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GM Crops
Mr. Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will make a statement on his policy on the use of land for which the Church Commissioners are responsible for the cultivation of GM crops. [96157]
Mr. Stuart Bell: The issue of whether Commissioners' land should be leased to allow trials of genetically modified crops to take place is being initially considered by the Church's Ethical Investment Working Group (EIWG), which develops a co-ordinated investment policy for the Church. The EIWG has been studying and consulting widely on the potential impact genetically modified technology could have on current farming practices, biodiversity and the environment. It has not yet concluded its research.
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
New Deal (Young People)
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list by unit of delivery the number of jobs lasting less than 13 weeks gained by 18-24 year olds from the New Deal since January 1998. [95088]
Ms Jowell:
The information showing the number of young people who had gained a job from New Deal and returned to claim the Jobseekers Allowance or returned to a New Deal Option within 13 weeks, by Unit of Delivery, is given in the following table. The figures include both subsidised and unsubsidised jobs. Also shown are the numbers gaining jobs that were sustained, lasting for 13 weeks or more. Job turnover is normal in a healthy labour market, especially among young people who need to try different jobs and accumulate experience to establish themselves successfully in the labour market. It is vital that those young people returning to unemployment after a short spell in work are given the support and encouragement they need to build on that experience and use it to find another job quickly. It is this kind of sustained help that sets New Deal above previous labour market policies.
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(6) Denotes a private sector led Unit of Delivery
Note:
Great Britain excludes those for whom no Unit of Delivery is recorded on the New Deal Evaluation Database
Source:
New Deal Evaluation Database
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New Deal (Lone Parents)
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many lone parents had been invited to join the New Deal for Lone Parents by the end of July. [95515]
Ms Hodge:
The number of lone parents invited to join the New Deal for Lone Parents between the national roll-out of the programme on 26 October 1998 and the end of July was 406,440. The total number of invitations, including the earlier pilot phases of the programme which
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began on 21 July 1997, is 457,052. Letters inviting participation in the New Deal for Lone Parents programme are sent to lone parents who are in receipt of Income Support and whose youngest child is aged at least 5 years and 3 months. Some 80,130 lone parents have attended an initial interview (including those outside the target group and early starters who did not receive an invite) and some 89 per cent. of these agreed to join the caseload and 26 per cent. of these have found jobs.
Mr. Woodward:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people in Oxfordshire have moved into permanent jobs through the New Deal programme; and what is the average cost to public funds of each new permanent job created. [95996]
Ms Jowell
[holding answer 27 October 1999]: In the Oxfordshire Unit of Delivery, 303 young people have gained sustained employment through the New Deal for Young People since it started in April 1998 to the end of August 1999. In addition, 70 people aged 25+ have gained sustained employment through the New Deal in the Oxfordshire Unit of Delivery.
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