§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether his Department has considered what effect the implementation of the proposals of the White Paper, "Building Businesses—Not Barriers", will have on the practice of job splitting; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NichollsThe Government continue to be committed to removing those unnecessary regulations which serve only to hinder and stifle the enterprise that creates jobs. We believe that firms that are able to concentrate their energies on running their businesses efficiently and competitively, with fewer administrative burdens, will be much better placed to provide more employment opportunities, whether full or part time.
Specific proposals of the White Paper are still under consideration.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will outline the measures introduced by his Department to encourage job splitting; and what further measures he is considering implementing to encourage this practice.
§ Mr. LeeThe job-splitting scheme was introduced in January 1983 to help employers create more part-time job opportunities for people who would otherwise be unemployed. The scheme was improved and relaunched with the effect from 1 April this year. The main changes were:
- —to increase the grant available to employers from £840 to £1,000, payable in three instalments of £500, £200, and £300;
- —part-time employee places to be open to anyone claiming benefits at an unemployment benefit office;
- —to change the name of the scheme to jobshare, a title which more accurately reflects the principle behind the provision and the name most commonly used by the public when describing the job splitting scheme.
As with all our programmes, jobshare will be kept under review during the coming year.