 1992-93 |41,000 April- November 1993 |24,900 Sources: Training Statistics TEC Operating Agreement ( Annex J) Scottish Office MIS Welsh Office MIS <1> The EAS was replaced by BSUS on April 1991
Learning for Work
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many (a) men and (b) women have participated in learning for work.
Miss Widdecombe : At 10 February 1994, the latest date available, 5,506 men and 1,607 women were receiving the learning for work allowance.
Job Plan Workshops
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many (a) men and (b) women have participated in job plan workshops in each month since their inception ;
(2) what evidence he has of positive outcomes for those who attend job plan workshops.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Responsibility for the subject of the questions has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
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Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 8 March 1994 :The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about Jobplan workshops. You have asked about the number of men and women who have participated in Jobplan workshops since they were launched in April 1993 and what evidence there is of positive outcomes for those attending.
It may be helpful if I explain that Jobplan workshops are for people who have been unemployed for a year who decline or fail to take up a job or a place on an Employment Department programme at their Restart interview. It aims to help people compete more successfully for jobs and opportunities by allowing them to review their strengths and skills, establish clear job goals. This will help them draw up a comprehensive Action Plan, which maps out the steps they need to tke to get back to work.
Joplan workshops were launched in April 1993 and the figures in the table attached show the number of men and women who have taken part in workshops in the period April 1993 to January 1994.
Since April 1993, 93 per cent. of workshop completers were referred to a job or an Employment Department employment or training programme or another option to help them back to work. Research into the positive outcomes of those who attend Jobplan workshops has been commissioned but is not yet completed.
I hope this is helpful.
Jobplan Workshops
Number of participants 1993-94
|Men |Women
---------------------------------------
April 1993 |11,573 |2,415
May 1993 |16,770 |3,388
June 1993 |17,154 |3,490
July 1993 |24,614 |5,330
August 1993 |19,986 |4,197
September 1993 |18,910 |4,013
October 1993 |27,076 |5,928
November 1993 |22,523 |4,653
December 1993 |18,260 |3,725
January 1994 |22,415 |4,512
|-------|-------
Total |199,281|41,651
Workstart
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the workstart pilots ; and what plans he has to extend this scheme.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : We have not yet completed our assessment of the pilots. I will write to the hon. Member in due course.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total cost of the workstart pilots.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North (Sir R. Howell) on 3 March 1994, Official Report, column 868.
Restart
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many (a) men and (b) women have participated in restart in each quarter since its inception.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
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Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 8 March 1994 :The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about the number of men and women who have participated in Restart Courses in each quarter since its inception.
It may be helpful if I explain that Restart Courses are short courses normally lasting for one week. They are targeted at people who have been unemployed for two years or more who are having the most difficulty in getting back to work. The courses provide people with the opportunity to explore all the options open to them and give them the confidence and motivation to take the next step back to work.
The number of people participating in Restart courses from their inception in 1986 to quarter ending December 1993 is set out in the attached table.
Since December 1990, people who have been unemployed for two years or more who refuse to take up a place on an Employment Department employment or training programme at their Restart interview, have been asked to attend a Restart Course. You will see that this led to a large increase in the numbers of people attending.
You will see that because of changes in the collection of management information, we can not supply some of the detailed information in the form requested.
I hope this is helpful.
