§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what procedure is followed in cases where a jobseeker and an employment office cannot reach agreement on the details of a jobseeker's agreement; and if he will make a statement. [120081]
295W
§ Ms JowellResponsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Mark Neale to Mr. Lembit Opik, dated 8 May 2000:
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency the Secretary of State for Education and Employment has asked Leigh Lewis to reply to your question about the procedure that is followed where a jobseeker and an employment officer cannot reach agreement on the details of a Jobseeker's Agreement. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Mr. Lewis as Chief Executive of the Employment Service. I am replying in his absence.Jobseeker's Allowance regulations set out the conditions for the receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). These include a requirement that a jobseeker must have a Jobseeker's Agreement which both the jobseeker and the employment officer have signed. The contents of the Agreement are negotiated between the Jobseeker and the employment officer at the initial interview when a claim for JSA is made.If the adviser and Jobseeker cannot agree the Jobseeker's Agreement, the case is referred to an independent Sector Decision Maker for consideration.The Sector Decision Maker can determine the contents of a Jobseeker's Agreement and issue a direction that the jobseeker should comply with. The direction will state what the contents of the Jobseeker's Agreement should be and enable the jobseeker to satisfy the availability and actively seeking employment conditions. If the Jobseeker's Agreement is not signed by the jobseeker following the Decision Maker's determination, the Jobseeker's Agreement will not be valid and Jobseeker's Allowance will not be paid.I hope this is helpful.