§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many of the 1,015 lone parents who have gained employment through the New Deal for lone parents between July and 31 December 1997 are now in receipt of income support and have no earnings. [32040]
§ Mr. Keith Bradley[holding answer 2 March 1998]: The information requested is not available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
613WTo calculate how many lone parents who have gained employment through the New Deal for lone parents between July and 31 December 1997 are now in receipt of Income Support and have no earnings, it would be necessary to examine each individual's records on two different computer systems.
The cost of this exercise is directly related to the number of lone parent cases to be investigated. It was possible to answer the hon. Member's previous question on a similar subject on 25 February 1998, Official Report, column 205, because only 433 cases needed to be examined. The investigation of over a thousand cases could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.
The Government will conduct a full independent evaluation of the New Deal for Lone Parents, which will measure the impact of the New Deal for Lone Parents in the eight prototype areas with the outcomes for lone parents in six similar but geographically separate control areas, where the New Deal for Lone Parents is not available.