§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how long a claimant must be out of work before being eligible to join a job club.
§ Mr. EggarClaimants should normally be out of work for six months before being eligible to join a job club. There are relaxations to the six month rule for people with disabilities, ex-offenders and people leaving YTS or employment training without a job to go to.
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what facilities are available at his Department's job clubs to assist unemployed people trying to secure work.
§ Mr. EggarEvery job club has telephones, paper, pens, typewriter or word processors, envelopes, stamps, photocopiers, newspapers and directories which members can use free of charge. A trained job club leader helps members draw up a curriculum vitae and shows them the 3W best way to look for jobs, make job applications and prepare for interviews. Fares to attend the job club are reimbursed.
Job clubs continue to be very successful and provide valuable help to all those who join. Over 54,000 members have found work so far in 1989. Many others have gone on to training, self-employment or education. Overall, 69 per cent. of all job club members leave with a positive outcome.
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will consider making job club facilities immediately available to unemployed people as soon as they become unemployed.
§ Mr. EggarJob club membership is generally available only to people who have been unemployed six months or longer. This is because long-term unemployed people are generally less well motivated and have greater difficulties in applying for and securing jobs than those recently unemployed.
However, there are some important exceptions to the six-month eligibility rule which are designed to help groups who do need extra help, including those with
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Employment Training agreed action plans at training agents May to September 1989 Area office May 1989 June 1989 July 1989 August 1989 September 1989 South East Region1 Berkshire and Oxfordshire 270 307 340 283 339 Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire 412 472 509 487 538 Essex 538 589 761 460 734 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 583 573 705 463 602 Kent 561 550 470 480 574 Surrey 154 247 186 197 248 Sussex 548 461 546 549 542 London Region Inner London North 1,595 1,632 1,477 1,545 1,510 Inner London South 420 684 648 618 748 London East 743 721 695 820 787 London North 726 749 584 700 962 London South 406 479 426 346 561 London West 365 428 388 417 431 South West Region Avon 432 440 342 378 764 Devon and Cornwall 861 1,003 918 877 1,238 Dorset and Somerset 307 344 231 226 296 Gloucester and Wiltshire 442 402 285 333 468 West Midlands Region Birmingham and Solihull 1,177 1,506 1,424 1,363 1,988 Coventry and Warwickshire 524 559 598 418 701 Dudley and Sandwell 631 684 688 619 755 Staffordshire 594 628 541 494 603 The Marches, Hereford/Worcester 577 555 550 580 716 Wolverhampton and Walsall 463 587 715 466 532 East Midlands and Eastern Region Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire 317 289 260 249 396 Derbyshire 531 571 444 430 512 Leicestershire and Northamptonshire 598 714 571 733 960 disabilities, ex-offenders and those leaving YTS or ET without a job. I have no plans to change the eligibility rules at present.