§ Mr. Charles KennedyTo ask the Secretary of State for Educational and Employment if he will review the discretion open to local job centre managers in respect of286W those in receipt of the jobseeker's allowance wishing to participate in local job clubs; and if he will make a statement. [30026]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthResponsibility 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 Leigh Lewis to Mr. Charles Kennedy, dated 25 February 1998:
The Secretary of State for Education and Employment has asked me to reply to your question on the discretion open to local Jobcentre managers in respect of those in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance wishing to participate in local Jobclubs. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Employment Service.The eligibility requirement for entry to a Jobclub is that a person must be continuously unemployed for at least 26 weeks. This means they must have been signing at an Employment Service Jobcentre claiming Jobseeker's Allowance and/or National Insurance Credits, unless they have been in receipt of Income Support or Incapacity Benefit which do not require them to be signing on (for example, if they are sick or a lone parent). However, exceptions to the six months unemployment requirement are made for people with disabilities, ex-prisoners, former members of HM forces, people with literacy or numeracy difficulties, people needing basic training in English (and Welsh/Gaelic), labour market returnees and those who have become unemployed as a result of large scale redundancies.I understand there are no plans currently to review these eligibility conditions.I hope this is helpful.