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19 Dec 2002 : Column 1025W—continued

Jobcentres (Advertisements)

Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what circumstances names and addresses of employers advertising in jobcentres are withheld; and why. [87456]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: Names and addresses of employers advertising in jobcentres are withheld from members of the public responding to the advertised vacancies in two circumstances:

where a job is advertised to work in a private household and the householder has requested that their home address is not immediately disclosed for reasons of safety and privacy, and;


where a job is notified by an employment agency acting on behalf of, or contracted to supply workers to, a third party employer. This is to ensure that jobseekers do not go directly to the end employer who has specifically commissioned the agency to act on their behalf.

Jobseekers Allowance

Mr. Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been refused all Jobseekers Allowance payments after interview in the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion this represented of those interviewed. [86957]

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available. All people claiming Jobseekers Allowance are required to attend an initial jobseeker's interview. However the data collected by the Department do not distinguish between decisions on entitlement made as a result of such an interview and those made at another stage, for example following the processing of the benefit application. Nor do the data distinguish between decisions on entitlement made at the start of a claim and those made during the course of a claim.

Lone Parents

Sir Archy Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of lone parents are in work in (a) the Scottish Borders, (b) Scotland and (c) the UK. [85697]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: The available information is in the table:

Employment rate for lone parents

Area	Percentage
Scottish Borders	(44) Not available
Scotland	56.0
United Kingdom	53.3

⁽⁴⁴⁾ The sample size is too small to make a realistic estimate of the employment rate of lone parents in the Scottish Borders.

Notes:

1. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample of the population and estimates are subject to sampling error and to variability in non-response.

2. Families with unknown economic status are excluded.

Source:

Labour Force Survey—spring 2002

Maxwell Communications Pension Plan

Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the outcome of his Department's discussions with representatives of the Maxwell Communications Pension Plan. [88315]

19 Dec 2002 : Column 1026W

Mr. McCartney: The Government are aware of the difficulties surrounding the Maxwell Communications Pension Plan and sympathise with those affected.

We have had discussions with the Independent Trustee of the Plan, The Law Debenture Trust Corporation plc. The difficulties faced by the Plan are not connected to Maxwell's original fraud but reflect the subsequent performance of the pension fund in relation to the scheme's liabilities. As we have made clear to Law Debenture, this is an issue for the trustees, not the Government.

Medical Assessments

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what procedures are in place to assess the performance of doctors employed by Schlumberger Sema to carry out medical assessment of benefit applicants on behalf of Jobcentre Plus. [87301]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: Doctors must demonstrate they have achieved a satisfactory standard before being approved by the Chief Medical Adviser to carry out assessments on behalf of the Department. Ongoing approval is dependent upon the doctor maintaining a satisfactory standard. We therefore have stringent procedures in place to assess their performance.

A doctor's work can be audited if their work is reported to be deficient or if they are subject to significant levels of complaint and, in addition, cases are randomly selected for audit on an ongoing monthly basis.

All complaints made regarding the manner or conduct of a doctor are investigated to ensure that examining doctors have followed the professional standards laid down by Medical Services, and consideration is given to any complaints made and their nature when reviewing the performance of individual doctors.

The Department and Medical Services also undertake a number of validation exercises to ensure that these systems are sufficiently robust and that the performance of doctors acting on behalf of the Department is effectively assessed.

New Deal

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many New Deal participants have found (a) employment and (b) sustained employment in the Civil Service in each year of the New Deal to date; which Government departments and agencies have employed New Deal participants; what the (i) number of employees and (ii) duration of employment were in each case; and what customised gateways have been established for Government Departments and agencies; [85985]

(2) how many New Deal participants found work in his Department (a) in the year to April 2000, (b) in the year to April 2001, (c) in the year to April 2002 and (d) in the most recent period for which figures are available. [87003]

Mr. Nicholas Brown [holding answers 9 December 2002 and 12 December 2002]: The available information is in the table.

