§ Dr. VisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the areas where the new deal for people aged 18 to 24 years who have been unemployed for six months will start from January 1998. [11395]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithFrom 5 January 1998, the new deal for young unemployed people will be introduced in 12 pathfinder areas covering 15 per cent. of 18 to 24-year-olds unemployed for more than six months. Experience in the pathfinder areas will inform national implementation, which will start on 6 April 1998 and help ensure its success. The pathfinder areas are listed in the table. They have been selected to reflect a range of social and economic areas and so that there is at least one pathfinder in each English region and in Scotland and Wales. 51W
Employment Service region Government office Pathfinder area Urban/Rural/Conurbation (U/R/C) Number of 18 to 24 client group 6. London and South East Eastern Harlow and Stevenage U/R 970 7. North West North West Cumbria R 1,582 8. North West Merseyside Wirral U/R 1,744 9. East Midlands and Eastern East Midlands South Derbyshire U/R 2,591 10. West Midlands West Midlands Black Country (North and South) C 4,588 11. Northern North East Newcastle, Gateshead and South Tyne C 3,536 12. South West South West Cornwall R 1,379 Total 26,121 Proportion of national client group (170,400) 15.3 per cent.
§ Mr. DawsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what action he proposes to take to ensure that young people in care and who have left local authority care are included in his welfare-to-work programmes. [10817]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthAll young people aged 18 to 24 who are unemployed for six months or more are eligible for the new deal. We are currently considering whether we should allow early access to the new deal for certain groups.