§ Mr. HesfordTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what extra training has been given to Employment Service staff involved in the delivery of the New Deal programme for under-25s at the Gateway stage. [17299]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthResponsibility 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 Leigh Lewis to Mr. Stephen Hesford, dated 5 December 1997:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the training of Employment Service staff delivering the New Deal for under 25s at the Gateway stage. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.Extra training will be given to all Employment Service staff involved in the delivery of the New Deal. The main training priority will be Personal Advisers who will be fully involved in the Gateway and staff involved in marketing and taking vacancies. Team Leaders and other front line Jobcentre staff who are involved in the New Deal process will also receive training.390WAll of our training events and materials contain important information about the changes which we are making to the way we work in order to deliver the New Deal to the required standard. Specifically, they build on the principles of working in partnership, improving customer service and making quality a fundamental part of New Deal.In addition to this, training has already been delivered to District managers which focuses on working in partnership, contracting for the New Deal, and partnership presentational skills.I hope this is helpful.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 4 November 1997,Official Report, column 160, (1) what are the staffing levels in each Portsmouth jobcentre; [18159]
(2) what proportion of the unemployed served by the jobcentres are aged 16 to 24 years. [18161]
§ Mr Alan HowarthResponsibility for the subject of the questions 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 Leigh Lewes to Mr. Michael Hancock, dated 5 December 1997:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions (Official Report, column 160 in which you asked for information about the proportion of unemployed people, served by the Jobcentres in Portsmouth, who are aged 16 to 24 years and the levels of staffing in each of those Jobcentres. These are issues that fall within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.The proportion of clients aged 16 to 24 years who were claiming Jobseeker's Allowance up to the end of October 1997 at Portsmouth North Jobcentre was 27 per cent., or 401 actual clients, and at Portsmouth Central Jobcentre the proportion was 25 per cent., or 704 actual clients.The Portsmouth North Jobcentre currently employs the equivalent of 28.5 staff and Portsmouth Central Jobcentre employs the equivalent of 39.4 staff.I hope this is helpful.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 4 November 1997,Official Report, column 160, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Employment Service's use of the preferred supplier system; and what indicators were used to measure its performance. [18160]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthResponsibility 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 Leigh Lewis to Mr. Michael Hancock, dated 5 December 1997:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your further question (Official Report column 160) relating to the assessment of the effectiveness of the Employment Service's use of the preferred supplier system, and the indicators used to measure its performance. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.It might assist you if I explain in more detail how the preferred supplier system works. It is a form of pre-selection, whereby organisations who wish to be considered for inclusion on an Invitation to Tender list are invited to complete a questionnaire seeking information about such matters as their financial standing, their track record, their quality systems and their health and safety policies. The Employment Service Region then evaluates this information and makes a selection of organisations to be on its list 391W of preferred suppliers for programme services in that Region. When contracts fall due to be retendered, tenders are invited from among those organisations on that list. The preferred suppliers exercise is repeated at regular intervals to keep it up to date and to provide opportunities for new entrants to the market. The alternative would be to undertake considerably larger competitions, which would be more costly both for the taxpayer and for the competing bidders.As I said in my previous reply, I am satisfied that the system is effective in helping both the Employment Service and potential contractors to make the best use of their resources. The preferred suppliers technique, which is followed by many public sector organisations and is fully in line with Government procurement practice, is an established way of minimising the expense of competitive tendering for all concerned while achieving good value for money for the taxpayer. I have, however, asked my head of procurement to undertake an assessment of the system, including an assessment of whether it would be possible to devise indicators to measure its performance.If, in the meantime, there are particular issues relating to the operation of this approach about which you have concerns, I would of course be very willing to look into them.I hope this is helpful.