19 Dec 2002 : Column 1027W

		New Deal for Young People and New Deal 25 plus starts in Government Departments (including agencies) by financial year
	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2000–02	2002–03(45)
Cabinet Office	9	4	13	6	0
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister	—	—	—	—	2
Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions	6	5	57	60	17
Privy Council Office	0	0	1	0	0
Charity Commission	5	13	13	11	1
Department for Culture, Media and Sport	1	1	2	0	0
Ministry of Defence	7	88	43	16	24
Department for Education and Skills	12	77	51	8	0
Office for Standards in Education	1	0	0	0	0
Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	5	33	35	35	3
Intervention Board	2	1	1	0	—
Export Credits Guarantee Department	4	0	0	0	0
Foreign and Commonwealth Office	3	1	5	2	0
Government Communications Headquarters	0	0	2	0	0
Department of Health	8	19	30	18	2
Home Office	1	72	26	38	5
Department for International Development	0	1	6	0	0
Law Officers' Departments	0	10	11	2	0
Lord Chancellor's Department	0	21	34	33	3
National Assembly for Wales	5	28	3	5	0
Northern Ireland Office	0	11	3	0	0
Scottish Executive (includes Scottish Office)	12	19	33	40	6
Registers of Scotland	1	0	0	0	0
Department of Trade and Industry	22	21	26	12	1
Health and Safety Executive	0	6	12	17	5
Office of the Rail Regulator	0	0	0	1	0
Office of Water Services (OFWAT)	0	0	1	0	0
Ordnance Survey	0	1	0	0	0
Shadow Strategic Rail Authority (NDPB wef 1.2.01)	0	0	1	0	—
HM Treasury	2	0	2	3	4
Office of Government Commerce	1	0	0	0	0
HM Customs and Excise	1	34	77	32	1
Inland Revenue (includes NICO and Valuation Office Agency)	4	252	145	169	3
Office for National Statistics	0	10	1	0	0
Royal Mint	3	0	0	0	0
Department for Work and Pensions	356	1,758	1,177	929	120
Total	471	2,486	1,811	1,437	197

⁽⁴⁵⁾ 2002–03 figures are to 1 July 2002.

Notes:

Figures for the other New Deals are not available. Information on the duration of employment is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Customised New Deal gateways were piloted in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Trade and Industry and the former Benefits Agency.

Source:

Cabinet Office

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of the New Deal for Lone Parents. [87670]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: The New Deal is delivering services tailored to meet the needs of individual lone parents and giving them the skills, support and confidence they need to move into work. By the end of September 2002, the New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) had helped over 160,000 lone parents to find jobs. There has been on-going evaluation of the programme and a number of evaluation reports have been published and placed in the Library. A report of further evaluation concerning the quantitative impact of NDLP is due to be published in spring 2003.

NDLP is just one of many measures that we have introduced to help lone parents gain independence through moving into work. Together they have helped reduce the number of lone parents dependant on income support by over 15 per cent. since May 1997.

19 Dec 2002 : Column 1028W

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the effect the new deal has had on youth unemployment. [87671]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: Since 1997, youth unemployment has fallen by more than a third and long-term youth unemployment has been reduced by nearly three-quarters. The new deal for young people has played an important part in this success, helping almost 400,000 young people off benefit and into jobs, and improving the work prospects of many more.

Independent research by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research found that the number of young people unemployed for six months or more would be twice as high without the new deal. It also found that the new deal had increased youth employment and had had a positive knock-on effect on employment among other age groups.

19 Dec 2002 : Column 1029W

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) pursuant to his answer of 11 December, Official Report, column 377W, on the New Deal, what adjustment has been made to the Government's expenditure plans as a result of the difference between spending on the Environmental Task Force and the amount budgeted by the former Department for Education and Employment for the period 1998 to 2002; [88095]

(2) pursuant to his answer of 11 December, Official Report, column 377W, on the New Deal, why details of expenditure on the Environment Task Force in 2001–02 are not yet available; when the figure will be made available; and if he will make a statement; [88096]

(3) pursuant to his answer of 11 December, Official Report, column 377W, if he will make a statement on the reasons for the difference in the number of young people participating in the Environment Task Force option and the target figure given by the former Department for Education and Employment in DfEE Press Release 009 of 1998. [88138]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: Due to the strength of the economy and the success of the New Deal for Young People long-term youth unemployment has been virtually eradicated. The number of young people accessing New Deal opportunities has therefore been lower than was anticipated in 1998. This has also resulted in underspends against original planning assumptions for the programme. These underspends have been used to support other welfare to work initiatives. Environment Task Force opportunities and those on the other options continue to be available for New Deal clients who need this type of help to move into work.

The Department's accounts for 2001–02 are currently being finalised and are expected to be published early in 2003. The Environment Task Force expenditure figure will be available then.

19 Dec 2002 : Column 1030W

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 11 December 2002, Official Report, column 377W, on the new deal, (1) how many of the 6,800 young people who secured subsidised employment starts in the construction industry subsequently secured (a) unsubsidised employment and (b) unsubsidised sustained employment; and if he will make a statement; [88097]

(2) if he will make a statement on the reasons for the difference in the number of subsidised employment starts in the construction industry under the new deal and that predicted by the former Department for Education and Employment in DFEE Press Release 70 of 1998. [88098]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: Due to the strength of the economy and the success of the new deal for young people long-term youth unemployment has been virtually eradicated. The number of young people accessing subsidised employment opportunities in the construction industry has therefore been lower than was anticipated in 1998. However, opportunities continue to be available for new deal clients who need help through subsidised employment to move into work.

