§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to widen the scope of the open access project; and within what timetable. [37582]
§ Mr. Alan Howarth[holding answer 6 April 1998]: 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 Leigh Lewis to Mrs. Theresa May, dated 7 April 1998:
The Secretary of State for Education and Employment has asked me to reply to your question concerning the plans to widen the scope of the open access project; and within what timetable. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Employment Service.The Employment Service is currently piloting ten open access kiosks in Jobcentres in Newcastle, South Manchester and Wiltshire, and we will be evaluating the use of the kiosks over the next few months. We will be making a decision on the future use of open access kiosks in the light of our evaluation of the pilot schemes and the availability of resources. The Employment Service is keen to use new technology to improve its services, and I expect the open access pilot to make a key contribution to this.I hope this is helpful.