§ Mr. Madelasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is proposing to make any modification to the job-splitting scheme.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkWe have been monitoring the scheme closely since it opened for applications on 3 January 1983 and propose to provide greater flexibility in the rules by making the following modifications, which will come into effect immediately
—Applications will be accepted within three months of the conditions of the scheme being satisfied.— A gap of up to six weeks will be allowed between the day the full-time job was last occupied and filling the part-time jobs.— People leaving the youth training scheme or the youth opportunities programme will be able to go directly into a split job at either their present or another establishment.— People leaving the community programme will be able to move directly into a split job.— The total hours of the two part-time jobs may be up to 10 hours more than those of the full-time job which is split. The requirement that they should not be more than five hours less than those of the full-time job is not changed.— The two part-timers may work alongside each other for up to 10 days of initial training.A revised leaflet incorporating these changes will be issued as soon as possible.