HC Deb 05 July 1988 vol 136 cc560-1W
81. Mr. Heathcoat-Amory

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how the availability for work rule for eligibility for unemployment benefit is applied to itinerants.

Mr. Lee

Availability for work is enforced by my Department through the availability questionnaire which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in this House on 14 December 1987,Official Report, columns 337–38. Instructions issued to officials in the south-west require them to apply the full test of availability to any unemployed person claiming benefit.

111. Mr. Marlow

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will take action to strengthen the availability for work rule such that itinerant hippies can no longer gain access to unemployment benefits.

Mr. Lee

Being available for work is a fundamental condition for the receipt of unemployment benefits. In the past 18 months my Department has improved its procedures for identifying those who are not genuinely available. Indeed, the revised questionnaire my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in this House on 14 December 1987 Official Report at columns 337–38 is already proving more successful in this area than its predecessors.

Instructions to officials in the south-west require them to apply availability testing fully to each claimant. We keep the availability test under review but we do not plan any changes to affect one group differently from another.