Table 1
Number of starters on restart courses from 1986 to 1993
|Participants
Quarters |Male |Female |Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986-87 |Not available |Not available |100,841
1987-88
Quarter 1 |9,539 |3,305 |12,664
Quarter 2 |9,916 |3,080 |12,996
Quarter 3 |9,278 |2,943 |12,221
Quarter 4 |8,056 |2,875 |10,931
|------ |------ |------
Total |36,609 |12,203 |48,412
1988-89 |31,241 |11,769 |43,010
1989-90
Quarter 1 |7,915 |3,004 |10,919
Quarter 2 |6,619 |2,551 |9,170
Quarter 3 |7,576 |2,574 |10,150
Quarter 4 |8,529 |3,172 |11,701
|------ |------ |------
Total |30,639 |11,301 |41,940
1990-91 |Not available |Not avaialble |57,976
1991-92 |<1>113,764 |<1>20,076 |133,840
1992-93 |<1>108,493 |<1>16,212 |124,705
1993-94
Quarter 1 |29,673 |4,427 |34,100
Quarter 2 |31,624 |4,882 |36,506
Quarter 3 |32,541,5,015,37,556
|------ |------ |------
Total<2> |93,838 |14,324 |108,162
<1> The male/female split is an estimate based on two sample surveys.
<2> April to December 1993.
Community Action
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many (a) men and (b) women have participated in community action in each month since its inception ;
(2) how many (a) men and (b) women who have participated in community action have found work.
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Mr. Michael Forsyth : Responsibility for the subject of the questions has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 8 March 1994 :
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about the numbers of men and women who have participated in Community Action and the numbers of men and women who have found work as a result of participation.
Community Action provides people who have been out of work for 12 months or more with the opportunity to gain recent work experience combined with individually tailored help in looking for jobs. This enables them to compete for jobs more effectively.
The attached table gives the numbers of men and women who participate in Community Action during each month since the programme began on 27 July.
By the end of January a total of 6,995 men and 1,573 women had received help through Community Action. Of these, 5,916 men and 1,362 women were still participating in the programme, 153 men and 27 women left the programme and went directly into paid employment. I hope this is helpful.
Table showing number of people
helped by community action
during each month since the
programme began
|Men |Women|Total
----------------------------------
July |36 |0 |39
August |96 |13 |109
September |258 |35 |293
October |1,083|207 |1,290
November |2,547|566 |3,113
December |4,070|857 |4,927
January |6,397|1,464|7,861
Job Programme Costs
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what is the total cost per annum to his Department of running job research seminars in 1993-94 prices and in cash terms in each year since their inception ;
(2) what was the total cost per annum to his Department of running job review workshops in 1993-94 prices and in cash terms in each year since their establishment ;
(3) what is the total cost per annum to his Department of running the job interview guarantee scheme in 1993-94 prices and in cash terms, in each year for which figures are available ;
(4) what is the total cost per annum to his Department of running job plan workshops in 1993-94 prices and in cash terms in each year for which figures are available.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Responsibility for the subject of the questions has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 8 March 1994 :
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about the annual costs of runnning Job Search Seminars ; Job Review Workshops ; Job Interview Guarantee ; and Job Plan Workshops. The attached table shows the expenditure for each of these programmes in both current prices and constant 1993-94 prices. The 1993-94 figures are planned allocations although for other years I have used actual expenditure. The main identifiable area
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of expenditure is for the programme itself which, in most cases, is contracted out to separate providers. However, one of the key elements of the Job Interview Guarantee programme is matching and screening' of clients to vacancies, which is delivered by ES staff and it is therefore possible to provide you with the salary costs associated with this.The other three programmes are made available to clients through our claimant advisory service but it is not possible to attribute the cost of this to individual programmes.
Expenditure in current prices (cash terms)
|1991-92|1992-93|1993-94
--------------------------------------------------------
Job Search Seminars
Programme Expenditure |- |5.755 |4.704
Job Review Workshops
Programme Expenditure |1.252 |3.769 |3.473
Job Interview Guarantee
Programme Expenditure |0.876 |1.140 |2.321
Staff Delivery Costs |5.984 |9.259 |19.945
Job Plan Workshops
Programme Expenditure |- |- |37.470
Expenditure in constant 1993-94 prices
|1991-92|1992-93|1993-94
--------------------------------------------------------
Job Search Seminars
Programme Expenditure |- |5.833 |4.704
Job Review Workshops
Programme Expenditure |1.307 |3.820 |3.473
Job Interview Guarantee
Programme Expenditure |0.915 |1.156 |2.321
Staff Delivery Costs |6.248 |9.385 |19.945
Job Plan Workshops
Programme Expenditure |- |- |37.470
Job Interview Guarantee Scheme
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many (a) men and (b) women have participated in the job interview guarantee scheme in each year since its inception ; (2) how many (a) men and (b) women have found a job within three months and six months of attending the job interview guarantee scheme.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Responsibility for the subject of the questions has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 8 March 1994 :
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The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about the number of men and women who have been helped by Job Interview Guarantee.The information available is set out in the attached table and shows the total number of people who have taken part in and been placed into jobs through Job Interview Guarantee (JIG) since it began in September 1989.
