§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish the criteria by which the long-term unemployed on supplementary benefit are selected for interview by unemployment review officers.
§ Mr. PrenticeNormal procedures are that unemployment review officers interview men unde the age of 60 and women under the age of 55 who have been unemployed for about six months. There are variations depending on local conditions such as the regional level of unemployment and the availability of employment in the area. Claimants are also interviewed by UROs when they appear to be frequently or persistently unemployed without good cause. People who are suffering from ill-health which limits the work they are able to do or who are physically or mentally disabled are normally excluded from unemployment review.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimates he has received of the percentage of the long-term unemployed on supplementary benefit whose employability is affected by their health; what percentage is registered disabled; what percentage of these two groups have been interviewed by unemployment review officers in the last convenient period of six months; what percentage of those interviewed came off supplementary benefit before or just after the interview; and if his Department has any information about whether they obtained jobs after coming off supplementary benefit.
§ Mr. PrenticeI regret that information about long term unemployed supplementary benefit claimants whose employability is affected by their health is714W not available. Unemployment review officers do not normally interview claimants who are clearly physically or mentally disabled or those who are fit for only a very limited range of employment.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Secial Services what percentage of the long-term unemployed on supplementary benefit are aged 50 years or over; what percentage of these has been interviewed by unemployment review officers in the latest six months for which figures are available; what percentage of those interviewed came off supplementary benefit before or shortly after the interview; and if his Department has any information about whether they obtained jobs after coming off supplementary benefit.
§ Mr. PrenticeThe latest information available is that in November 1978 there were about 83,000 unemployed men and women over the age of 50 who had been receiving supplementary benefit for 12 months or more. This represented 39 per cent. of all unemployed people receiving supplementary benefit for a year or more. I regret that it is not known how many of these claimants were interviewed by unemployment review officers. That information could be obtained only at considerable cost.