§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what assessment has been made by her Department of the impact of lengthening the qualifying period for the payment of336W expenses for attending job interviews; and what assessment has been made of the benefits of the scheme; [29003]
(2) how much her Department has spent in each of the last three years in meeting the expenses incurred by unemployed people in attending job interviews; and how much her Department expects to save as a result of recent changes in the unemployment qualifying period for the payments of travelling expenses for attending job interviews. [29004]
§ Mr. ForthResponsibility for the subject of the questions has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked for him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Mike Fogden to Mr. Brian Donohoe, dated 13 May 1996:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions to her about the payment of expenses for attending job interviews. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
The ES provides financial assistance to unemployed people attending job interviews beyond their normal daily travelling distance through the Travel to Interview Scheme (TIS).
The performance of TIS is assessed on a regular basis to provide information which will improve the effectiveness of the scheme in helping unemployed people back into work. Management information is collected quarterly to monitor the operation of the programme and latest figures show that in 1995–96 the scheme helped 46,810 people with travel costs.
A full evaluation of TIS has also been carried out. This examined, in more detail, various aspects of the operation and impact of the programme. The evaluation was not designed to assess the impact of lengthening the qualifying period for payment. However, the report does contain some information about the impact of TIS on people with different unemployment durations. If you would like to see the full detail of this study, copies can be obtained through the House of Commons library.
Over the last three financial years the cost of meeting the expenses incurred by unemployed clients to attend job interviews have been.
- 1993–94 £1.79 million enabling 50,373 interviews
- 1994–95 £1.8 million enabling 51,140 interviews
- 1995–96 £1.7 million enabling 46,810 interviews
As the figures show, the demand for TIS has fallen over the last 12 months. However, we will not be able to compare savings made through the introduction of the 13 week measures until we have collected statistics at the end of June and compared them with the corresponding quarter last year. I will write to you again in August when that comparison has been carried out.
I hope this is helpful.