§ Miss Geraldine SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in how many cases involving claims for jobseeker's allowance in the Lancaster and South Cumbria district Regulation 13(b) of the Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations 1996 was applied. [85490]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithI have been asked to reply.
Responsibility 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 Richard Foster to Miss Geraldine Smith, dated 17 June 1999:
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Minister of State has asked Leigh Lewis to reply direct to your question concerning the number of cases involving claims for Jobseeker's Allowance in the Lancaster and South Cumbria district where the provisions of Regulation 13(4) of the Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations 1996 have been applied. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Mr. Lewis as Chief Executive of the Employment Service. I am replying in his absence.I regret that the information you have requested is not available. Details of decisions given by Employment Service Adjudication Officers on labour market questions are recorded in a quarterly summary—the 'Analysis of Adjudication Officers' Decisions', a copy of which is held in the Library. The statistics include the number of decisions made in respect of jobseekers who restrict their availability to less than 40 hours a week. Unfortunately, decisions where the only consideration was whether the provisions of regulation 13(4) applied are not recorded separately. Nor are figures separately recorded for individual Employment Service Districts.I am sorry that I cannot be more helpful.