§ Ms. Clare Shortasked the Paymaster General (1) if he will estimate the number of new jobs to be created by the Government's jobstart and new workers' scheme initiatives; and on what basis the relevant expenditure estimates given in table 1 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report" were calculated;
(2) how much public expenditure is being set aside in 1986–87 to finance (i) the jobstart allowance element of the national restart programme for the long-term unemployed and (ii) the new workers scheme; and how many new jobs he expects to be created by these measures.
§ Mr. LangThe jobstan allowance is designed to encourage long-term unemployed people to take jobs which they might otherwise not consider and thereby to help employers to fill vacancies. It does not aim to create additional, new jobs, although it may help to fill vacancies which would otherwise remain unfilled (hence raising the overall level of employment). The allowance will be available from 1 July to anyone who is eligible and who makes a valid claim. It is difficult to predict what the take-up will be. A sum of £15 million has been provided for this programme in 1986–87.
The estimates of the expenditure on the new workers scheme published in table 1.1 of the Budget report were calculated on the basis of forecasts derived from our experience of the young workers scheme. We estimate that the coverage of the scheme in March 1987 may be some 63,000 and that its effectiveness in encouraging new jobs will be similar to that of the young workers scheme.