§ 20. Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the achievements of the job creation scheme.
§ Mr. GoldingI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that a total of 22,616 applications have been received for funding under the job creation programme, of which 15,299 have been approved providing up to 140,000 temporary jobs at an average gross cost of £1,600 each. The net cost per job after taking into account savings in unemployment and supplementary benefit and payments of tax and national insurance contributions is about £725.
It is estimated that by the end of the programme in December 1978 approximately 230,000 persons who otherwise would have been unemployed will have benefited from the scheme.