HC Deb 21 January 1999 vol 323 cc522-4W
Mr. Keetch

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list those areas for which(a) the New Deal Gateway and (b) one or more New Deal options are delivered entirely by private sector providers; and if he will list monthly expenditure and client outcomes for each of these private sector providers up to the latest date for which the figures are available. [63275]

Mr. Andrew Smith

[holding answer 14 December 1998]: There are no areas where the New Deal Gateway is delivered entirely by private sector providers although in ten Units of Delivery the New Deal is private sector led. These are: Leicester, Colchester, West Lancashire, Exeter and East Devon, South Humber, North Tyneside, Forth Valley, Hackney and City, Solihull and Bridgend. Client outcomes for these are shown in the table. These figures are GSS from January to October 1998 and provisional Management Information for November 1998.

Unsubsidised placings Number joining the Employment Option
Leicester 413 27
Colchester 376 19
West Lancashire 84 12
Exeter and Devon 234 32
South Humber 539 4
North Tyneside 130 42
Forth Valley 226 66
Hackney and City 460 35
Solihull 93 19
Bridgend 317 151

Whilst I am unable, for reasons of commercial confidentiality, to provide details of payments to individual contractors, we will be reporting later this year on the overall financial performance of all Units of Delivery, including these ten private sector led areas as part of our continuous improvement agenda. This will include as a core performance measure the unit cost of placing a New Deal client into a job in each of the Units of Delivery.

Mr. Hancock

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people have entered the New Deal Gateway in the Unit of Delivery covering Havant Borough Council area since its inception; and how many took up each New Deal option. [66367]

Mr. Andrew Smith

The latest Government Statistical Service figures for the Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Unit of Delivery, which covers Havant, show that to the end of October 1998(a) 1,229 young people had entered the Gateway and 217 had secured unsubsidised employment (b) 307 had joined one of the four options: 49 on the Employment option; 35 on the Voluntary Sector option; 10 on the Environment Task Force; and 213 on the Full-Time Education and Training option. 506 young people were still at the initial stage of New Deal support through Gateway, 32 had left New Deal to claim other benefits, 33 had gone to other known destinations and 134 had gone to unknown destinations.

Mr. Hancock

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people have entered the New Deal Gateway in the Unit of Delivery covering the New Forest District Council area since its inception; and how many took up each New Deal option. [66368]

Mr. Andrew Smith

The latest Government Statistical Service figures for the Southampton and South West Hampshire Unit of Delivery, which covers the New Forest, show that to the end of October 1998(a) 820 young people had entered the Gateway and 162 had secured unsubsidised employment (b) 178 had joined one of the four options: 37 on the Employment option; 25 on the Voluntary Sector option; 18 on the Environment Task Force; and 98 on the Full-Time Education and Training option. 316 young people were still at the initial stage of New Deal support through Gateway, 27 had left New Deal to claim other benefits, 32 had gone to other known destinations and 105 had gone to unknown destinations.

Ms Rosie Winterton

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many young unemployed people aged 18 to 25 years in Doncaster, Central have to date gained new skills from their participation in the New Deal programme. [66562]

Mr. Andrew Smith

Statistics from the New Deal are not available for individual constituencies.

The latest Government Statistical figures to the end of October 1998, including the provisional Management Information to the end of November 1998, show that for the Wakefield and Doncaster Unit of Delivery, which covers the Doncaster Central area, 3,015 young people aged between 18–24 have already entered the New Deal Gateway. 961 young people have joined one of the four options and each participant on a New Deal option will work towards an NVQ or equivalent qualification which will assist them in gaining a new skill and increasing their prospects for sustainable employment.