HC Deb 22 October 1998 vol 317 cc1377-9
1. Mr. John Healey (Wentworth)

If he will make a statement on the progress of the subsidised employment option of the new deal. [55090]

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

Like the rest of the new deal, that option has got off to an encouraging start. By the end of August, 7,000 young people were in jobs found through that option, in addition to the 16,000 in unsubsidised jobs.

Mr. Healey

I welcome that response. What assessment has my right hon. Friend made of the use of the new deal job option in Wales to create 70 new classroom assistants, and in the NHS in Scotland to create 270 new health service jobs, and what plans does he have to encourage similar initiatives in England?

Mr. Smith

Both those opportunities got off the ground only recently, and we are following them closely. The important thing, whether the job opportunities are in the public or the private sector, is that the processes work in terms of matching the young person with the right potential to the vacancy that meets the needs of the right employer. Whether people are in the classroom, or working in a hospital or a nursery, the important thing is that each one is the right person for the job.

Mr. Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire)

Is the Minister aware that, in the Cambridge travel-to-work area, by the end of September, only eight of the 667 persons eligible for the new deal had been placed through the subsidised employment option? Does he recognise the fact that, in some areas such as mine, it would be more relevant for resources to be directed towards, for example, those who are disabled, rather than being spent on promoting an option that is not being taken up or well used?

Mr. Smith

It would not be surprising to find that a relatively small number of people in the hon. Gentleman's area had moved through into employment at this stage of the programme. As the programme did not start throughout the country until April, we would expect the bulk of the intake still to be in the gateway. The hon. Gentleman is right to refer to the importance of provision for disabled people. I remind him that the new deal for young people provides for disabled people too, and, so far, the statistics that we have released showing the progress made by disabled people have been encouraging.

Mr. Tom Levitt (High Peak)

Over the summer, I took the opportunity to visit all three of the jobcentres in my constituency to see for myself how the new deal was progressing. I was impressed by what I saw. Will my right hon. Friend take the opportunity to congratulate the staff of the Employment Service on the care, diligence and purpose that they are showing in responding to the challenge that the new deal presents?

Mr. Smith

Indeed, I take pleasure in joining my hon. Friend in congratulating the staff of the Employment Service and the other partners who are working with us to make the new deal a success because, in order to succeed, it has to be a national crusade involving everybody in helping young and long-term unemployed people into jobs. There is no doubt that the commitment of Employment Service staff, the way in which quite a radical culture change is being driven through the service, and especially the dedication of the personal advisers, are greatly appreciated, both by young and long-term unemployed people, and by employers.

Mr. Damian Green (Ashford)

The degree of complacency that the Minister displays about the new deal is genuinely alarming. He now quotes figures showing that there are 7,000 subsidised jobs that would not have been there without the new deal, but, on 24 September, he was boasting that more than 25,000 employers had signed up to the new deal. Does he agree that, according to his own figures, there must be at least 18,000 firms that have not yet found a single placement for a new deal trainee? I think that there have been more press releases about the new deal than jobs created by it. Will the Minister tell us exactly how many firms that signed up to the new deal have failed to find even one suitable trainee? That would be one important measure of the failure of the scheme.

Mr. Smith

If there is any complacency around, it is among those on the Opposition Front Bench. Let us not forget—the Conservative party was so complacent about youth and long-term unemployment that there would have been no deal if it had had its way. That is the utmost in complacency. As to the progress of young people into jobs, 23,000 moving into jobs and 16,000 into unsubsidised jobs is a creditable achievement for a programme that only rolled out nationally in April. That is 23,000 more than would have been achieved under the hon. Gentleman's policies.