§ Mr. DobsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have taken part in Restart interviews in this and each preceding year; in each year how many then got jobs; and how many of those were in work six months later.
§ 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.
41WLetter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Frank Dobson, dated 1 March 1993:
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 about the number of people who have taken part in Restart interviews and the number of people who started work as a result of their interview. This is something which falls within the responsibilities she has delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.The information you asked for is given in the attached table. Unfortunately, I am unable to provide details of the number of clients who are still in employment six months after leaving the unemployment register. To do so would involve the use of expensive tracking mechanisms at a disproportionate cost.As you will appreciate, the figures I have given reflect only the direct results of Restart. We do not know how many people subsequently take up a job or a place on an employment or training programme as a result of the guidance given to them at their interview. It is through this support which advisers give clients in reviewing their options for returning to work that Restart has its effect.An indication of the degree of that effect is provided by the report "The Restart Effect" which was recently published by the independent Policy Studies Institute in 1992. It is based on an analysis of the largest survey of unemployed people in the UK since 1980. This showed conclusively that the programme had a major effect in reducing the time it takes people to leave unemployment, to get a job and to enter Employment Training, particularly for those people who were at a disadvantage within the labour market.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.
Restart interviews and job placings Operational year 1986–87 to January 1993 Restart interviews Job placings 1986–87 1,285,097 7,243 1987–88 2,248,016 10,916 1988–89 2,029,500 12,387 1989–90 1,509,703 18,439 1990–91 1,362,831 19,066 1991–92 1,995,030 21,185 April 1992–January 1993 1,933,999 28,063 TOTAL 12,364,176 117,299