We collect statistical information on the total numbers of people participating in JIG but this is not broken down by gender. However, a survey carried out in May 1992 showed that 71 per cent. were males and 29 per cent. female.
Whilst we collect details of how many people go into a job through JIG, there is no follow up at the three and six month stages. To do so would necessitate expensive tracking mechanisms at a disproportionate cost.
I hope this is helpful.
Numbers assisted and placed by Job Interview Guarantee
September 1989 to January 1994
|Numbers |Numbers
|assisted<1>|placed
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2 September 1989 to March 1991<2> |9,632 |5,324
1991-92 |134,296 |39,960
1992-93 |196,060 |76,701
1993-94 |338,527 |148,421
|------- |-------
Total |688,515 |270,406
<1> The number of people participating in JIG is referred to as
"numbers
assisted".
<2> From September 1989 to March 1991, JIG was piloted in 20
inner-city
areas only.
Training for Work
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many (a) men and (b) women have attended a training for work course.
Miss Widdecombe : In the second quarter of 1993-94, the latest period available, there were 66,400 entrants to training for work in England and Wales and of these 69 per cent. were men and 31 per cent. women.
Youth Credits
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many (a) men and (b) women were using youth credits to obtain training in each month since the scheme's inception.
Miss Widdecombe : The information requested is given in the table :
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Youth credits
Leavers by gender 1991-92 to 1993-94 Great Britain<1>
Percentage
1991-92 1992-93 1993-94
|Men |Women|Men |Women|Men |Women
------------------------------------------------------------
April |n/a |n/a |53 |47 |60 |40
May |n/a |n/a |53 |47 |58 |42
June |n/a |n/a |63 |37 |60 |40
July |n/a |n/a |60 |40 |57 |43
August |n/a |n/a |58 |42 |58 |42
September |n/a |n/a |64 |36 |60 |40
October |n/a |n/a |63 |37 |59 |41
November |n/a |n/a |60 |40 |- |-
December |n/a |n/a |54 |46 |- |-
January |45 |55 |59 |41 |- |-
February |60 |40 |63 |37 |- |-
March |50 |50 |63 |37 |- |-
Year/Year to date |54 |46 |60 |40 |59 |41
Note:
n/a=Data for individual months not available due to low
number of records.
<1> England and Wales for 1993-94.
Source: YT leavers database.
Job Clubs and Job Search
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many (a) men and (b) women have participated in job clubs each year since the scheme started ;
(2) how many (a) men and (b) women have attended job search seminars in each quarter since their inception.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Responsibility for the subject of the questions has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 8 March 1994 :
The Secretary of State for Employment has asked me to reply to your questions about the number of men and women participating in Jobclub and job search seminars since the programmes started. This breakdown is not available for Jobclubs for the year 1985-86, the first year that the programme was running. From April 1986 details of males and females are based on survey information and evaluation reports. Since April 1990 we have collected information on male and female participants on a sample survey basis and this has been used to calculate the annual totals in Table A. The sample survey for 1993-94 is taking place this month.
Table B shows the number of attenders in job search seminars for each quarter since the programme began in August 1991. We do not keep statistics on male and female job search seminar attenders. However a survey in September 1992 showed that approximately 70 per cent. of job search seminars attenders are male and 30 per cent. female. I hope this is helpful.
