§ 3. Mr. Douglas Alexander (Paisley, South)What assessment he has made of the operation of the ONE pilot project in Paisley; and if he will make a statement. [118128]
§ The Secretary of State for Scotland (Dr. John Reid)Early impressions are that the Clyde Coast and Renfrew ONE pilot is an effective way of helping people into work.
§ Mr. AlexanderDoes my right hon. Friend agree that the staff of the Employment Service and the Benefit Agency in Paisley and Johnstone are to be congratulated on that initiative? Would he concur with the view expressed by one of the personal advisers from the ONE initiative in Johnstone who told me last week that the initiative has been especially successful in assisting women returning to work in the area of the Clyde coast?
§ Dr. ReidYes, I am more than prepared to thank the staff my hon. Friend mentioned for the enormous amount of work that they have done. I know that he has given much encouragement to and taken great interest in the initiative.
813 The ONE scheme provides a one-stop shop for job seekers, providing practical help and advice on benefits, training, work experience, housing and child care. Claimants will have their own personal adviser to help them bring all that together and to assess their job potential. It is part of what we have been doing to assist people to find appropriate work where they want it, and it is one of the reasons why we have been able to create 60,000 new jobs in Scotland, and 800,000 in the United Kingdom as a whole. Employment in Scotland is running at about 2.3 million, the highest for something like 33 years.
§ Mr. Ian Bruce (South Dorset)I am sure that the Secretary of State will acknowledge that we need this excellent new initiative because new deal has totally failed to help the long-term unemployed. Has the right hon. Gentleman seen the figures that show that the long-term unemployed are going through a revolving door? They are not—
§ Madam SpeakerOrder. Do the figures refer to Paisley, which is the specific subject of the question? If the hon. Gentleman is referring to Paisley, the House would be grateful for the figures.
§ Mr. BruceThe figures for Paisley show exactly that there is a very large revolving door in Paisley.
§ Madam SpeakerWould the Secretary of State like to answer on the Paisley issue, please?
§ Dr. ReidThank you, Madam Speaker, for your helpful ruling. It may help the hon. Gentleman if I explain to him that Paisley is a town quite near to, but distinct from, Glasgow. Such information is usually useful for Conservative Members.
The ONE scheme in Paisley is proving very successful. Youth unemployment and long-term unemployment have fallen there, and that represents what has happened across Scotland, where 77,000 people have gone through the new deal in various capacities. Youth unemployment in Scotland has been cut by up to 69 per cent. since this Government took office. Long-term unemployment has fallen by 20 per cent.