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New Deal
Mr. Willetts:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many employers have been contacted by the Employment Service in respect of the new deal for young unemployed people; how many
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have agreed in principle to take part; how many have signed new deal contracts; and if he will give each figure broken down by size of employer. [26227]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
The Employment Service and New Deal partners have made initial contact, including sending promotional material and setting meetings, with over 70,000 employers. The Large Organisations Unit has held meetings with 164 businesses. So far, some 7,000 firms have expressed interest in taking part in new deal and over 1,100 have signed Employer Agreements, with more to follow suit shortly. The disaggregation by size of employer is not yet available, but the majority of agreements are at local level, with small and medium businesses.
Mr. Willetts:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) young people unemployed for more than six months and (b) people unemployed for more than two years he has assumed will participate in the New Deal in 1998-99, broken down by travel to work area or other suitable locality. [29688]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
Each New Deal programme will offer help to those who become eligible.
Our New Deal programmes are being delivered through local partnerships. For planning purposes, the Employment Service has provided its partners in each local unit of delivery with an indicative assumption for the numbers of young people who might join the New Deal for 18-24 year olds in 1998-99. Those planning assumptions are based on current unemployment levels. They are not forecasts of the actual numbers who will participate in the New Deal for 18-24 year olds. They do, however, enable the Employment Service and its partners in each local area to conduct better informed negotiations with organisations bidding to deliver New Deal programmes and services, and help to ensure that adequate resources are in place locally to meet potential demand.
I will shortly be placing in the Library a list showing the indicative planning assumption for the New Deal for 18-24 year olds in each unit of delivery. We have yet to finalise planning assumptions for participation in the New Deal for long-term unemployed people aged 25 or over.
Mr. Willetts:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if in-house company training schemes which do not lead directly to an NVQ will be accepted as the training element in the private employment option for 18 to 24 year olds and the long-term unemployed under the New Deal. [30493]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
Employers may provide New Deal participants with in-house training in cases where it has been agreed with the Employment Service that the training is of a standard which meets the quality requirements of the New Deal. In these cases, the in-house training received by the New Deal participant will be mapped against NVQ frameworks for the appropriate occupational sector and, based on this, the young person would be registered for an NVQ.
Mr. Willetts:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of (a) young unemployed and (b) long-term unemployed participants in the New Deal are expected to have a criminal record. [30489]
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Mr. Andrew Smith:
Each New Deal programme is designed to offer help to all those who become eligible. The claimant unemployment statistics do not provide information on previous criminal records.
Shona McIsaac:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many young people have been assisted by the New Deal in the South Humber area. [29927]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
The New Deal for young people in South Humber will begin on 6 April 1998. At this stage no young people in South Humber have entered the New Deal.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many students in further education colleges were engaged on franchised courses in each of the last four financial years; and what proportion of total students this represented in each case. [29299]
Dr. Howells:
The following table sets out the number of students on franchised provision funded by the Further Education Funding Council for 1994-95 (the first year for which figures are available) to 1996-97. The figures are collected by academic, not financial, year.
| Academic year | Number of students on franchised provision | Percentage of the total number of students |
|---|---|---|
| 1994-95 | 140,000 | 5 |
| 1995-96 | 545,000 | 18 |
| 1996-97 | 660,000 | 19 |
Unemployment (Exeter)
Mr. Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) unemployed people aged under 26 years and (b) unemployed people out of work for over six months will be eligible for assistance under the New Deal in Exeter. [27657]
Mr. Andrew Smith: It is not possible to provide precise estimates of the numbers of young people aged 18-24 or the numbers of long-term unemployed people aged 25 and over who will benefit from our New Deal programmes for these groups.
In January 1998, some 118,000 18-24 year olds were recorded as having claimed Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for six months or more; each month about 15,000 to 20,000 18-24 year olds reach six months' claimant unemployment. In the same month, some 216,000 people aged 25 or over were recorded as having claimed JSA for more than two years; each month between 5,000 and 10,000 people who are 25 or over reach two years' claimant unemployment. It is not possible to provide fully comparable figures for Exeter. In January 1998 in Exeter, 185 18-24 year olds were recorded as having claimed JSA for six months or more, and 391 people aged 25 or over were recorded as having claimed JSA for more than two years.
I will shortly be placing in the Library a list showing the indicative planning assumption for participation in the New Deal for 18-24 year olds in 1998-99 in each local
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unit of delivery. These planning assumptions are based on current unemployment levels. They are not forecasts of the actual numbers who will participate in the New Deal for 18-24 year olds. We have yet to finalise planning assumptions for participation in the New Deal for long-term unemployed people aged 25 or over.
Mr. Willis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will publish by university each course of study for which there has been a reduction in the numbers of applicants of over 25 per cent against last year's figures. [30173]
Dr. Howells:
The information is not available centrally. However, figures from the University and College Admissions Service (UCAS) giving the percentage change of applications from last year for degree courses attracting more than 10,000 applicants show that there have not been reductions of over 25 per cent. in any subject.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many long-term unemployed people in Bury, North (a) under 25 and (b) over 25 years he estimates will participate in the New Deal (i) by 1 April and (ii) in the course of 1998-99. [29930]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
The New Deal for 18-24 year olds will begin in Bury, North on 6 April, and the New Deal for over 25s in June. It is not possible to provide precise national or local estimates of the numbers of young people aged 18-24 or the numbers of long-term unemployed people aged 25 and over who will benefit from our New Deal programmes for these groups,.
In January 1998, some 118,000 18-24 year olds were recorded as having claimed Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for six months or more; each month about 15,000 to 20,000 18-24 year olds reach six months' claimant unemployment. In the same month, some 216,000 people aged 25 or over were recorded as having claimed JSA for more than two years; each month between 5,000 and 10,000 people who are 25 or over reach two years; claimant unemployment. It is not possible to provide fully comparable figures for Bury, North. In January 1998, in Bury, North, 41 18-24 year olds were recorded as having claimed JSA for six months or more, and 29 people aged 25 or over were recorded as having claimed JSA for more than two years.
I will shortly be placing in the Library a list showing the indicative planning assumptions for participation in the New Deal for 18-24 year olds in 1998-99 in each local unit of delivery. These planning assumptions are based on current unemployment levels. They are not forecasts of the actual numbers who will participate in the New Deal for 18-24 year olds. We have yet to finalise planning assumptions for participation in the New Deal for long-term unemployed people aged 25 or over.
Mr. Derek Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations he has received from organisations participating in the
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Environmental Task Force option of the New Deal on the effect of payment in arrears on their financial viability. [29963]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
This issue has been raised by some environmental and voluntary groups. The Chief Executive of the Employment Service has approved a system whereby voluntary organisations can seek an advance payment of part of their first year's anticipated contract value. Employment Service regional contract managers received guidance about start-up funding at the beginning of the month; the guidance was designed to provide a reasonable amount of advance funding which can be expected to be repaid during the first year of operation. In so doing, we have tried to balance the risks to Employment Service with ensuring that small voluntary organisations are not prohibited from participating in New Deal.
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