§ 2. Ms Julia Drown (South Swindon)If he will make a statement on progress in securing employer involvement in the new deal for the young unemployed. [59103]
§ The Minister for Employment, Welfare to Work and Equal Opportunities (Mr. Andrew Smith)The new deal is making good progress in securing employer involvement, with now nearly 33,000 employers signed up–254 of them in the Swindon district—and with firms of all sizes actively involved in the planning, promotion and delivery of the new deal.
§ Ms DrownI thank my right hon. Friend for that helpful reply. My constituency has low unemployment, but some young people, and others eligible for the new deal, have real difficulties in returning to work, even with the support of the new deal. For example, they may have communication difficulties or lack some social skills. What advice does my right hon. Friend have for employers so that they might help into work some of the people who are not yet job-ready?
§ Mr. SmithThere are a number of ways in which employers can offer extra assistance—for example, through involvement in the design and delivery of the gateway, by encouraging employees to act as mentors, and by offering mock interviews—to help especially disadvantaged young people to get jobs. I am pleased to say that many employers are already doing just that, which is greatly to their credit. Indeed, I know of some in my hon. Friend's constituency.
§ Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham)Will the Minister confirm that nearly 80 per cent. of the companies that 1094 have signed up to the new deal have so far failed to recruit a single young new deal participant? In light of that, is it any surprise that employers are losing faith as the Government's elaborate flagship becomes just the latest in a long string of expensive failures?
§ Mr. SmithNo, I will confirm no such thing. The 33,000 employers who have signed up to the new deal are testimony to their confidence in it. As the hon. Gentleman is talking about the progress of the new deal, he might like to take account of the fact that, in 18 months, we have reduced youth unemployment to a level lower than it was at any time during the 18 years of the previous Government. What is more, in the six months the new deal has been up and running nationally, youth unemployment has fallen at nearly twice the rate it did in the six months before the general election.
§ Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover)Will the Minister bear in mind that in some parts of Britain there are still pockets of very high unemployment, especially in coalfield areas where the Tories closed the pits? Will he pay special attention to that and ensure that special training centres are set up to mop up the unemployment? If he has time, will he also bear it in mind that towards the end of the year a new deal for jobs will be required for the unemployed hereditary peers? May I suggest that they be found tasks cleaning out the sewers?
§ Mr. SmithI have taken serious note of what my hon. Friend said about hereditary peers and, more importantly, the needs of the coalfield communities. We are looking at the adequacy of the training provision and carefully monitoring the progress of young unemployed people into jobs or, through the other new-deal options, in gaining the skills that they need genuinely to enhance their employability. That is every bit as, if not more, important in coalfield areas, inner cities and estates that were blighted by high unemployment under the Conservatives but which this Government are taking action to help.
§ Mr. Paul Keetch (Hereford)Does the Minister agree that one of the most difficult sectors of youth unemployment to place in work is that from the ethnic minorities? Is he aware that 20 per cent. fewer people from ethnic minorities find subsidised employment through the new deal? For example, in Lambeth where half the people on options are from ethnic minorities, only one in four finds subsidised employment. Is it not time the Department started keeping records so that the anomalies can be understood and rectified?
§ Mr. SmithIt is because we started keeping records that the hon. Gentleman can ask the question. Under the new deal, we have introduced ethnic monitoring for the first time. In the spirit of co-operation on the part of the hon. Gentleman's party, he might like to refer to the glass as half full rather than half empty. The good news from the early figures is that, so far, ethnic minorities have been moving into unsubsidised jobs at the same rate as the rest of the population.
As for the options, a higher proportion of ethnic minorities are involved in the full-time education and training option and the voluntary sector option and a lower proportion in the employment option and the environmental task force. Of course we are closely 1095 monitoring that and looking into the reasons for it; and we shall make any necessary adjustments to the programme to provide full and fair opportunities for ethnic minorities.