§ Mr.ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will abolish the 16-hour rule for the Jobseeker's allowance; and if he will make a statement. [29531]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthWe have taken action on the Jobseeker's Allowance rules on education and training. We have extended the JSA Workskill pilots so that there are now pilots in eight areas allowing people unemployed for six months or more to undertake employment-related courses of education and training, full or part-time, for up to a year while on JSA. The pilots aim to test whether and how different benefit arrangements help unemployed people obtain and retain employment.
We are also introducing more flexible arrangements in our New Deals for the unemployed. The New Deal for 18 to 24-year-olds includes an option of full-time education and training for up to a year. People on this option will receive a training allowance in place of JSA. Those aged 25 years and over, unemployed for two years or more, will be allowed from June 1998 to undertake full-time employment-related education and training for 737W up to a year while receiving JSA. Learning for Work full-time education and training is also an option in all five prototype Employment Zones.
We will further review the JSA rules on education and training in the light of the Workskill pilots and our welfare-to-work programme.