§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what evaluation he has made of the effect on the number of jobs on Merseyside of the introduction of market testing; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythNone.
The information requested on the effect of the Government's market testing programme on the number of jobs on Merseyside can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
As far as the Employment Department group is concerned, the current market testing programme affects a total of about 118 staff in Merseyside county, 108 based at the Health and Safety Executive's site in Bootle, and about 580W 10 Employment Service staff involved in the delivery of job clubs on Merseyside. There will be opportunities for both private sector companies and in-house teams to bid for the departmental work concerned. This will encourage enterprise and the economy generally and Merseyside will benefit from this as much as anywhere else.