§ Ms. ShortTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many redundant iron and steel and mine workers who participated in ET will be likely to lose some of their redundancy-related payments; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NichollsNo redundant iron or steel worker who qualifies for the iron and steel employees rehabilitation 469W benefit scheme or mineworker who qualifies for assistance under the redundant mineworkers pension scheme, will lose any redundancy-related payment if they participate in employment training.
Negotiations are continuing with British Steel plc to ensure that steel workers eligible to receive payments under their analogous employment and income security agreement will be similarly treated.
§ Ms. ShortTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the overall budget for child care provision in ET, broken down by region; how many single parent trainees he estimates will benefit from these payments; and whether he has any plans to extend them to cover married parents.
§ Mr. NichollsThere is no specific budget nationally or regionally for the payment of child care costs in employment training. Child care costs of up to £50 per week per child may be met for every lone parent who enters employment training and who needs their help. No target figure has been set for the total number of lone parents entering employment training. There are no plans to extend child care payments to trainees who are not lone parents.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the monthly statistics since September for employment training showing(a) entrants in each monthly period, and the number of cumulative entrants since the scheme started, (b) a breakdown of entrants which shows how many were male and female, the length of time they had been out of work, their ethnic backgrounds and whether or not they had any disabilities, (c) the number of trainees in each monthly period who entered work placements and the cumulative total of how many are in work places at the latest available date, (d) trainees who left the scheme in each monthly period, and the number of cumulative leavers since the scheme started, (e) for all those trainees who have left the scheme, how many found work, failed to attend, went on to another course of training or education, completed the course, left for sickness or went back into unemployment and (f) the total number of currently filled places for each standard Great Britain region.
§ Mr. NichollsThe numbers of new entrants to employment training for each month up to November 1988 are shown in table 1. Comprehensive information on the sex, duration of unemployment, ethnicity and disabled status of those taking up employment training places is not yet available in the form requested. However there are some early indications of the proportion of entrants in each of these groups and this information is provided in table 2. Information is not collected on the numbers entering work placements and information on the numbers leaving employment training and their destinations on leaving is not yet available.
The numbers on employment training for each standard region at 2 December 1988 shown in table 3.
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Table 1 New entrants to Employment Training (Great Britain) Period Number of entrants 4 September 1988—30 September 1988 21,500 1 October 1988—28 October 1988 30,900 31 October 1988—25 November 1988 34,800 Cumulative to 2 December 1988 96,000
Table 2 New entrants to Employment Training (Great Britain) Period: September 1988—October 1988 Estimated percentages Sex Male 70 Female 30 Duration of Unemployment (prior to Employment Training) less than 6 months 12 more than 6 and less than 12 months 35 more than 1 year and less than 2 years 15 more than 2 years 38 Ethnic Origin White 90 Black African/Caribbean 4 Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi/Sri Lankan 4 None of these 2 People with disabilities 6
Table 3 Filled places on Employment Training at 2 December 1988 Region Filled places South East 6,600 London 9,700 South West 6,000 West Midlands 10,800 East Midlands 8,000 Yorkshire and Humberside 14,500 North West 14,100 Northern 10,400 Wales 6,500 Scotland 9,900 Great Britain 96,700
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to promote employment training in the arts.
§ Mr. NichollsMy right hon. Friend has no specific plans to do so. Arts organisations are welcome to take part in employment training and indeed arts training is already a feature of the programme.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to promote employment training in broadcasting.
§ Mr. NichollsMy right hon. Friend has no specific plans to do so. Broadcasting organisations are welcome to take part in employment training and indeed some broadcasting skills are already a feature of the programme.