§ Mr. Maddenasked the Secretary of State for Employment what changes are proposed in the operation of the employment transfer scheme.
§ Mr. GoldingFollowing recommendations from the Manpower Services Commission I have approved the following changes:
Applications for financial assistance under the employment transfer scheme—ETS—in future must be made before the date of starting work in the new area.
People aged 19 and over taking up employment within six months of successfully completing a full-time course of higher education will not be eligible for ETS assistance. This exclusion will not apply to mature students.
Entiltlement to the enhanced payments for rehousing for those moving from an assisted area and for those successfully completing a TOPS course will be established in two stages, six months and a year after beginning work.
The abolition of the little used nucleus labour force scheme.
The change relating to students will come into affect on 1st January 1979. All the other changes are planned to come into effect by early July. Revised rules will be placed in the Library. The changes are the outcome of the first stage of a review of mobility assistance. Any modifications stemming from the second stage will be notified later in the year.