We estimate that 6,800 people have started subsidised employment in the construction industry since 1998. Of these, around 3,000 subsequently moved into an unsubsidised job, some 2,800 of which were sustained. Information on the type of industry within which a subsidised job takes place is incomplete. It is likely, therefore, that these are underestimates of the number of people taking up work in the construction industry through the subsidised employment option of the new deal.

Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people on New Deal 25 Plus schemes (a) left after the initial advisory stage, (b) progressed to follow-through and (c) returned to claim jobseeker's allowance, in each year since 1997. [86678]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: The information is in the tables. In April 2001, New Deal 25 plus was extended and enhanced, to provide a flexible, more individually-tailored service to help more long-term unemployed people find jobs and remain in them.

	1998(46)	1999	2000	2001	2002(47)
Number of people leaving during the advisory process ( including the Gateway)	13,320	110,870	112,870	64,830	2,940
Number of people who progressed to follow-through	700	8,130	10, 000	5,820	1,070
Number of people who left to return to jobseeker's allowance(48)	2,680	68,210	76,450	47,380	3,110

⁽⁴⁶⁾ New Deal 25 plus was introduced nationally in June 1998.

⁽⁴⁷⁾ To September.

⁽⁴⁸⁾ Among leavers from all stages of the New Deal.

Source:

New Deal Evaluation Database

Re-engineered New Deal 25 plus

	2001(49)	2002(50)
Number of people leaving during the advisory process (including the Gateway)	33,400	54,700
Number of people who progressed to follow- through	2,850	20,240
Number of leavers returning to jobseeker's allowance(51)	6,000	23,900

⁽⁴⁹⁾ From April.

⁽⁵⁰⁾ From September

⁽⁵¹⁾ Among leavers from all stages of the New Deal.

Source:

New Deal Evaluation Database

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to publish the evaluation of the New Deal for Lone Parents; and if he will make a statement. [85989]

19 Dec 2002 : Column 1031W

Mr. Nicholas Brown [holding answer 9 December 2002]: The evaluation of the prototype of the New Deal for Lone Parents was published on 3 March 2000. Follow up reports and research on the national phase of the programme have been published since then, and new items of research are published as they are completed. We expect to publish a report, bringing together findings from all strands of the evaluation, in spring 2003.

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of participants in the New Deal for Young People from Ethnic Minorities found (a) jobs and (b) sustained jobs in each year since 1997, broken down by ethnic group. [85984]

Mr. Nicholas Brown [holding answer 9 December 2002]: The information is in the tables.

1998

	All jobs		Sustained
	Number	Per cent. of starts	Number	Per cent. of starts
Black—Caribbean	2,780	46	1,890	32
Black—African	1,410	39	950	26
Black—Other	1,240	46	840	31
Indian	1,920	52	1,530	41
Pakistani	2,980	45	2,280	35
Bangladeshi	1,030	47	810	37
Chinese	180	44	150	36
Mixed/Other	2,170	46	1,620	34
Total	13,720	46	10,060	34

1999

	All jobs		Sustained
	Number	Per cent. of starts	Number	Per cent. of starts
Black—Caribbean	2,420	48	1,730	35
Black—African	1,090	40	760	28
Black—Other	1,030	48	730	34
Indian	1,800	52	1,440	42
Pakistani	2,880	46	2,220	36
Bangladeshi	940	49	790	41
Chinese	180	47	150	39
Mixed/Other	2,110	45	1,600	34
Total	12,440	47	9,420	36

2000

	All jobs		Sustained
	Number	Per cent. of starts	Number	Per cent. of starts
Black—Caribbean	2,510	52	1,770	37
Black—African	1,270	44	900	31
Black—Other	1,140	52	820	38
Indian	1,680	55	1,370	45
Pakistani	2,990	49	2,380	39
Bangladeshi	980	49	800	40
Chinese	160	46	130	37
Mixed/Other	2,300	47	1,770	36
Total	13,020	50	9,940	38

19 Dec 2002 : Column 1032W

2001

	All jobs		Sustained
	Number	Per cent. of starts	Number	Per cent. of starts
Black—Caribbean	2,180	48	1,540	34
Black—African	1,330	41	930	28
Black—Other	960	45	710	33
Indian	1,520	54	1,250	44
Pakistani	2,660	46	2,070	35
Bangladeshi	870	45	700	37
Chinese	140	46	110	35
Mixed/Other	2,480	43	1,880	33
Total	12,150	46	9,200	35

2002 (to September 2002)

	All jobs		Sustained
	Number	Per cent. of starts	Number	Per cent. of starts
Black—Caribbean	1,430	37	1,000	26
Black—African	860	25	650	19
Black—Other	540	34	400	25
Indian	950	42	760	34
Pakistani	1,590	34	1,220	26
Bangladeshi	520	32	420	26
Chinese	90	33	90	30
Mixed/Other	1,870	28	1,480	22
Total	7,850	32	6,010	25

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