§ 7. Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what progress has been made in setting up the workstart pilot projects.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe programme is now under way in all four pilot areas. The first long-term unemployed people were recruited under the programme and started work with employers in July.
§ Mr. ClappisonDoes my hon. Friend agree that this innovative scheme, which is rightly aimed at helping the long-term unemployed, will have to be carefully monitored? Does she further agree that, in monitoring the scheme, a great deal of weight should be attached to the benefits to society of getting the long-term unemployed back into work?
§ Miss WiddecombeI thank my hon. Friend for his kind remarks about the scheme. At the moment, it is going extremely well and it is thought by employers that long-term jobs will be created after the temporary period of employment is over. This is a very welcome initiative. As my hon. Friend said, the crucial thing in dealing with the long-term unemployed is to make sure that they have work experience and get back into the labour market, which is what this scheme is intended to do. I have high hopes for it.
§ Mr. FlynnIs not this just a new name for an old confidence trick? Does the Minister agree with her predecessor, who said that the main intention of her Department is to create almost entirely useless schemes in order to get the unemployed off the unemployment register? Does the Minister agree with Mr. Alan Clark?
§ Miss WiddecombeMy predecessor, as the hon. Gentleman describes him, was in the Department of Employment a decade ago. The hon. Gentleman may not have caught up with events since then, but the unemployed have.