§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many initial invitation letters have been sent to lone parents in the target group for the New Deal for Lone Parents since the national programme began in October 1998. [125635]
602W
§ Angela EagleThe total number of initial invitation letters issued since the full national programme began in October 1998 was 482,874.
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many lone parents, broken down into the target and non-target groups for the New Deal for Lone Parents have claimed Income Support for(a) less than a year, (b) between one and two years, (c) between two and three years, (d) between three and four years, (e) between four and five years and (f) over five years. [125629]
§ Angela EagleThe target group for the New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) is all lone parents on Income Support. Invitation letters are sent to lone parents on Income Support with a youngest child aged at least five years and three months. From 22 May lone parents whose youngest child is aged three or four have also started to receive invitation letters.
This information is in the table.
Lone parents receiving Income Support as at February 2000 Thousand Duration of current claim All lone parents Of those receiving invitation letters All cases 918.6 448.3 Less than 1 year 216.5 83.3 1 to 2 years 149.1 53.2 2 to 3 years 105.6 40.0 3 to 4 years 74.2 30.3 4 to 5 years 60.5 27.8 5 years and over 312.7 213.8 Notes:
1. Numbers are based on a five per cent. sample and are therefore subject to sampling error.
2. Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred and expressed to the nearest thousand therefore totals may not sum.
3. Lone parents are defined as single people with dependants not in receipt of a pensioner or disability premium.
4. Numbers do not include lone parents who choose to sign unemployed and are in receipt of Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance.
5. In some cases, when claims are first entered on the Income Support Computer System (ISCS), the date of claim was incorrectly input as the date of conversion of the ISCS system. This means that for some cases (which we are unable to identify) the length of claim is inaccurate for claims made before the end of 1992 when the conversion period ended.
6. Lone parents on Income Support with a youngest child aged at least five years 3 months receive NDLP invitation letters. From May 22 lone parents whose youngest child is aged three or four have also started to receive invitation letters.
Source:
Income Support Quarterly Statistical Inquiry—February 2000
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security of the lone parents who successfully find work after participating in the New Deal for Lone Parents, how many had previously been claiming Income Support for(a) up to six months, (b) six months to one year, (c) one year to two years, (d) between two and three years, (e) between three and four years, (f) between four and five years and (g) over five years. [125630]
§ Angela EagleThe information is not currently available. However, developmental work is currently being undertaken which will facilitate the link between a New Deal for Lone Parents participants' records and their Income Support details.
603WIn the period ending March 2000, 50,911 lone parents have gained employment from the New Deal for Lone Parents since the programme began.
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average length of time on Income Support of a lone parent; and what had been the average length of time on Income Support of a lone parent who found work after participating in the New Deal. [125633]
§ Angela EagleThe information is not available. A total of 50,911 lone parents have found jobs through the New Deal to March 2000.
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many lone parents joined the target group for the New Deal for Lone Parents in the last month for which figures are available; and how many initial invitation letters have been sent to these people. [125636]
§ Angela EagleThe target group for the New Deal for Lone Parents is all lone parents on Income Support. The information is not available in the format requested. However, 84,200 joined this category during the quarter ending February 2000.
Initial invitation letters are sent to all lone parents on Income Support with a youngest child aged over 5 years 3 months eight weeks after claiming Income Support except those in receipt of Invalid Care Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, or Severe Disability Allowance. In the quarter to February 2000, 40,100 lone parents qualified for letters. From 22 May lone parents on Income Support with a youngest child aged 3 or 4 have also started to receive invitation letters.
Notes:
1. Numbers obtained by looking for claimants who were not in the relevant category in November 1999 but who subsequently appear in it in February 2000. This method will underestimate the true number of people who "flow" into the group as people who join and leave benefit between quarters, or those who leave Income Support before the second quarter will not be counted.
2. Numbers are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to sampling errors.
3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred and expressed in thousands.
4. Lone parents are defined as single people with dependants not in receipt of a pensioner or disability premium.
5. Numbers do not include lone parents who choose to sign unemployed and are in receipt of income-based Jobseeker's Allowance.
Source:
Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many lone parents have been in the target group for the New Deal for Lone Parents in total since the national programme began in October 1998. [125634]
§ Angela EagleThe target group for the New Deal for Lone Parents is all parents on Income Support. Over the Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiries for November 1998 to February 2000, there have been a total of 1,248,700 who fall into this category, of whom 482,874 have received invitation letters.
Notes:
Numbers are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to sampling error.
2. Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred and expressed in thousands.
604W3. Lone parents are defined as single people with dependants not in receipt of a pensioner or disability premium.
4. Numbers do not include lone parents who choose to sign unemployed and are in receipt of income-based Jobseeker's Allowance.
5. From 22 May 2000 lone parents on Income Support with a youngest child aged 3 or 4 have started to receive invitation letters.
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many lone parents who have found work through the New Deal for Lone Parents have a youngest child aged between three years and five years and three months; and how many have a youngest child aged below three years, broken down on a monthly basis. [125637]
§ Angela EagleThe information is not available in the format requested.
Figures are available for the numbers of lone parents whose youngest child is aged under 5 years and 3 months gaining jobs after the full national phase of the programme in October 1998. The information is in the table.
Month Lone Parents with youngest child aged under 5 years and 3 months 1998 November 530 December 380 1999 January 630 February 880 March 990 April 1,310 May 1,030 June 900 July 1,020 August 750 September 1,010 October 2,250 November 1,910 December 1,130 2000 January 810 February 1,270 March 1,910 Total 18,700 Notes:
1. Figures in above table are for Phase 3 of the programme (from 26 October 1998). Information is not available in this format for phases 1 and 2 because results were kept clerically and it is not possible to accurately break them down on a monthly basis.
2. Figures for the most recent months may subsequently rise slightly. This is due to the backdating of jobs gained by leavers to unknown destinations which we subsequently discover have found employment.