§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will reassess the budget allocation to Welfare to Work schemes for (i) unemployed(a) disabled people, (b) lone parents, (c) young people and (ii) long-term unemployed people to take account of changes in unemployment levels over the last six months. [31057]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithWe are keeping the budgets of our Welfare to Work programmes under review in the light of the numbers of eligible people, the effectiveness of the programmes and any further policy developments.
§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the number of disabled people who will benefit from the Welfare to Work scheme for disabled people in its first year of operation. [31096]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthMany people on sickness and disability benefits wish to work but lack the necessary support or encouragement to do so. Through the New Deal for Disabled People we will be exploring the forms of practical help that are effective in helping disabled people to work. Until we see the results of the first year pilots it would not be sensible to predict the likely numbers of those who will secure work through this approach.