§ Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people are currently employed by the Employment Service; how many there were two years ago; and what is his forecast of the number that will be employed in two years' time. [54497]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithResponsibility 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 Mr. Ian Bruce, dated 31 July 1998:
804WAs the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State for Education and Employment has asked me to reply direct to your question which asks the number of people currently employed by the Employment Service, how many there were two years ago and what the forecast number will be in two years time. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.On 1 July the Employment Service employed 33,607 people; on 1 July 1996 the number employed was 41,820. Staffing for future years will be determined nearer the time according to our business needs.I hope this is helpful.
§ Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much his Department spent on training Employment Service staff in cash terms and as a percentage of the costs of running the service in 1997–98; and what are his plans for 1998–99. [54498]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithResponsibility 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 Mr. Ian Bruce, dated 31 July 1998:
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply direct to your questions concerning the costs of training Employment Service staff. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.In 1997–98, the Employment Service invested £12.8 million in the delivery and support of training for its staff. This represented 1.4 per cent. of the Agency's total running costs.These costs do not include the salary, travel and subsistence costs of staff while receiving training. These are estimated at a further £11.8 million.For 1998–99, we plan to invest approximately £12 million in the training and development of our staff. This is likely, again to represent 1.4 per cent. of the Agency's total running costs. We project that a further £10.7 million will be spent on the salary, travel and subsistence costs of staff while receiving training.I hope this is helpful.