HC Deb 01 November 1994 vol 248 cc1092-3W
Mr. Dewar

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if there is any power proposed in the White Paper, "Jobseeker's Allowance," to compel a benefit claimant to undertake community or public work in return for the standard benefit to which he or she would be otherwise entitled; and in what circumstances it could he used.

Miss Widdecombe

As the White Paper explains, people receiving job seeker's allowance may be required to undertake activities designed to increase their employability and their chances of finding a job. Where it is appropriate, this may include a period of work experience on a community project. Participants in community action currently receive an allowance equivalent to their benefit entitlement plus £10.

Mr. Dewar

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will set out the difference between, and define, the official recommendation and the job seeker's direction as referred to in the White Paper, "Jobseeker's Allowance".

Miss Widdecombe

Current legislation provides that a claimant can be disqualified from receiving benefit if he fails to carry out an official recommendation given to him by an Employment Service adviser with a view to assisting him to find a particular type of employment. That power would be carried forward into job seeker's allowance but widened to enable advisers additionally to direct job seekers to improve their employability through, for example, attending a course to improve job-seeking skills or motivation, or taking steps to present themselves acceptably to employers.

Mr. Dewar

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the sanctions that will be available to his Department when the proposals in the White Paper, "Jobseeker's Allowance", are implemented which are presently not available; and if he will define the circumstances in which these can be used.

Miss Widdecombe

The White Paper explains that the main system of sanctions in the jobseeker's allowance would generally take forward provisions from unemployment benefit and income support. The benefit sanctions for leaving a job voluntarily without just cause, losing a job through misconduct, neglecting to avail oneself of a reasonable opportunity of a job and refusing a job without good cause would continue to last for up to 26 weeks. The sanction for refusing to attend or complete mandatory courses such as jobplan workshops and prescribed training courses, and for failing to act upon a job seeker's direction, would be for a fixed period of two weeks, rising to four weeks if refusal or failure to act is repeated.