§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what his estimate is of the number of people eligible for new deal 50 plus who are also entitled to claim the employment credit; [15837]
(2) what his estimate is of the number of people eligible for new deal 50 plus. [15847]
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownWe estimate that over 3 million people are eligible for new deal 50 plus. Those who move into work and have an overall gross income of under £15,000 per annum, having been on an eligible benefit for six months or more, will be eligible for the employment credit. In the first 18 months of national operation over 51,000 people went back to work with the help of the employment credit.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what campaigns have been undertaken to promote awareness of the new deal 50 plus among employers; [15844]
(2) what campaigns have been undertaken to encourage greater participation in the new deal 50 plus. [15839]
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownWe are currently building on last autumn's successful new deal 50 plus TV advertising campaign with a regional and local marketing campaign. Provisions are made within local budgets for strategic and innovative campaigns, and activities include local/ regional press advertising, mailshots, and Jobsfairs.
In addition, people who are over 50 and registered unemployed for six months or more will have new deal 50 plus drawn to their attention through their Jobcentre. New incapacity benefit claimants receive a mailshot about the programme when they become eligible.
186WWe are also developing proposals to increase the participation of employers on new deal 50 plus through the involvement of organisations from various employment sectors.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many new deal 50 plus participants are in receipt of the employment credit; and how many new credits have been recorded in each of the last 12 months; [15846]
(2) if he will make a statement on progress with the new deal 50 plus; [15840]
(3) how many people receive support from the new deal 50 plus; and how many starts to the scheme have been recorded in each of the last 12 months. [15841]
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownThe new deal 50 plus blend of personal advice, jobsearch help and in-work financial support has proved very successful at helping people over 50 move off benefits and back into work.
Starts on the programme are currently measured by the number of people who have moved into work and claimed the programme's in-work financial support, the employment credit. In the first 18 months of its national operation over 51,000 people have returned to work with the help of the employment credit. Currently we estimate that over 30,000 people are in receipt of the credit. Many people will also have benefited from the advice and jobsearch help that is available through the programme, although numbers are not available at present.
The numbers of employment credit starts for each of the last twelve months are in the table.
Number October 2000 3,285 November 2000 3,403 December 2000 2,664 January 2001 2,186 February 2001 2,717 March 2001 3,284 April 2001 2,605 May 2001 3,293 June 2001 3,203 July 2001 2,921 August 2001 3,163 September 2001 3,011