§ Mr. EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the amount spent per head of the population in Lancashire on the New Deal since its introduction. [94188]
§ Ms Jowell[holding answer 19 October 1999]: Almost £6.75 million has been spent in the county of Lancashire, for the New Deal for Young People, aged 18-24, and the New Deal for those aged 25 plus, between April 1998 and 31 August 1999.
A total of 6,896 people entered into the New Deal for Young People and 2,232 people entered into the New Deal for those aged 25 plus to the end of July 1999 and on 31 July 1999.
743W
§ Mr. EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if people who leave the New Deal without a job are listed as long-term unemployed if they were listed as long-term unemployed before they entered the New Deal. [94189]
§ Ms Jowell[holding answer 19 October 1999]: New Deal exists to get long-term unemployed people off benefit and into work. New Deal for Young People has been successful in doing this for 135,000 young people. In those cases where a young person reaches the end of their New Deal option and has still not obtained a job, they will enter a follow-through period and start a new claim to Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) whilst engaging in intensive job search activity with the assistance of their personal adviser. In these specific cases, unemployment duration is calculated from the date they returned to JSA.
Participants in the New Deal for Long-Term Unemployed People aged 25 plus who remain on JSA throughout will remain classed as long-term unemployed on leaving New Deal. If a jobseeker has an interruption to their claim, such as a period in subsidised employment or on Work-Based Learning for Adults, then their unemployment duration is calculated from the date they returned to JSA.