HC Deb 10 December 2001 vol 376 cc583-4
7. Mr. Kevan Jones (North Durham)

If he will make a statement on the impact of the new deal for lone parents in the north-east.[19148]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Malcolm Wicks)

By the end of September, there had been nearly 17,000 participants in the new deal for lone parents in the north-east. Of those, nearly 2,000 had taken up education or training opportunities, and more than 8,000 had moved into work. Nationally, 118,000 lone parents have moved into work.

Mr. Jones

My hon. Friend's answer will be very welcome in the north-east, but is he aware of the concern felt by organisations such as the Derwentside citizens advice bureau in Stanley, in my constituency? The CAB has complained that the scheme is not well advertised, and that therefore people are failing to take it up locally. Will my hon. Friend assure me that it will be better advertised locally, so that more people in North Durham can have access to what is a very worthwhile scheme?

Malcolm Wicks

The best way for lone parents to find out about the scheme is to be invited for an interview with a new deal personal adviser. We have a rolling programme to ensure that that happens, and that all new claimants are invited in when their youngest child goes to school. We also have a programme enabling lone parents who have been on income support for some years to be invited in when their children are older. It is best to take part in a face-to-face interview to find out what is happening.

It is good news that since the 1997 general election the proportion of lone parents on income support has gone down by 10 per cent in my hon. Friend's constituency. That is not welfare reform rhetoric. It is good reality.

Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York)

How many of the 2,000 lone parents in the north-east currently undertaking education and training will go on to obtain a job? How many would have found work anyway? What added value is the new deal bringing to lone parents in the north-east?

Malcolm Wicks

I am surprised that this is a controversial matter in the House. I have already said that, in addition to the 2,000 who have gone into education or training, 8,000—49 per cent.—of those who had interviews have gone into work, so work is there. Some lone parents have fewer educational qualifications and skills than the population as a whole. That is why it is right and proper that sometimes we talk about welfare through education into work. I would have thought that that was welcomed.

Mr. James Clappison (Hertsmere)

Is not the problem with the new deal in the north-east not just that it is not well advertised and is not giving added value, but that there is an insufficient supply of good jobs for people to go into, particularly long-term jobs? As the Minister admits, only a minority are going into those jobs; the manufacturing sector in the north-east is shedding jobs at an alarming rate. Apparently, the new deal in the north-east is serving up jobs at McDonald's, something that Labour Members complained about when they were in opposition. Should not Labour Members, including the Minister, be worried that, notwithstanding the statistic that he has quoted, the claimant count is going up in the north-east? The Government's policies are a bad deal for the north-east. Would it not be better if Ministers in the Department persuaded their colleagues in the rest of the Government to stop piling burdens on business in the north-east and to allow businesses to get on with the job of creating employment?

Malcolm Wicks

Not so much fast food as fast and sloppy rhetoric. Why cannot the hon. Gentleman rejoice in the fact that 8,000 lone mothers in the north-east are now in work as a result of the new deal? That is good news. Even in the most hard-pressed regions there are still job vacancies. That is why the skills and training agenda is so important. We are determined to enable everyone on income support, including lone parents, to have the best advice about training and job opportunities. That is what the new deal is about and it is what Jobcentre Plus is about.