HL Deb 16 March 2000 vol 610 cc222-3WA
Lord Dholakia

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What proportion of those who are unemployed and receiving benefit have convictions for standard list offences; and what estimate the Government have made of the extent to which the fact of those convictions prevents them from finding work. [HL1450]

The Minister of State, Department for Education and Employment (Baroness Blackstone)

People claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) are not required to disclose any previous convictions. It is therefore not possible to provide information about the number or proportion of JSA claimants who have convictions for standard list offences.

My department is keen to have better information about the employment position of ex-offenders. For this reason we have commissioned the National Institute of Economic and Social Research to work with the British Market Research Bureau and the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders to produce a definitive assessment of the position of offenders in the labour market. The research will be reported at the end of the year and will inform further policy development.