§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will extend the age range of those eligible to benefit from the New Deal. [33907]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithNew Deal provision for people of 25 and over who have been unemployed for two years or more will be available from June 1998. I announced on 5 January that we would consider development of the pilots to extend New Deal to people over 25 who have been unemployed for a year or 18 months. These would need to be thoroughly evaluated before decisions could be taken on further extension.