HC Deb 08 March 1994 vol 239 cc184-5W
Mr. Tony Lloyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many(a) men and (b) women have participated in restart in each quarter since its inception.

Mr. Michael Forsyth

Responsibility 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. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 8 March 1994: The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about the number of men and women who have participated in Restart Courses in each quarter since its inception. It may be helpful if I explain that Restart Courses are short courses normally lasting for one week. They are targeted at people who have been unemployed for two years or more who are having the most difficulty in getting back to work. The courses provide people with the opportunity to explore all the options open to them and give them the confidence and motivation to take the next step back to work. The number of people participating in Restart courses from their inception in 1986 to quarter ending December 1993 is set out in the attached table. Since December 1990, people who have been unemployed for two years or more who refuse to take up a place on an Employment Department employment or training programme at their Restart interview, have been asked to attend a Restart Course. You will see that this led to a large increase in the numbers of people attending. You will see that because of changes in the collection of management information, we can not supply some of the detailed information in the form requested. I hope this is helpful.

Table 1
Number of starters on restart courses from 1986 to 1993
Quarters Male Participants Female Total
1986–87 Not available Not available 100,841
1987–88
Quarter 1 9,539 3,305 12,664
Quarter 2 9,916 3,080 12,996
Quarter 3 9,278 2,943 12,221
Quarter 4 8,056 2,875 10,931
Total 36,609 12,203 48,812
1988–89 31,241 11,769 43,010
1989–90
Quarter 1 7,915 3,004 10,919
Quarter 2 6,619 2,551 9,170
Quarter 3 7,576 2,574 10,150
Quarter 4 8,529 3,172 11,701
Total 30,639 11,301 41,940
1990–91 Not available Not available 57,976
1991–92 1113,764 120,076 133,840
1992–93 11,108,493 116,212 124,705
1993–94
Quarter 1 29,673 4,427 34,100
Quarter 2 31,624 4,882 36,506
Quarter 3 32,541 5,015 37,556
Total2 93,838 14,324 108,162
1 The male/female split is an estimate based on two sample surveys.
2 April to December 1993.