§ Mr. WattsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to develop the Employment Service's job search provision for unemployed people following the evaluation report on programme centres published last month. [64905]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithI am pleased with the progress in developing programme centres so far. To provide further support for job search, where this is delivered through Jobclubs, I have asked the Employment Service to 679W encourage providers to operate a more flexible model of delivery to enable jobseekers to receive help tailored to their individual needs.
In addition I have asked the Employment Service to introduce changes to Jobclub eligibility conditions. This means that, in line with programme centres, job search support will be available for people experiencing difficulty in returning to work after 13 weeks of unemployment. This will be at the discretion of Employment Service advisers who will identify those clients who most need this kind of help.
The changes will take effect from April 1999.