§ Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on progress on the introduction of New Deal 50 plus. [89006]
§ Mr. BlunkettThe New Deal 50 plus, announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget speech, 9 March 1999,Official Report, columns 173–90, will offer real and substantial support to people over 50 who wish to find jobs.
The New Deal will be voluntary and will offer people 50 and over who have spent six months on either JSA, Income Support, Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance help with jobsearch through individual advice from an employment adviser and programme centre provision. When an eligible 50 plus client finds a job they can claim an employment credit of £60 per week for full-time work or £40 per week for part-time work for 52 weeks and training support of up to £750. The Employment Credit, when taken with the minimum wage, will represent a minimum income guarantee of £9,000 for people taking full-time jobs. I believe this represents a huge step in providing real help to older workers who face greater difficulties in finding sustainable employment.
We have confirmed the following New Deal units of delivery as pathfinder areas for the launch of New Deal 50 plus in October:
Black Country; City Pride; Dorset; Durham; Edinburgh East and Midlothian; Hull; North Derbyshire; North East Wales; and Oxfordshire.The pathfinders will enable us to learn lessons about the operation of New Deal 50 plus and spread good practice before national roll out in early 2000.