§ Mr. GreenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many firms with fewer than(a) 250, (b) 100, (c) 50 and (d) 10 employees have received a subsidy for taking on a trainee under the New Deal for Young People; [84928]
(2) how many firms in the engineering sector have (a) taken on one or more trainees and (b) received a subsidy for taking on a trainee, under the New Deal for Young People; [84924]
(3) how many firms in the retail sector have (a) taken on one or more trainees and (b) received a subsidy for taking on a trainee, under the New Deal for Young People; [84927]
(4) how many firms in the leisure sector have (a) taken on one or more trainees and (b) received a subsidy for taking on trainees, under the New Deal for Young People. [84925]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithThe existing Employment Service systems unfortunately do not allow us to monitor the number of starts on the Employment Option by employer. The Employment Service has commissioned its IT supplier to develop an employer database to provide this information.
§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 4 May 1999,Official Report, column 369, if he will be using (a) off-flows and (b) an absolute fall in the unemployment count in the target category to measure the Government's progress against the New Deal pledge target of moving 250,000 people from welfare to work. [84566]
475W
§ Mr. Andrew SmithNeither on its own is sufficient as a measure of the Government's success in meeting its New Deal target, since that target relates specifically to helping young people into work as well as off welfare. Details of the number of 18 to 24-year-olds taking up jobs from the New Deal are published each month in the "New Deal for Young People and Long-Term Unemployed People Aged 25+ Statistical First Release", prepared by the Government Statistical Service.