§ 14. Mr. Ivan Lewis (Bury, South)If he will make a statement on the voluntary sector's contribution to the new deal. [48101]
§ The Minister for Employment, Welfare to Work and Equal Opportunities (Mr. Andrew Smith)I very much welcome the important contribution that the voluntary sector is making to the new deal. It has been involved from the initial planning and design stages to the delivery of gateway services and the provision of work and training opportunities. Those are now operating throughout the country, with scores of voluntary sector organisations involved, making places for thousands of unemployed young people.
§ Mr. LewisI welcome the central role that voluntary organisations have been given in delivering the new deal programme across the country and in my constituency. Will my right hon. Friend consider the problem that is increasingly experienced by voluntary organisations with existing projects that are working across Employment Service boundaries? They are finding it difficult to gain access to the contractual process because they are not confined to one geographical area, but their innovative projects would give young people the opportunities that they need to gain skills. Will my right hon. Friend clarify how such organisations that work across geographical boundaries can gain access to the new deal so that they can offer opportunities?
§ Mr. SmithYes, the new deal is a flexible and pragmatic programme, and we are developing it in response to need and potential. We are currently reviewing the operation of contracting in the new deal. There is nothing to prevent any voluntary organisation from contracting for more than one unit of delivery in the new deal, but I realise that the co-ordination of that might involve complexities that would particularly tax smaller voluntary organisations. I will ensure that the review considers that issue and that appropriate guidance is given, because we want to make the most of the enormous potential offered by the voluntary sector.
§ Mr. Don Foster (Bath)In view of the success in the pathfinder areas of the voluntary sector option in the new deal for the under-25s, will the Minister explain why there is not a similar option for the over-25s? Will he explain in more detail his plans for voluntary sector involvement in the new deal for the over-25s, particularly in view of the answer that he gave earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Hereford (Mr. Keetch)?
§ Mr. SmithMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State referred in an earlier response to voluntary sector involvement in the new deal for the over-25s. I underline that the new deal for the long-term unemployed not only fulfils our manifesto commitment to make available subsidies of £75 a week to employers taking on unemployed people over 25 who have been out of work for more than two years, but goes well beyond that commitment in opening up thousands of full-time education and training opportunities. What is more, in the pilots that we are developing for November, which will open up opportunities to 90,000 people who have been 1234 unemployed for 12 or 18 months, there will be a specific range of options, including the full involvement of the voluntary sector, for which the hon. Gentleman asks.
§ Mr. Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley)The Minister will remember that a few weeks ago, I mentioned the good work of Skillshare in my constituency, which provides much of the work that Skillshare does in other parts of the country and is under threat of closure because of the withdrawal of funding by Lancashire county council. The Minister has written to me about that, although he offered no hope whatever, but will he today congratulate Skillshare on obtaining funding from a trust set up by Ultraframe, a private firm in my constituency? Its owners, John and Rosemary Lancaster, have today guaranteed funding for the next 12 months. Will he also take a fresh look at ways in which he can assist organisations such as Skillshare to ensure that they will have some hope of life after the 12 months is up?
§ Mr. SmithI commended Skillshare, along with other voluntary sector providers to the new deal, in my answer to the hon. Gentleman last month. As he says, I have written to him, and I have encouraged those in the field to make contact with Skillshare to find out what help can be made available. This is not, perhaps, the week unreservedly to endorse any commercial sponsorship arrangements without knowing the details, but if Skillshare is able to continue to provide good-quality support to programmes that help the hon. Gentleman's constituents, no one will welcome that more than me.