§ 26. Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he is taking to help the long-term unemployed back into work; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HowardLong-term unemployment is at its lowest level for eight years and the number of claimants unemployed for a year or more has fallen by 849,000 since April 1986. We are helping long-term unemployed people get back into work through an extensive range of employment and training measures. These are kept under regular review and in November I announced that next year my Department will provide up to 100,000 additional opportunities for long-term unemployed people through programmes such as job club and the job interview guarantee.