§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the number of workless households. [48855]
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownWe have introduced a range of initiatives, including the New Deals, to help people move from dependence on benefits to independence through work. Our new Jobcentre Plus service brings together benefits and employment to provide an integrated work-focused service to ensure that all people of working age claiming benefits are aware of the help and support available to enable them to move into work. There are also 63 Action Teams for Jobs in some of the most deprived areas of the UK. Action Teams provide tailored support to enable people on all working age benefits to move back to work.
In 1997 the number of workless households in Great Britain stood at 3,174,000. The most recent information for 2001 shows this figure has fallen to 2,952,500, a decrease of 221,500 (7.0 per cent).
Source:
Labour Force Survey, National Statistics.