§ Mr. Tony LloydTo 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 ForsythResponsibility 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.
185WLetter 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.