§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when the Employment Service annual performance agreement for 1996–97 will be published. [23955]
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardToday, I have placed copies of the 1996–97 Employment Service annual performance agreement in the Library. The new targets will require the Employment Service to build on this year's extremely good performance and, in the light of the introduction of the jobseeker's allowance in October this year, will be especially challenging. I have set a demanding target of placing a record 1.97 million unemployed people in jobs in the 12 months from April. Related targets for placing long-term claimants and people with disabilities are higher than ever before. I have set the Employment Service no specific target for combating fraud this year because, from April, responsibility for that area of work moves to the Benefits Agency, which has its own target, published in its business plan.