HC Deb 03 November 1994 vol 248 cc1355-6W
Mr. Dowd

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of unemployed people went on from restart interviews to(a) restart or other training, (b) full-time jobs, or (c) part-time jobs of fewer than 24 hours a week in the last 12 months.

Miss Widdecombe

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. Jim Dowd, dated 3 November 1994: The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the proportion of unemployed people who went on from Restart interviews to a Restart course or other training and full or part time employment. Unfortunately, not all of the information you have requested is available as we do not differentiate between full and part time employment placings. Between October 1993 and September, 842,857 clients started Employment Department (ED) employment or training programmes following a Restart Interview. This figure includes Jobclub, Jobplan, Job Review Workshop, Work Trials, Business Start-Up Scheme, Community Action and Job Interview Guarantee as well as Restart Courses and training options like Training for Work and Learning for Work. This represents 29.4 per cent. of the total Restart interviews conducted. Restart interviews also achieve other positive outcomes including clients moving on to other benefits and signing off for other reasons. Between October 1993 and September these additional positive outcomes totalled 6.3 per cent. of all Restart interviews. The total positive outcomes figure therefore for the 12 months to September equalled 37.2 per cent. of all Restart interviews. In terms of immediate jobs, between October 1993 and September, Restart interviews led to 43,880 clients being placed into jobs. This represents 1.5 per cent. of the total Restart interviews conducted. I should emphasise that the figures quoted above represent only the immediate result of Restart interviews. Many other people subsequently take up a job or a place on an employment or training programme as a result of the guidance given to them at their interview. Independent researchers who have studied the Restart Interview programme have all concluded that this indirect effect is extremely significant. I hope this is helpful.

Dr. Lynne Jones

To ask the Secretary of State of Employment what percentages of the(a) male and (b) female population aged between 55 and 65 years are currently in paid (i) full-time and (ii) part-time employment.

Mr. Oppenheim

The "Labour Force Survey" for spring 1994 shows that, of men aged 55–64, 50 per cent. were in full-time employment and 6 per cent. in part-time employment. The equivalent figures for women were 15 per cent. and 23 per cent. respectively.