Environmental Task Force

HC Deb 27 March 1998 vol 309 cc342-3W

Mr. Derek Foster

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans there are to increase the participation of the over-25 age group in the Environmental Task Force option of the New Deal. [35909]

Mr. Andrew Smith

As we announced in the Budget,17 March 1998,Official Report, columns 1097–112, £100m will be made available from the Windfall Tax to offer up to 70,000 places on pilots which extend the New Deal approach to adults who have been unemployed for 18 months or, in some cases, a year. These pilots will include the opportunity for participants to work on projects of environmental benefit or in the voluntary sector, as well as job-related training, and employment, where appropriate with a £75 a week subsidy for six months, and opportunities for training towards self-employment.