Table A Total number of jobclub participants Proportion of males and females Year |Throughflow |Males |Females ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1985-86 |<1>1,994 |Not available |Not available 1986-87 |<1>20,606 |15,867 |4,739 1987-88 |105,677 |80,314 |25,363 1988-89 |132,262 |97,874 |34,388 1989-90 |140,095 |102,269 |37,826 1990-91 |134,712 |102,381 |32,331 1991-92 |176,140 |140,470 |35,670 1992-93 |216,679 |173,343 |43,336 1993-94<2> |190,194 |Not yet available|Not yet available <1>Denotes estimated figures. <2>To January 1994.
Table B
Number of attenders in job search seminars from
August 1991
Quarter |Number of
|participants
----------------------------------------------------
September 1991 (2 months) |1,274
December 1991 |13,787
March 1992 |19,570
June 1992 |20,179
September 1992 |22,127
December 1992 |22,966
March 1993 |20,935
June 1993 |16,519
September 1993 |15,849
December 1993 |17,168
January 1994 (1 month) |5,548
Note: A survey carried out by the Employment
Service in September
1992 showed that approximately 70 per cent. of job
search seminar
participants are male and 30 per cent. female.
Job Review Workshops
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many (a) men and (b) women have attended job review workshops in each month since their inception.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 8 March 1994 :
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the number of men and women who have attended Job Review Workshops.
Job Review Workshops were launched in October 1991 to help newly unemployed people review their career path and set clear job goals suited to their skill, experience and preferences. The programme is particularly suitable for professional, managerial and executive jobseekers who want to consider alternative careers.
Statistical data was collected monthly until March 1993. From April 1993 information has been collected on a quarterly basis. I attach tables which show the number of men and women attending the workshops since its inception until December 1993.
I hope this is helpful.
Job Review Workshops
|Men |Women
-------------------------------
1991-92
April |- |-
May |- |-
June |- |-
July |- |-
August |- |-
September |- |-
October |544 |158
November |1,817 |453
December |1,523 |313
January |2,302 |525
February |2,732 |723
March |3,478 |790
|--- |---
Total |12,396|2,962
1992-93
April |2,104 |528
May |2,759 |648
June |2,614 |536
July |3,313 |786
August |2,610 |652
September |2,702 |610
October |3,033 |758
November |2,986 |832
December |2,294 |574
January |3,120 |780
February |3,239 |810
March |2,885 |742
|--- |---
Total |33,659|8,256
1993-94
Quarter 1 |7,136 |1,826
Quarter 2 |6,959 |1,976
Quarter 3 |7,348 |2,054
Quarter 4 |- |-
|--- |---
Total |21,443|5,856
Minimum Wages (United States)
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer of 23 February, Official Report, column 227, what is the current national minimum wage rate for the United States of America provided under the Fair Labour Standards Act 1938.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The current rates above which individual states in the USA are free to set minimum wages are set out in the fair labour standards amendments of 1989. A copy of this legislation is available in the Library.
Child Care
Ms Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much his Department spends on child care ; on what provision the sum is spent ; how many children receive the child care ; and if he will make a statement about child care.
