§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will estimate how many 18 to 24-year-olds have benefited from the New Deal in the Vale of York. [111377]
§ Ms JowellTo the end of December 1999, 168 young people had benefited from the New Deal in the Vale of York constituency. Eighty-one of these have gained jobs through the New Deal and 51 have gained valuable training and work experience through the New Deal options.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people had left the New Deal for Young People for unsubsidised jobs up to the end of October 1999. [109704]
§ Ms Jowell[holding answer 11 February 2000]: Between January 1998 and the end of October 1999, 104,380 people left the New Deal for Young People for unsubsidised jobs.
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people in Wales have had their benefits stopped for failing to take up a New Deal option. [111688]
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§ Ms Jowell[holding answer 22 February 2000]: In Wales, from April to the end of September 1999, the latest date for which data are available, 239 sanctions were imposed for failing to take up a New Deal Option.
§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement regarding the cost per participant of the New Deal. [109612]
§ Ms Jowell[holding answer 22 February 2000]: The New Deal for Young People is designed to provide the help and support each individual joining the programme needs. Accordingly the cost of participation varies greatly from individual to individual.
We estimate that the overall average cost of helping a young person who takes part in New Deal is about £2,000.
§ Mr. AlexanderTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to enhance the functioning of the New Deal Gateway. 1111124]
§ Ms JowellThe New Deal Gateway is already working effectively—almost 116,000 young people have already moved into work from this first stage of the New Deal.
We intended to use our continuous improvement strategy to build on this success. From spring 2000 there will be a nationwide expansion of the intensive Gateway approaches currently being piloted, which will take into account lessons learned from the evaluation of these pilots. In addition we have already developed the New Deal Gateway by ensuring early diagnosis of any literacy and numeracy needs, and by strengthening our arrangements to ensure that young people are moved with pace and purpose through the Gateway.
§ Mr. AlexanderTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many injuries related to participation in the New Deal have been reported by New Deal participants since April 1998. [111123]
§ Ms JowellSince April 1998, there have been 149 injuries reported by New Deal participants. 128 of these injuries were classified as minor.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of those leaving the New Deal for Young People for jobs lasting less than 13 weeks have found jobs lasting less than(a) one week, (b) two weeks, (c) four weeks and (d) eight weeks. [109812]
§ Ms JowellThe information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of those lone parents who have been sent a letter inviting them to join the New Deal for Lone Parents have gone on to find jobs on the scheme; how this figure relates to Government targets; and if he will make a statement. [109277]
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§ Ms HodgeInvitation letters are sent to those lone parents whose youngest child is aged over five years and three months, after they have received Income Support for eight weeks. Other lone parents with younger children are able to join the programme but are not sent invitation letters. These invitation letters are not appointment letters; their aim is to tell lone parents about NDLP and the benefits that can be gained from participating in the programme.
There have been 443,700 invitation letters issued to lone parents. Of these, 36,990 have attended an initial interview, of which, 4,680 have left the New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) to go into employment. At the end of November an additional 6,070 were receiving support from their personal advisers while in work on NDLP. These 10,750 lone parents represent 2.4 per cent. of those sent a letter.
In addition, 74,320 lone parents who did not receive an invitation letter attended an interview. Therefore, total interviews and/or letters was 518,020, total jobs found was 32,710, which is 6.3 per cent. of those who were either interviewed or sent a letter.
In total, 112,570 lone parents have attended an initial interview, of whom 89 per cent. have agreed to participate in the programme.
The Employment Service has a target to place 15,000 New Deal for Lone Parents participants into work during 1999–2000. The Employment Service is currently expected to exceed this target. As a result of NDLP, many lone parents are also gaining jobs without a direct Employment Service referral.