§ 26. Sir Anthony Meyerasked the Paymaster General if he will take steps to relax the rules governing the engagement of staff for the community programme in such a way as to enable their employment to be extended beyond 12 months.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkEmployment on projects funded by the community programme is normally limited to a maximum of 12 months. However, exceptions to this rule may be allowed for managers, supervisors and other key workers with skills essential to the continued successful operation of a project and for whom no suitably qualified replacement is available from among unemployed people.
§ 30. Mr. Thurnhamasked the Paymaster General what are the objectives of his Department's community programne policy; how he is monitoring its effectiveness; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkI refer my hon. Friend to part 3.7 of volume II of the White Paper "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1986–87 to 1988–89" (Cmnd. 9702) which sets out the objectives of my Department's employment measures, and the methods of monitoring effectiveness.
§ 38. Mr. Corbynasked the Paymaster General how many men and how many women are participating in the community programme.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkDuring the 12 months ending 29 November, the latest date for which the information is available, 160,108 males and 43,333 females joined the community programme. Monthly statistics about the number of jobs on the programme do not distinguish between male and female participants.
§ 68. Ms. Clare Shortasked the Paymaster General what was the net increase in places on the community programme over the past three months.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe increase was 24,146 in the three months ended 29 November.