§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many jobs have been created in the hospitality industry by the New Deal; and if he will indicate the methods by which he calculated this figure. [111118]
§ Ms JowellI have been asked to reply.
The New Deal is not a job-creation programme; rather it is designed to help unemployed people improve their skills and compete effectively for vacancies.
The latest figures to the end of December 1999 show that this policy is working; nationally, 185,250 young people have found jobs under the New Deal. We do not hold detailed figures for the jobs taken in the hospitality sector. However, the Employment Service is working closely with 15 companies who are members of the British Hospitality Association to address ways of enhancing the sector's image to increase the number of New Deal participants. This work includes development of a sector specific gateway that will tap into the many vacancies that will arise this year. In the last year there were some 385,000 vacancies notified in this sector.