§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people have been helped into sustained employment via the Employment Zone scheme(a) in each year since its introduction and (b) broken down according to each employment zone; and what his definition of sustained employment is for this purpose; [85974]
(2) how much has been (a) budgeted and (b) spent on the Employment Zone scheme in each year since its introduction (i) in total and (ii) in each zone; and if he will make a statement. [85976]
§ Mr. Nicholas Brown[holding answer 9 December 2002]: Between April 2000, when they were launched, and September 2002, Employment Zones have helped 29,144 people into work. Of these, 21,001 have been helped into sustained employment (i.e. jobs lasting more than 13 weeks).
Information on the number of people helped into sustained employment in each Employment Zone is in the following table. The majority of Contract 1 job outcomes have been notified to the Department. A large number of participants recruited onto Contract 2 remain on the programme. Their job outcomes will continue to be notified to, and validated by, the Department. The Contract 2 figures will, therefore, continue to increase.
1006W
Number of people helped into sustained employment Employment zone April 2000—July 2001(Contract 1) July 2001—June 2002(Contract 2) Birmingham 2,847 1,421 Brent 702 248 Brighton and Hove 872 330 Doncaster and Bassetlaw 457 324 Glasgow 1,790 598 Haringey 1,814 367 Liverpool and Sefton 1,691 658 Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland 593 233 Newham 876 304 North West Wales 300 47 Nottingham 297 248 Plymouth 469 187 Southwark 1,165 522 Tower Hamlets 592 356 Heads of the Valley, Caerphilly and Torfaen 432 261 Note:
Employment Zones vary in size and coverage.
Source:
Employment Zone Management Information
Information on the total budget and expenditure on the Employment Zone initiative is as follows:
£ million Total budget Total expenditure 2000–01 56.4 72.0 2001–02 87.0 195.5 2002–03 91.3 Not yet available 1 Forecast Source:
Jobcentre Plus
These increases reflect a rise in the number of Employment Zone clients, and the high level of performance achieved by the zones.
Information on budgets and expenditure for individual Employment Zones cannot be published because they are commercially confidential. Both budget and expenditure figures include benefit equivalent payments made to participants while on the Employment Zone.
Based on the April 2000—June 2001 cohort study, the average cost per job in Employment Zones is around £3,400. The cohort study covers those people who have completed their time on the Employment Zone.