§ Ms. Clare Shortasked the Paymaster General if he will publish figures for the numbers of (i) jobs covered by the community programme and the annual cost of the programme in each year since it started and (ii) current jobs covered by the programme and its cost; and what are the average weekly earnings and number of hours worked under the programme.
§ Mr. LangThe community programme was introduced on 1 October 1982 and replaced the community enterprise programme.
The number of filled places at the end of each financial year since 1982 were as follows:
Filled places March 1983 17,100 March 1984 112,900 March 1985 132,800 March 1986 199,900 The annual costs in cash prices, including programme administration costs, and residual expenditure on the community enterprise programme were as follows:
£ million 1982–83 177.0 1983–84 400.1 1984–85 534.3 *1985–86 688.0 * Forecast. Preliminary findings from the most recent survey of community programme participants indicate average weekly earnings of £141.55 for managers and supervisors and £65.96 for other participants. However the manager and supervisor figure is thought to have been influenced by the incidence of back-pay during the survey period, resulting from last year's local authority pay settlement. The previous survey of participants, conducted three months earlier, showed average weekly earnings of £121.60 for managers and supervisors.
The reported earnings figures include top-up payments made by some project sponsors to participants in addition to wage costs met by the Manpower Services Commission. A survey currently in the field will provide information as to the extent of this topping-up.
The most recent survey found that, on average, managers and supervisors work 37 hours per week and other participants 27 hours per week.
490W
§ Ms. Clare Shortasked the Paymaster General if he will publish any available data which show the labour market activity of workers in the 12 months following participation in (i) the YTS, (ii) the community programme, (iii) the young workers scheme and (iv) the enterprise allowance scheme.
§ Mr. TrippierA regular follow-up survey is conducted of young people some three months after they leave YTS. Results from this survey are produced monthly and copies are placed in the Library.
A survey of the community programme was published in November 1985 and showed that 48 per cent. of people leaving the community programme had held one or more jobs in the six to 10 month period since leaving the programme. An estimated 90 per cent. of those completing a year of support on the young workers scheme continue in employment with the same employer. Further details will be published in an article in the May issue of the Employment Gazette.
An article in the August 1985 issue of the Employment Gazette summarised survey work on the enterprise allowance scheme and reported that 80 per cent. of those who had completed a year on the scheme, were still running the business 15 months after starting it under the scheme.