§ 13. Mr. Kenneth Carlisleasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are employed in the community programme at the latest available date.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkOn 29 February, the latest date for which figures are available, there were almost 112,000 people employed on the community programme.
§ Mr. CarlisleDoes my hon. Friend agree that this is an excellent programme for the long-term unemployed and for the community? Does he understand that in Lincolnshire there is great anxiety because the number of places on the scheme is being reduced by one third? It is wrong and it is bad management to ask anyone to reduce a programme at short notice by that amount. Will he undertake to restore the numbers on the scheme to their original level?
§ Mr. ClarkI am grateful to my hon. Friend for the appreciative remarks that he has made about the scheme. I know that he played a significant part in getting it off to a successful early start in Lincolnshire. He must accept that those who got off to an early start received more than their original allocation. Now that the scheme has proved successful throughout the United Kingdom it is necessary to adjust the allocation to its original figure in response to the dictates of fairness. There are Government constraints, and in the past three months the House of Commons has approved £25 million for the scheme. I hope that my hon. Friend will accept that I cannot give an undertaking to increase that allocation in the near future.