HC Deb 18 November 1986 vol 105 cc426-7
8. Mr. Lawler

asked the Paymaster General what figure he has for the destination of people who have been on a restart scheme.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

We have no means of knowing how many of those who have had a restart interview, or have been on a restart course, subsequently find work, or go into training, self-employment or other opportunities.

Mr. Lawler

My right hon. and learned Friend will be pleased to know of the success of the scheme in Bradford, where more than 4,000 people have been interviewed, of whom 94 per cent. have been made a positive offer. As anyone who has ever visited one of these schemes will be aware, the greatest success must be in remotivating people who otherwise would become demoralised. Will my right hon. and learned Friend assure those who are working in the restart scheme that, given its success, the Government intend to extend it universally to those who have been unemployed for more than six months?

Mr. Clarke

I agree with my hon. Friend. We are approaching and interviewing that body of people who have given up hope of getting work. Many of them believe that there is no chance of getting a job. They discover that we can offer them a range of opportunities. I am glad that the scheme is helping in Bradford. We are already piloting the possibility of extending the scheme to those who have been out of work for six months. If that is successful, we shall obviously look at the opportunities to extend it.

Mr. Ernie Ross

The Paymaster General will know that Dundee is one of the areas selected for the MSC's new job training scheme. The experience of the 20 individuals who were interviewed last week is frightening and horrifying. Neither oral nor written information was available to the claimants who were interviewed, who were obviously anxious and keen to improve their employment prospects and to know whether they would be entitled to the benefits that they had previously received. The also wanted to know their position at the end of the six-month period. In fact, the whole scheme is a shambles. The people who have accepted those training places, perhaps because they are afraid of losing benefit, are anxious about their present eligibility for benefit, and their long-term future.

Mr. Clarke

I am surprised to hear of that reaction. Obviously, we are just introducing and trying out this new scheme with the aim of giving a guaranteed training place to everyone under 25 who has been unemployed for longer than a certain time. I am sure that those people could benefit from the type of training courses which we have been putting together. The number of unemployed people under 25 is dropping steadily all the time. We think that giving more training is the key to getting even more of them back into work.

Mr. Sackville

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that if Labour Members want to show real concern for the unemployed they should start encouraging the scheme instead of worrying about the electoral consequences for their party of any fall in unemployment?

Mr. Clarke

I entirely agree. The Opposition are looking increasingly concerned. Some of them almost argue that if we do anything that actually gives someone a job that is a dastardly move to reduce the unemployment figures and weaken their chances of winning the election. I hope that they will stop calling our schemes tea and sympathy, because up and down the country the schemes are proving to be an extremely effective means of getting the long-term unemployed back into work.