§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many professional and executive job clubs have been closed in the last two years; and in which areas. [28900]
§ Mr. ForthResponsibility 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 Mike Fogden to Mr. Michael Meacher, dated 14 May 1996:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about Jobclubs. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
Number of executive jobclubs by region Quarter ending figures 1994–1996 Region March 1994 June 1994 September 1994 December 1994 March 1995 June 1995 September 1995 December 1995 March 1996 Northern 10 8 8 9 11 9 8 8 7 Yorkshire and Humberside 11 7 10 9 10 10 12 11 12 East Midlands and Eastern 19 19 19 19 20 19 14 15 14 London and South East 46 55 53 79 65 49 60 53 43 South West 19 14 18 20 18 19 16 14 13 Wales 8 8 8 6 6 4 5 5 5 West Midlands 15 16 16 16 15 16 16 15 14 North West 14 14 12 11 10 8 10 10 10 Scotland 10 9 10 10 9 10 10 10 10 Total executive jobclubs 154 149 154 179 164 144 151 141 128 Total all types jobclub 1,461 1,373 1,446 1,443 1,389 1,345 1,423 1,398 1,338