§ Mr. FallonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many claimants were refused unemployment benefit because they declined to take an available job in 1997, 1998 and 1999. [122389]
§ Ms Jowell[holding answer 16 May 2000]: Unemployment Benefit was replaced by Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) in October 1996. The following figures, which we collect on a quarterly basis within operational years, include JSA sanctions imposed as a result of jobseekers refusing offers of employment, and a small number of Unemployment Benefit disqualifications relating to refusal of employment doubts arising before JSA was introduced.
Operational year Refusal of employment disqualifications/sanctions 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998 22,738 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999 11,442 1 April 1999 to 31 December 1999 13,530 Figures for the final quarter of the 1999–2000 operational year, from 1 January 2000 to 31 March 2000, have not yet been published. Information on the numbers and types of decisions given by Employment Service Decision Makers on JSA labour market questions are published in the "Analysis of Sector Decision Making" (formerly known as the "Analysis of Adjudication Officers' Decisions"), copies of which are held in the House of Commons Library. The figures for the quarter ending March 2000 will be published by the end of May and placed in the Library.