New Deal (Hansard, 14 July 1998)

§ Mr. Green
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of those called to initial interviews under the New Deal have not attended; and what the percentage was in each travel-to-work area. [47091]

§ Mr. Andrew Smith
[holding answer 24 June 1998]: During May 1998 the number of 18–24 year olds who have ceased to claim JSA before attending their initial interview is 6 per cent. nationally. This will include young people who have found work or decided to claim another benefit.

§ Mr. Green
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what analysis he has undertaken of the 18–24 year olds on the New Deal programme who are not accounted for when they finish the Gateway. [49429]

§ Mr. Andrew Smith
[holding answer 7 July 1998]: The Jobseekers Act 1995 lays no obligation on people to report what they are doing once they have signed off state 165W benefits. I asked the Employment Service to undertake follow up of the young people who have left the New Deal Gateway for unknown destinations. The outcomes of this follow-up have been published in the Department's press notices of 27 May and 25 June. I have also asked for the very thorough evaluation survey of participants that will take place later to obtain detailed evidence about what happens to this group. So far, of New Deal entrants, only 4 per cent. have left and cannot be accounted for. In the first nine months of Project Work pilots, a quarter of entrants had left for unknown destinations.

§ Mr. Chope
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much money has been spent promoting, launching and monitoring and marketing the New Deal initiative in the Christchurch constituency. [48817]

§ Mr. Andrew Smith
It is not possible to break down this expenditure information by constituency. The provisional amount spent nationally on New Deal for 18–24 year olds for 1997–98 is £36 million. The majority of this amount represents expenditure incurred centrally in supporting the early implementation of the New Deal. A final figure will be available by the end of August. The New Deal is financed from the receipts of the Windfall Tax on the privatised utilities. Expenditure is planned over the Parliament as a whole and unspent resources in any single year are available for spending on New Deal in future years.
The estimated cost for 1998–99 is £594 million, and for 1999–2000, £675 million. New Deal is demand led and actual provision for any particular year will be decided in the light of the level of unemployment and experience gained in running New Deal.
The above figures are for Great Britain and reflect the cost of New Deal for young people to the Department for Education and Employment.