§ Ms. ShortTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many job clubs were operational in each region and for Great Britain as a whole at the latest available date and for each year since 1987; how many of them in each region catered for groups with special needs; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. McLoughlinResponsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from J. Cooper to Ms. Clare Short, dated 9 December 1992:
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, it is the responsibility of Mike Fogden, the Agency's Chief Executive to answer Parliamentary Questions about relevant operational matters. In his absence, I am replying to your question about the number of Jobclubs operational since 1987.Table 'A' attached shows the number of Jobclubs at the end of each operational year (end March) from 1986–87. The 731W number of Jobclubs at the end of 1986–87 is only available as a national total, but regional breakdowns are shown for subsequent years. The most recent figures (October 1992), are also given.Table 'B' shows the number of standard and specialist Jobclubs by region and nationally at the end of March 1992. Although specialist Jobclubs were introduced as pilots in previous years, this was the first year for which separate statistics were recorded. The most recent figures (September 1992), are also given.All Jobclubs help people who face particular difficulties in the labour market and most will have members who either have some degree of literacy or language problem, have a disability or have been in prison. Similarly, all Jobclubs are open to executives and managers. In response to the rise in unemployment at executive levels we have been opening some Jobclubs which focus particularly on that client group, though the activities and operations are very similar to the standard provision.For ex-offenders and people with disabilities, our policy is to integrate them into our standard provision wherever possible. The existence of a very small number of Jobclubs
Table A Number of jobclubs by region Northern Yorkshire and Humberside East Midlands London and South East South West Wales West Midlands North West Scotland National March 1987 — — — — — — — — — 390 March 1988 90 102 111 265 75 75 144 200 142 1,204 March 1989 95 96 111 263 77 74 146 208 140 1,210 March 1990 78 91 90 229 57 62 108 165 130 1,010 March 1991 76 84 80 209 57 59 100 155 123 943 March 1992 100 105 118 317 77 68 144 196 138 1,263 October 1992 100 106 110 317 85 75 143 193 139 1,268
Table B Number of specialist jobclubs by region Northern Yorkshire and Humberside East Midlands London and South East South West Wales West Midlands North West Scotland National March 1992 Standard 89 86 86 236 62 65 118 171 120 1,033 Supportive 3 11 14 36 3 1 12 10 9 99 Executive 5 4 16 37 11 2 9 12 9 105 People with disabilities 1 1 1 3 0 0 2 0 0 8 Ex offenders 2 3 1 5 1 0 3 3 0 18 September 1992 Standard 88 85 86 242 67 67 118 165 118 1,036 Supportive 3 13 9 35 3 1 8 9 11 92 Executive 7 5 16 38 13 7 9 15 9 119 People with disabilities 1 1 1 4 1 0 3 0 0 11 Ex offenders 1 2 1 5 1 0 3 4 0 17