§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will instruct jobcentres to require organisations seeking charity collectors to provide references from reputable source; and if he will make a statement. [15055]
§ 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. Adrian Sanders, dated 12 November 1997:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning your request that he instructs Jobcentres to require organisations seeking charity collectors to provide references from a reputable source. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.Jobcentres do, in fact, already have instructions not to accept fund-raising vacancies from or on behalf of charities that are not registered with the Charity Commission or, in Scotland, recognised by the Financial Intermediary Claims Office. In addition the Employment Service accepts vacancies which involve street or house to house collections or sales only where the relevant licence or exemptions have been obtained from the appropriate authority. Our current instructions to Jobcentres require these points to be checked whenever there is doubt about an employer seeking to recruit through the Jobcentre.I hope this is helpful. I would be happy to look into any particular instance which has given cause for concern.