§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many lone parents in Bury, North he estimates will participate in the New Deal(a) by 1 April and (b) in the course of 1998–99. [29924]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithIt is not possible to predict exactly the number of lone parents who will participate in the New Deal for Lone Parents, since participation is voluntary. The service will however be available to all lone parents on Income Support from October 1998. In November 1995 there were around 3,000 lone parents on Income Support in Bury as a whole.