Access to Work (Hansard, 5 February 1996)

§ Mr. Blunkett
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many of those successfully applying for access to work over the past year were employed when applying; and how many were unemployed. [13135]

§ Mr. Forth
Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Mike Fogden to Mr. David Blunkett, dated 5 February 1996:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the numbers of employed and unemployed people successfully applying for Access to Work.
During the period January to December 1995 there were 9,393 new Access to Work beneficiaries. Of these 7,566 were employed and 1,827 were unemployed. For these purposes we count as "unemployed" those who did not have a job when they applied for Access to Work, and newly employed people who had gained that employment with help from Access to Work.
I hope this is helpful.

§ Mr. Blunkett
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proportion of access to work funding was given to those who(a) were employed when the applied for assistance and (b) were previously unemployed. [13134]

§ Mr. Forth
Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Mike Fogden to Mr. David Blunkett, dated 5 February 1996:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the proportion of Access to Work funding given to those who were (a) employed and (b) unemployed when they applied for assistance.
The Employment Service does not collect information about the proportion of funding given to employed and unemployed applicants. However, during the period January to December 1995, 81 per cent. of new Access to work beneficiaries were employed and 19 per cent. were unemployed. For these purposes we count as "unemployed" those who did not have a job when they applied for Access to Work, and newly employed people who had gained that employment with help from Access to Work.
I hope this is helpful.