Miss Widdecombe [holding answer 7 March 1994] : The sum of £430, 000 in 1993-94 across the Employment Department group as a whole. This includes net expenditure on nursery places and holiday play schemes and financial help with additional child care costs incurred through attending training courses or other work-based functions. About 2,500 children are estimated to have been helped through this expenditure.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
School Milk Scheme
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many children were direct beneficiaries of the school milk scheme in (a) the 12 school weeks prior to and 12 school weeks after the removal of buttermilk and cheese from the school milk scheme and (b) the 12 school weeks before and 12 school weeks after the reduction in funding for the school milk scheme was effected.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Information on the number of school children benefiting from the school milk scheme is not held on a weekly basis. During the academic years
Column 192
1992-93 and 1993-94, 8,139,417 and 8,048,510 school children respectively were eligible beneficiaries of the school milk scheme.Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of EC funding available for the subsidy of milk and dairy produce in schools was accounted for by the United Kingdom before and after each reduction in funding for the school milk scheme.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The United Kingdom accounted for 24.29 per cent. of total EC expenditure on the school milk scheme in the 1992 FEOGA year and for 22.62 per cent. in 1993. This reduction reflects the removal of cheese and buttermilk from the scheme, in the United Kingdom, in April 1993. There is no information yet available on United Kingdom expenditure on the scheme following the 25 per cent. cut in the rate of subsidy and the technical amendments adopted in October 1993. The new arrangements came into effect only on 1 January 1994.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will provide a figure for the value of European Community support lost to the United Kingdom as a consequence of the reduction in European funding for the school milk scheme since (a) 1 April 1993 and (b) 4 October 1994.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Based on claims covering the 12-month period prior to the removal of buttermilk and cheese from the scheme, on 1 April 1993 the value of EC subsidy lost to the United Kingdom for those products totalled £9,245,245.97. Buttermilk accounted for expenditure of just £599.99. No information will be available on the value of support lost to the United Kingdom as a result of the 25 per cent. cut in the school milk subsidy, which was adopted on 4 October 1993 and came into force on 1 January 1994, until claims for the period have been received.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many ready-packaged one third pint containers of subsidised milk were distributed by local authorities in the United Kingdom six months before and after each reduction in funding for the school milk scheme.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : No information is held by the Intervention Board executive agency, which administers the school milk scheme, on the number of one third pint containers of milk distributed by local authorities.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what quantity and value of milk and milk products which would formerly have been distributed through the school milk scheme have since 1 April 1993 instead been redirected ; and to where they have been redirected ;
(2) what quantity and value of milk and milk products formerly distributed under the school milk scheme have been redirected since 1 April 1993 ; and what have been their destinations.
Mrs. Gillian Shepherd : No definitive information is available on the quantity, value or use to which the milk and milk products no longer utilised under the school milk scheme have been put.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the change in spending
Column 193
in actual and real terms on the school milk scheme after (a) the removal of buttermilk and cheese from the school milk scheme and (b) the reduction in funding.Mrs. Gillian Shepherd : The change in spending by local authorities in actual terms since the removal of buttermilk and cheese from the scheme on 1 April 1993 has amounted to a reduction of £5,549,137.98 when comparing the cost of subsidised products in the term before, spring 1993, and the term after, summer 1993, the removal of cheese and buttermilk from the scheme on 1 April 1993. No information will be available on the reduction in funding resulting from the 25 per cent. cut in the rate of subsidy and the technical amendments to the scheme until claims for the period have been received.
It would be inappropriate to express the reductions in expenditure on the school milk scheme in real terms because the changes to the scheme have been single events rather than the result of changes over a period of time.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in real terms what was the average cost of each local authority school meal in (a) the 12 school weeks prior and 12 school weeks after the removal of buttermilk and cheese from the school milk scheme and the 12 school weeks prior to and 12 school weeks after the reduction in funding for the school milk scheme.
Mrs. Gillian Shepherd : No information is collected by the Intervention Board executive agency, which administers the school milk scheme, on the cost of school meals.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment she has made of the relationship between the cost trend for local authority school meals and change in the availability of ingredients formerly subsidised as part of the school milk scheme and the reduction of funding for the scheme.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : No assessment has been made of the relationship between the costs of school meals provided by local authorities and the changes in the products covered by the school milk scheme. Furthermore, neither MAFF nor the Intervention Board executive agency, which administers the scheme, has any information which would enable such an assessment to be carried out.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the cost to the local authorities in terms of the funding allocated for the purpose of making up the deficiency in their accounts arising as a consequence of cuts in the value and scope of the school milk scheme since (a) 1 April 1993, (b) 4 October 1993 and (c) in total.
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