New Deal (Hansard, 23 November 2000)

§ 23. Mr. Lammy
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the progress of his Department's Employment Service units of delivery review of local variations in the performance of ethnic minorities under the new deal. [138384]

§ Ms Jowell
The Employment Service strategy for engaging ethnic minority jobseekers and businesses in New Deal includes an action plan which is reviewed every six months with units of delivery in all areas.
Evidence from the reviews shows that the Employment Service are increasingly working in partnership with those representing ethnic minority groups to draw into New Deal those jobless people who are currently outside the system. Young people from ethnic minorities do better on New Deal compared to previous programmes and the general labour market. However, the numbers of those moving into unsubsidised jobs on leaving New Deal is 8 percentage points lower for young people from ethnic minority communities.
The Employment Service, with the help of New Deal Task Force's Ethnic Minority Advisory Group and the Black Training and Enterprise Group, has created an improvement plan focusing on areas where changes are needed. We intend to see significant improvements before the end of this Parliament.

§ 25. Mr. Ian Bruce
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many 18 to 22-year-olds(a) have been unemployed for over six months, (b) are on New Deal and (c) are on follow through; and how many had been unemployed for over six months when New Deal came into force on a national basis. [138387]

§ Ms Jowell
The New Deal for young unemployed people applies to those aged 18–24. New Deal starts with an initial Gateway phase when an individual has had six months of unemployment. Latest figures show that in October 2000 there were 36,500 18 to 24-year-olds who had been claimant unemployed for six months or more. When the New Deal came into force nationally, in April 1998, there were 119,369 18 to 24-year-olds unemployed for six months or more.
Latest figures show that, at the end of August 2000, there were 115,300 young people on the New Deal. Of these 81,100 were claiming JSA–59,600 who were on the Gateway, and 21,500 who were in the follow through stage.