§ Mr. BattleTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if expenses for second interviews are paid under the travel-to-interview scheme;
(2) how many people have claimed help under the travel-to-interview scheme since its inception; what is the cost of the scheme; what proportion of job applicants receive help; what proportion of claims are refused; and what proportion of claims are withdrawn;
(3) if she will amend regulations to permit backdated claims for interview expenses under the travel-to-interview scheme, where claimants are unable to notify the job centre in advance.
§ 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 A. G. Johnson to Mr. John Battle, dated 28 October 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 questions about the Travel to Interview Scheme (TIS).
It may help if I explain the background to the scheme. It was introduced in 1986 to help with travel costs for unemployed people to attend job interviews beyond daily travelling distance of their home area, thus widening the applicants' jobsearch, improving their chances of obtaining work and encouraging labour mobility. During 1991–92 the scheme helped 31,000 people at a cost of £ 933,000. A few basic
Travel to interview scheme Numbers assisted by year/cost Date Number of applications Number helped Number rejected Cost £ Average cost £ Number Per cent. Number Per cent. 1986–87 28,938 21,765 75 7,173 25 1500,000 22.97 1987–88 45,785 34,136 75 11,649 25 946,000 27.72 1988–89 41,116 32,833 80 8,823 20 920,000 28.02 1989–90 32,953 25,736 78 7,217 22 682,000 26.50 1990–91 29,178 22,112 76 7,066 24 500,000 22.61 1991–92 41,676 31,004 74 10,672 26 933,000 30.10 1 Estimated cost.