§ Ms. ShortTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many claimant advisers are in post; and how many interviews with claimants they have carried out in the year to the latest available date.
§ Mr. LeeThere were 1,160 claimant advisers in post at 28 March 1989, the latest date for which figures are available.
The total number of interviews carried out in the 12 months to 26 May 1989 was 937,496.
§ Ms. ShortTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what have been the outcomes of interviews by claimant advisers showing(a) how many claimants have been referred to the Department of Social Security; (b) how many have been referred to adjudication because of doubts about their availability for work and (c) how many have been encouraged to apply for jobstart or family credit.
§ Mr. LeeOutcomes of claimant adviser interviews held between April 1987 and May 1989 are as follows:
Numbers (a) Referrals to DSS 152,390 (b) Referrals to Adjudication1 54,919 (c) Figure not available 1 This is the total figure for referrals to adjudication—separate figures for referrals on availability doubts are not collected.
616W
Table 1 Numbers of availability for work submissions included in the survey Region Period ending March 1988 Period ending June 1988 Period ending September 1988 Period ending December 1988 Period ending March 1989 Northern 111 93 100 82 60 Yorkshire and Humberside 375 386 278 243 201 East Midlands 258 244 249 185 163 Eastern 174 227 154 171 157 Southern 182 154 149 149 132 Western 301 222 203 196 198 South West 351 154 198 140 137 Wales 102 73 43 36 137 West Midlands 119 128 109 152 102 North West 215 216 226 157 139 Scotland 422 361 403 327 284
§ Ms. ShortTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the cost of the claimant adviser service in 1989–90.
§ Mr. LeeThe claimant adviser service is an integral part of the employment service, and it is not possible to give a total, discrete cost for the service.
The salary cost of the claimant adviser service for 1989–90 is estimated to be some £18.5 million.