§ Ms AbbottTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many pilot schemes have been launched, under which payments are made to employers who recruit the long-term unemployed, as announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget statement of 16 March; where are these pilot schemes; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythIn his spring Budget, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, the right hon. Member for Kingston-upon-Thames (Mr. Lamont), announced the introduction of a pilot scheme called workstart which offers a financial incentive to employers who recruit eligible long term unemployed people. There are four pilots, two run by the employment service in south London and east Kent, and two by training and enterprise councils in Tyneside and Devon and Cornwall.