§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much has been spent to date on the New Deal for the long-term unemployed aged 18 to 24 years. [107437]
§ Ms Jowell[holding answer 28 January 2000]Since its start in 1998, to the end of December 1999, £550.8 million has been spent on the New Deal for young people. Expenditure on the New Deal is planned over the lifetime of this Parliament; any unspent resource in one year is therefore available in future years. Independent research published last year indicates that the impact on the economy of the New Deal for young people is likely to be of a sufficient scale to largely offset the cost of the programme.
§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment the Government have made of the level of retention in employment of those on the New Deal employment option; and if he will make a statement. [109282]
§ Ms JowellOf the 24,670 young people who joined the employer option before October 1999, 80 per cent. remained on the option for at least 13 weeks.
§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the impact of each New Deal scheme on unemployment in Cumbria. [109286]
§ Ms JowellIn the period ending December 1999, 2,245 young people in Cumbria had found employment through the New Deal for Young People. Over the last two years, the numbers of 18 to 24-year-olds unemployed for six months or more has fallen by 74 per cent.
Similarly, in the period ending December 1999, 506 people in Cumbria had found employment through the New Deal for long term unemployed adults aged 25 or over. In the period July 1998 to December 1999, the numbers of adults aged 25 or over unemployed for at least two years fell by 41 per cent.
These results demonstrate the positive impact the New Deal has on long term unemployed people of all ages.
§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate the Government have made of the cost to businesses of participating in the New Deal in(a) the UK as a whole and (b) Cumbria. [109285]
§ Ms JowellThere is a comprehensive programme of evaluation of New Deal underway, which includes qualitative and quantitative research with employers at a national level. A report on the survey is due to be published around the end of July 2000.