HC Deb 09 April 2001 vol 366 c488W
Mr. Willetts

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many lone parents, under the New Deal for Lone Parents, have(a) been issued with an initial invitation letter (b) requested information on the scheme, (c) booked initial interviews with personal advisers, (d) attended initial interviews, (e) agreed to participate in the programme, (f) been referred to Employment Service programmes or other training, (g) obtained jobs following participation and (h) increased hours of work following participation. [157076]

Angela Eagle

We are giving lone parents more choices and more help than ever before to move off welfare and into work.

The latest information available about the New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) is in the table.

Prototype phases 1 and 21 National programme2
Initial invitation letters issued 50,612 761,290
Lone parents requesting information 3 3
Initial interviews booked 30,826 4254,853
Initial interviews attended 23,300 212,490
Number agreeing to participate 20,191 188,500
Number entering education/training 2,944 20,450
Jobs obtained (Number of these obtained by 6,271 77,140
part-time workers increasing their hours) (842) (2,470)
1July 1997 to October 1998
2October 1998 to January 2001
3As lone parents may request further information about NDLP in a number of different ways it would be impossible to quantify this figure.
4The number of initial interviews booked is taken from internal management information and so has not been validated in the same way as other figures for the National Programme