§ Q30. Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Prime Minister if she will list the Government's help for the long-term unemployed in terms of income support and opportunities for training and education since May 1979.
§ The Prime MinisterSince May 1979 the Government have
More than maintained price protection for those on supplementary benefit, which is the main source of income support for people unemployed for a year or more. In November 1983 the real value of supplementary benefit scale rates was some 5 per cent. higher than in November 1978;Extended automatic-entitlement to the supplementary benefit long-term scale rate to unemployed men aged 60 or over;Introduced the community programme to provide long-term unemployed people with temporary jobs of community benefit, including some element of training or opportunities for training. This programme was helping 112,000 people at the end of January 1984;Made funds available to the Open University —£500,000 in 1983–84—specifically to assist unemployed students with fees; andIntroduced a three-year centrally funded development programme to improve educational opportunities for unemployed people, at a cost of £2.5 million.Introduced the enterprise allowance scheme which provides a flat-rate allowance for up to 12 months as an incentive to those unemployed people who wish to set up their own businesses but are deterred from doing so because they would lose their entitlement to unemployment or supplementary benefit.