§ Mr. DowdTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) for how long unemployed people are currently waiting to attend the job search seminars at each employment centre in the London region from the date they first applied;
(2) for how long unemployed people are currently waiting to take up the new Restart courses at each employment centre in London from the date they first applied;
740W(3) for how long unemployed people are currently waiting to attend the job review workshops at each employment centre in London from the date they first applied.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythResponsibility for the subject of the questions 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. Jim Dowd, dated 14 July 1994:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions regarding how long unemployed people are currently waiting to attend Job Search Seminars, Job Review Workshops and New Restart Courses in each employment centre in the London region from the date they first applied. I am replying in the Chief Executive's absence.Employment Service (ES) programmes are designed to give specific help to unemployed people at certain stages of their unemployment. Job Search Seminars and Job Review Workshops are available to clients who have been unemployed for 13 weeks whereas New Restart is a mandatory programme for clients who have been unemployed for two years. The ES and the client will only gain maximum benefit from the assistance and guidance offered by any particular programme if the referral is made at the appropriate time. The ES Structure review which was implemented in April this year has placed the responsiblity on our District Managers to provide suitable ES programmes and ensure that those programmes are filled. By devolving responsibility in this way we aim to ensure that programme waiting lists are reduced and that the right provision is in the right place at the right time.Greater London is divided into nine District Offices covering 147 Employment Service Jobcentres, Jobcentres and Unemployment Benefit Offices. In order to supply an immediate reply to your questions I have contacted a representative sample of offices in each of the nine Districts and can give you average waiting times for each of the programmes as follows:Job search seminars. The average wait is two-three weeks north of the Thames and four weeks south of the Thames.Job Review Workshops. The average wait is two-three weeks both north and south of the Thames.New Restart. The average wait is three weeks both north and south of the Thames.The above figures indicate that in London, generally, our local management policy is working but we are not complacent as we know that waiting lists for some programmes in some Districts are longer. I have asked our Programmes Manager, David Young, to review programmes provision to ensure that our clients' needs are best met in all Districts.I hope this is helpful.