§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what provisions exist within the job seeker's allowance to aid job seekers hampered by the absence of suitable public transport to areas of potential employment. [4054]
§ Mr. ForthI have been asked to reply.
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 D. J. L. Grover to Miss Emma Nicholson, dated 14 November 1996:
The Secretary of State has asked me, in the absence of the Chief Executive, to reply to your question about what provisions exist within Jobseeker's Allowance to aid jobseekers hampered by the absence of public transport to areas of potential employment.Travel to work arrangements and costs are a matter for individuals and their employer. There is no provision under Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) to cover such costs.However, we have been running the Travel to Interview Scheme for a number of years to help unemployed people cope with the expense of getting to job interviews. The scheme does this by helping people who have been unemployed more than 13 weeks with travelling costs, and if necessary, overnight accommodation costs to attend job interviews outside their usual travel to work area. A few simple conditions must be met before assistance can be 332W granted, to ensure the scheme is properly and fairly administered and gives good value for money. In the last year the scheme has helped nearly 47,000 applicants with travelling costs totalling £1.7m.I hope this is helpful.