§ Mr. ClellandTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the sources for the figures for the number of single parents on employment training schemes at December 1988, given by his Department to the Gateshead metropolitan borough council's special programmes committee on 25 January.
§ Mr. Nicholls[holding answer 15 May 1989]: The information provided to the special programmes committee of the Gateshead metropolitan borough council about the number of single parents joining employment training was provided by the Department's officials from the normal management information system. It relates only to those people who entered the programme under the special arrangements for lone parents in receipt of income support on an order book through the Department of Social Security. In addition, lone parents may enter under other eligibility conditions, including the main one of being unemployed for six months or more.
The information I provided on 7 April about single parents on employment training to the hon. Member in my reply to his previous question is correct; there is no information presently available about the total number of single parents on the programme.