Welfare to Work (Hansard, 11 April 2002)

§ Ruth Kelly

Figures recently announced show that the employment level is at 28,232 million, and the claimant unemployment level stands at 951,000. Claimant unemployment in Tottenham is down by 44 per cent. since 1997. The New Deal has been a contributing factor to these reductions in unemployment.

In particular New Deal for young people has been successful in its four years of operation: it has placed over 340,000 18–24 year olds into work. The New Deal for 25 plus and the enhanced programme (since April 2001) has helped a further 92,000 long-term unemployed people into work.

To build on this performance, the Government has introduced further measures to increase the effectiveness of employment programmes in deprived areas, which include: Tackling the obstacles to employment in some of the worst affected regions in Britain, the Government has established 63 Action Teams in England, Scotland and Wales that suffer from particularly high levels of inactivity and long-term unemployment. Action Teams are a dynamic and innovative resource to tackle some of the UK's most deep-seated and protracted employment problems. So far 6,934 people have moved to work through Action Teams; The Government has PSAs targets for increasing employment in the most deprived areas within the UK. The employment rate for these 30 areas currently stands at 63.2 per cent. (Autumn 2001) up from 60.2 per cent. in Spring 1997; Step-up a new programme of transitional employment pilots will, in deprive areas such as Knowsley and Lambeth from April 2002 target our hardest to help clients who have not been able to find a job through the New Deal. People who participate in Step-Up will receive individual support so that they can eventually make the transition to unsupported jobs in the open labour market; The Working Families' Tax Credit (WFTC) helps to make-work pay for low to middle income families' with children. Nearly 1.3 million families with children are currently receiving the WFTC, around 400,000 more than received its predecessor, Family Credit. On average these families are receiving £35 a week more on WFTC than under Family Credit.