§ Ms ShortTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have entered community action in total; and how many were participating in community action in each month since September 1993(a) for London; (b) for each standard region; and (c) for Great Britain.
§ 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.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Ms. Clare Short, dated 21 March 1994:
53WThe Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about Community Action.To the end of February (the latest date for which figures are available) 14,476 people had participated in Community Action. The number of people participating on the last Friday of each month since September for each of our nine regions and for Great Britain as a whole are contained in the attached table.I am unable to provide the information you request on participants in London as figures are collected regionally.Early indications show that Community Action is proving to be effective in helping long-term unemployed people into jobs or training.
Table showing community action occupancy by region at the end of each month since September 1993 September October November December January February Northern — 33 66 118 207 503 Yorkshire and Humberside — 73 286 436 730 1,139 East Midlands and Eastern 21 108 332 472 667 960 London and South East 86 296 702 1,239 2,380 4,330 South West 95 233 436 639 855 1,171 Wales 11 80 187 311 451 659 West Midlands 5 55 190 320 518 810 North West 36 215 440 633 909 1,412 Scotland 21 104 237 399 561 1,178 Total 275 1,197 2,876 4,567 7,278 12,162 Source: Employment Service Regional Offices.