HC Deb 11 June 1998 vol 313 cc1191-2
14. Mr. Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby)

When he plans to extend the new deal to older workers in north-east Lincolnshire. [43769]

The Minister for Employment, Welfare to Work and Equal Opportunities (Mr. Andrew Smith)

The new deal for people aged 25 and over will start on 29 June. In addition, the area will benefit from the November new deal pilots, as South Humber is one of the districts in which the private sector has been invited to tender. We are consulting on the content of that programme.

Mr. Mitchell

This is mildly sycophantic on the Mackinlay scale, but I am delighted with my right hon. Friend's answer. I know that he is determined to extend the benefits of the new deal to older workers who need and deserve the boost—the help and support—that he has been giving to the young unemployed.

I hope that my right hon. Friend will continue to bear in mind the urgent needs of north-east Lincolnshire. We have not only higher unemployment, while unemployment in the rest of the country is still falling, but—on a new basis of calculation—one of the highest unemployment levels, if not the highest, in the whole of Yorkshire and Humberside. The need is urgent in north-east Lincolnshire.

Mr. Smith

I agree with, and welcome, my hon. Friend's commendation of the programme, and its relevance to the needs of his constituents. I assure him that, whatever is the private sector lead, it will—together with the new deal partnership—engage in close consultation with the local community and local business to ensure that the particular needs of those older long-term unemployed people are dealt with effectively, and in a way that conforms to the high-quality standards that are the hallmark of the new deal.

Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York)

Does the Minister agree that, in north-east Lincolnshire, as elsewhere—

Madam Speaker

Order. Not "as elsewhere". The question applies specifically to north-east Lincolnshire.

Mr. Edward Leigh (Gainsborough)

rose—

Madam Speaker

I call the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Leigh). He represents Lincolnshire.

Mr. Leigh

In view of the particularly helpful question put to him by the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell), will the Minister consider extending the new deal to him in the forthcoming Government reshuffle? Some of us admire the hon. Gentleman.

The Minister ought to remember that unemployment is very high in Lincolnshire, especially in rural areas. I hope that he will not forget our problems, rather than directing his attention entirely to north-east Lincolnshire.

Mr. Smith

We all admire my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby. As for the needs of the part of Lincolnshire to which the hon. Member for Gainsborough has referred, partnerships in the new deal across the country have been invited to bid to have the opportunity to be one of the 20 pilots alongside the private sector pilots to which I referred. We shall evaluate those bids against the effectiveness and quality of what they offer the local community, and how much innovation they show in working with local authorities, training and enterprise councils and local private business.