§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what factors led to people on the pilot of the New Deal for 18 to 24-year-olds remaining on the four month Gateway for over a year. [82573]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithEarlier analysis of the small group of young people who are shown as being on the Gateway a year after they started New Deal indicates that the majority have had significant breaks from New Deal. Reasons for breaks include sickness and short-term employment; if a young person leaves the Gateway and subsequently returns within 13 weeks, they will re-enter the Gateway at the point which they left.
§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many employers have agreed to take on one or more subsidised employee from the New Deal for 18 to 24-year-olds in each month since January 1998; [82570]
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Table 1 Starts to New Deal Moved to sustained employment Ethnic minority Leaving with unknown destination Ethnic minority Area Ethnic minority White (%) White (%) (%) White (%) National 34,419 195,820 19 26 22 17 London and South East Region 18,437 36,349 19 26 22 21 Hammersmith and Fulham/Kensington and Chelsea 551 509 18 23 23 24 (2) how many employers have agreed to take on their first subsidised employee from the New Deal for 18 to 24-year-olds in each month since January 1998. [82571]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithInformation about the number of employees taken on by any one employer is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
However, when agreeing to take on at least one New Deal employee the employer will give their commitment by signing a New Deal Employer Agreement. They are included in the following table showing the number of New Deal Agreements signed each month since January 1998.
Number of employer agreements signed Month In month Cumulative January 1998 858 — February 1998 1,010 1,868 March 1998 2,426 4,294 April 1998 5,034 9,328 May 1998 5,347 14,675 June 1998 4,237 18,912 July 1998 3,267 22,179 August 1998 3,467 25,646 September 1998 3,419 29,065 October 1998 3,850 32,915 November 1998 2,476 35,391 December 19981 4,447 39,838 January 1999 2,159 41,997 February 1999 2,350 44,347 March 1999 2,610 46,957 1The in-month figure for December 1998 included retrospectively amended data
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list for the most recent period for which figures are available the proportions of (i) black and ethnic minority and (ii) white participants in the New Deal for Young People programme at(a) national, (b) London and South East Region and (c) Hammersmith and Fulham/Kensington and Chelsea levels, who have (1) joined the Gateway, (2) remained in the Gateway for four months or more, (3) moved into sustained employment and (4) left the New Deal with no known destination.[82745]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithThe information set out in table 1 shows the number of young people who have joined New Deal since January 1998, the proportion of them moving into sustained employment and the proportion who have left New Deal with an unknown destination for each of the areas requested, up to the end of February 1999.
Table 2 shows the proportion of young people who remained on the Gateway for more than four months. This information is drawn from the latest available cohort who joined New Deal in October 1998.
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Table 2 Percentage Spent over four months on the Gateway. Area Ethnic minority White National 37 35 London and South East Region 39 35 Hammersmith and Fulham/Kensington and Chelsea 36 43
§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what action he is taking to(a) identify and (b) track the clients leaving the New Deal for Young People; and if he will make a statement. [82736]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithThe destinations of young people leaving New Deal are identified and reported in the New Deal Statistical First Release published monthly.
Clients who leave New Deal with an unknown destination are followed through regular monthly surveys to ascertain their destination. In addition, as part of the ongoing evaluation of New Deal, surveys of samples of leavers will be carried out to collect more detailed information about their activities and experiences.
§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment the Government have made of the relative merits of using(a) off-flows from the claimant count in the target category and (b) an absolute fall in the unemployment count in the target category, to measure the Government's progress in meeting its targets for the new deal for young people; and if he will make a statement. [81749]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithBoth these measures will be used as part of the comprehensive evaluation of the effect of New Deal on the labour market. However, our full assessment also includes the use of a range of performance measures such as movement from welfare into employment and whether that employment is sustained, its success amongst people with disabilities and people from ethnic minority backgrounds, the level of satisfaction of both participants and employers and improvement in skill levels.