HC Deb 01 December 1998 vol 321 cc135-6W
Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the drop-out rate for participants in the New Deal in Wales. [61471]

Mr. Hain

The New Deal offers a flexible package of support which can last from a few days to over a year, according to individual need. The latest revised information provided by the Employment Service shows that 10,800 young people joined the New Deal in Wales between January and September, of whom nearly 2,700 had left by the end of September.

Almost 1,600 young people left the New Deal to take up unsubsidised jobs (59 per cent. of all leavers). Just under 500 others had left for a range of other reasons (for example to transfer onto other more appropriate benefits; to move from their localities; or to enter other training programmes or full-time education). The remaining 590 left for initially unknown destinations, although follow-up surveys by the Employment Service have revealed that many of these young people have actually found work without informing their New Deal Personal Advisers.