§ Mr. Bill MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what vetting is carried out when potential employers place advertisements for vacancies in job shops.
§ 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 M. Fogden to Mr. Bill Michie, dated 9 February 1993. 588W
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question to her about the vetting carried out when potential employers place advertisements in job shops. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.The vast majority of vacancies notified to Jobcentres are from employers who are well known to my local people and give no cause for concern. Where an employer is not known we take extra care to ensure the vacancy is from a genuine employer. If we have any doubts we will normally make local enquiries or arrange to visit the employer.Any complaints from jobseekers are always followed up and my managers have discretion to refuse to handle recruitment business if they have concerns about the potential vacancy.I hope this is helpful.As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.