HC Deb 11 May 1988 vol 133 cc169-70W
Mr. McLeish

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will pro vide figures of the cost of the restart programme for the financial years 1986–87 and 1987–88, and an estimate of the cost of the programme for 1988–89; and what criteria and evaluative techniques are used to measure the success of the programme.

Mr. Lee

The main aim of the restart counselling programme is to contact all long-term unemployed people and to offer them positive help back to work.

The main measures of success of the programme are the number of long-term unemployed people contacted, the number interviewed, and the percentage of those interviewed who are offered positive help. This information is collected monthly.

Between July 1986 and March 1988, some 4.4 million people were contacted, 3.5 million interviewed and 89 per cent. of those offered positive help.

The costs of the counselling programme are as follows:

  1. 1986–87 £22 million.
  2. 1987–88 £40 million (estimated outturn).
  3. 1988–89 £41 million (estimate).