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14 Mar 2006 : Column 2178W—continued
Jobseeker's Allowance
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the amount of jobseeker's allowance claimed by the self-employed; and if he will make a statement. [57375]
Mr. Plaskitt: Due to the very small numbers of claimants involved it is not possible to accurately estimate the information requested.
Lone Parents (Work)
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made in helping lone parents back to work. [57400]
Margaret Hodge: Since 1997, our labour market policies have helped to increase the lone parent employment rate by 11.3 percentage points to stand at 56.6 per cent. in spring 2005—equating to around 1 million lone parents in employment.
In our Green Paper 'A new deal for welfare: Empowering people to work', we have proposed increased contact with lone parents through more frequent work focused interviews, as well as the intention to pilot a work-related activity premium to encourage more lone parents with older children to plan their return to work.
National Insurance
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress his Department has made in the introduction of the National Insurance Number Operating Business Model. [56335]
Mr. Plaskitt: A new Operating Business Model for National Insurance Number (NINO) Allocation is currently being introduced across Great Britain. The main aims of the new model are to introduce appointment booking through contact centres for customers wishing to apply for a NINO and to organise interviews for NINOs within offices in each region or country dedicated to that purpose.
The introduction of appointment booking through contact centres will enable all customers to utilise a single 0845 telephone number. A NINO interview will then be arranged at the nearest interviewing site to either the customer's home address or workplace.
To date the North East, Scotland, South West, East Midlands and Wales have fully implemented the new model, with partial implementation in London. The remaining regions will implement the new model over the next few months.
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many prosecutions there have been in each of the last five years for illegally obtaining a national insurance number; and in how many cases the prosecution resulted in a conviction. [56435]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is not available.
New Deal
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of 18 to 24-year-old new deal leavers have been back on jobseeker's allowance within six months. [54969]
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Margaret Hodge: Up to the end of May 2005, 35 per cent. of those who had left new deal for young people claimed jobseeker's allowance (JSA) within six months of leaving the programme. This is inevitable in a dynamic labour market, but those young people who do return to JSA after finding a job through new deal will have added to their skills and experience, making it easier for them to find a job in the future.
Latest jobseeker's allowance data are to November 2005, hence only those who had left new deal for young people by the end of May 2005 are included.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether employer surveys have been conducted since 1998 to estimate the proportion of employment vacancies that would have existed without the new deal subsidy. [54972]
Margaret Hodge: In September 2000, we published research by independent researchers to assess the impact of the new deal subsidised employment option from an employer perspective. The option is available through new deal for young people and new deal 25 plus, and over 3,000 employers who had recruited employees through it were consulted during the survey.
The report New Deals for Young People and Long Term Unemployed: Survey of Employers" Jon Hales, Debbie Collins, Chris Hasluck and Stephen Woodland, employment service report 58, September 2000, is available in the Library.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of those on a new deal option at 31 December 2005 was on the subsidised employment option. [54973]
Margaret Hodge: New deal options are available through new deal for young people and new deal 25 plus. The latest figures available show that, at the end of August 2005, 16 per cent. of participants on a new deal option were on the subsidised employment option.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of new deal subsidised employees as at 1 April 2005 were still employed at the end of December 2005. [54974]
Margaret Hodge: The subsidised employment option is available through both new deal for young people and new deal 25 plus. New deal data are calculated to the end rather than the beginning of a calendar month and 86 per cent. of those participating on the new deal subsidised employment option on 31 March 2005 were still in employment at the end of August 2005, which is the latest date for which information is available. This percentage includes some people who were still on the subsidised employment option and others who were no longer on the option, but were recorded as being in employment.1
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of those receiving full-time education and training in 2004 under the new deal left for unsubsidised employment. [54975]
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Margaret Hodge: The full-time education and training option is only available for new deal for young people (NDYP). 30 per cent. of people who were receiving full-time education and training in 2004 under NDYP left for unsubsidised employment.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of those on the new deal who chose the option of full-time education and training have completed their course. [54976]
Margaret Hodge: The information is not available.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of those on the new deal in 2005 chose the option of full-time education and training. [54977]
Margaret Hodge: The new deal full-time education and training option is only available to those participating on the new deal for young people (NDYP). Between January and November 1 2005, 14 percent. of those on NDYP had participated on the full-time education and training option.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the change in youth employment as a result of the new deal was in each year since its launch. [54986]
Margaret Hodge: The new deal has been extremely successful in helping more than one and a half million people into work, including more than 640, 000 young people. Long term youth unemployment has been virtually eradicated and youth claimant unemployment has fallen by two-fifths, to its lowest level for 30 years. There are almost a quarter of a million more young people, aged 18 to 24, in work than there were in 1997.
The number of people gaining a job through new deal for young people is contained in the following table.
Notes:
1. Latest available information on jobs gained through new deal for young people is to August 2005.
2. Figures are rounded to nearest 10.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate
Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to extend the new deal for musicians to theatre artists. [55618]
Margaret Hodge
[holding answer 6 March 2006]: New deal for musicians is intended to help unemployed aspiring musicians into a sustainable career, either as artists under contract or self-employed artists, within the music industry. It is available to jobseekers who are eligible for either new deal for young people or new deal
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25 plus. Up to the end of November 2005, new deal for musicians had helped 3,880 people into unsubsidised employment. There are no plans to extend new deal for musicians to artists other than musicians.
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