§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give for each of the 82 training and enterprise councils or employment service administration regions(a) the number of youth training places available, (b) the number of young people seeking a place and (c) the number of young people who left school last summer and are still without an offer of a youth training place.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will(a) make a statement on the delivery of the youth training, (b) list the training and enterprise councils where the youth training is not being met and (c) list the representations he has received regarding the delivery of the youth training guarantee.
Mr. Jackson[holding answer 8 July 1991]: The Government are fully committed to the YT guarantee and will see that it continues to be met. The guarantee of an offer of a suitable YT place applies to young people under 18 years who are not in full time education or a job and are seeking training under YT. The local delivery of the guarantee is a matter for TECs who must investigate and resolve any difficulties a young person within the guarantees group may experience in securing a YT place locally.
Young people in the guarantee group can seek to join or rejoin YT at any time and are entitled to continued reoffers while they remain within the group. At any time of the year there are therefore young people seeking to join YT. I am not aware of any TECs which are currently 466W failing to meet the guarantee but I am aware that the choice and availability of placements with employers may be being affected by the current recession.
In these circumstances I strongly endorse the Construction Industry training board's recent call for its industry's employer bodies to promote YT to its members and deplore the decision by the Transport and General Workers unions to seek to reduce the number of opportunities available to young people.
Departmental records do not separately identify representations about the YT guarantee and this information could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the number of young people on bridging allowance for each of the employment scheme administration regions by providing a comparison of change and percentage change for the period January 1991 to May 1991 and January 1990 to May 1990, including the totals and the average.
Mr. Jackson[holding answer 8 July 1991]: Questions on operational matters in the Employment Service Executive Agency are the responsibility of Mike Fogden, the agency's chief executive, to whom I have referred this question for reply.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will outline the procedure involved in ensuring training and enterprise councils deliver the youth training guarantee; and whether independent organisations are being used to monitor the performance of TECs in the delivery of the guarantee and to resolve any differences between the Department and the TECs regarding what constitutes the guarantee being met.
Mr. Jackson[holding answer 8 July 1991]: Provision for meeting the YT guarantee is made by TECs in their corporate and business plans which are agreed with the Department. TECs are obliged to use their best endeavour to meet the guarantees. Ensuring that TECs deliver the guarantee is therefore part of the overall contract management of TECs, which is the responsibility of the Department's regional directors. From time to time the Department employs independent consultants to examine and advise on various aspects of the Department's relationships with TECs or TEC performance. Monitoring the performance of TECs in relation to the YT guarantee or in other respects is however, a matter for the Department. Decisions as to what constitutes the guarantee being met are taken in the context of the Department's contract with TECs.