§ Ms. ShortTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will outline the terms of reference and details of the large restart cohort survey which his Department will be commissioning; if he will explain the 447W position of those unemployed claimants who will not be called for restart interviews for the purposes of creating a control group; and whether the survey will be asking questions to find out to what degree claimants feel coerced into participation in employment service schemes as a result of the restart process.
§ Mr. LeeThe terms of reference of the restart cohort study are to look at the effects of restart on its clients and on the operation of the labour market, and to describe how restart is achieving changes.
The study will be based on a random sample of 16,000 people, selected from those becoming eligible for a restart counselling interview. Information will be collected on their progress after they have had their restart interview. Survey interviews will be held with a random selected group of 5,500 people within the sample. Participation will be voluntary.
The position of those in the control group is that they will not be invited for a restart interview but they will, of course, have access to the full range of employment service and Training Agency services through the jobcentres and unemployment benefit office networks. Eligibility for programmes will not be affected. Any member of the control group who requests a counselling interview will be able to have one.
The interview survey will include questions on the characteristics and employment background of clients, and their attitudes to and views of the restart process.