§ 10. Mr. Colvinasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the findings of the recent report published by Youthaid about students who receive unemployment benefit.
§ Sir Keith JosephThe report gives a useful indication of use of the 21-hour rule in further education colleges and schools and proposes ways of improving access to education for the unemployed. I shall shortly be discussing these recommendations with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Services.
§ Mr. ColvinDoes my right hon. Friend agree that the 21-hour provision will be extremely useful for young 263 people coming off the YTS? What is his Department doing to persuade those colleges which do not offer the 21-hour scheme to do so?
§ Sir Keith JosephI agree with my hon. Friend. It will be a useful option for those concerned while seeking jobs, particularly as the qualification of three months' unemployment has been removed by the DHSS. As for the second part of my hon. Friend's question, I shall consider what ways are open to us.
§ Mr. SheermanIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that this Christmas 25 per cent. of teenagers will he on the dole and that many of them would very much like to pursue courses of education rather than merely signing on to the dole queue? Will he admit that the interface between availability of work, eligibility for benefit and the ability to qualify for the youth training scheme is in a complete mess and is understood by neither DHSS managers nor local education authorities? The result is that many young men and women who would like to pursue education while waiting for a job are not able to do so.
§ Sir Keith JosephThe hon. Gentleman carefully limited his remarks to teenagers and avoided accepting that, thanks to the work of the MSC and employers, there are very few 16-year-olds, as a proportion of that vintage, on the dole. The 21-hour rule is an extremely useful option for those who wish to undertake some part-time study while awaiting employment.