Chamber and committees

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish executive and contributing Scottish organisations, as indicated in the answer to S1W-1031.

The performance of the New Deal for Young People is measured in each Unit of Delivery by 9 Core Performance Measures. These are as follows:-

1. The number of New Deal participants and the proportion of each cohort moving into
i) unsubsidised jobs, ii) subsidised jobs and iii) all jobs;
2. The number of participants and the proportion of each monthly cohort moving from the Gateway and each of the options into unsubsidised jobs;
3. The unit costs of the outcomes covered in 1 and 2 above;
4. The number of participants and the proportion of each monthly cohort remaining in jobs 13 weeks, 6, 12 or 18 months after leaving New Deal, as measured by the renewal or otherwise of claims for JSA and other benefits;
5. The numbers and proportions of participants who are disabled, from ethnic minority backgrounds and who are men and women achieving the outcomes in 1, 2 and 4 above;
6. The numbers of subsidised jobs made available by employers and the level of employer satisfaction;
7. The level of satisfaction among participating young people;
8. The number and level of qualifications achieved by New Deal participants; and
9. The number of participants and the proportion of each monthly cohort leaving the New Deal for known destinations.

In addition to these measures a comprehensive programme of evaluation is underway. The other New Deal programmes are assessed in similar ways.

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing Scottish organisations, as indicated in the answer to S1W-01031.

The latest available destination statistics (end June statistics) for the New Deal for Young People,New Deal 25+, and the New Deal for Lone Parents are set out in the tables below. The New Deal for Disabled People is still at the pilot stage and no figures have yet been published for the New Deal for Partners of Unemployed People.

New Deal 18-24 (leavers from New Deal, January 1998 to June 1999)

	Total Number	% Unsubsidised Jobs	% Other Benefits	% Other Known	% Not Known
From Gateway	13546	47%	16%	9%	28%
From Subsidised Employment	498	62%	2%	1%	35%
From Full-Time Education and Training	710	34%	13%	16%	37%
From Voluntary Sector	336	42%	15%	7%	36%
From Environment Task Force	322	43%	13%	7%	38%
From Follow-Through	2394	31%	10%	7%	52%

New Deal 25+

Leavers from Advisory Interviews Process (July 1998 to June 1999)

There were 7,352 leavers between the above dates, of whom:

Left to unsubsidised jobs	877
Left JSA for other reasons	1870
Returned to normal JSA activity	3489
Left to subsidised jobs	460
went onto Training for Work	587
went into Education and Training	71

New Deal for Lone ParentsLeavers from Advisory Interviews Process (October 1998 to May 1999)There were 2,060 leavers between the above dates, of whom:

moved into employment	600
transferred to other benefits	30
became ineligible	210
declined to join the caseload	240
withdrew for other reasons	820
unknown destination	170

In addition, over the same period, 980 lone parents have moved into employment and 330 have moved into education or training and are continuing to receive support from a New Deal for Lone Parents Personal Adviser.

This information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with United Kingdom Ministers and Departments (including the Department of Education and Employment) on a wide range of issues including the New Deal for Young People.

Local Export Partnerships comprise normally of Local Enterprise Companies, Local Authorities and Chambers of Commerce and these constituent bodies provide all funding. There are no details of funding, expenditure or budgets held centrally.

The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with United Kingdom Government Ministers and Departments, including the Department for Education and Employment, on a wide range of issues, including supported employment.

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government, which therefore takes the lead on the funding and delivery of the New Deal throughout Great Britain, although in close consultation with its partners, including the Scottish Executive. Many partner organisations at local level also provide New Deal services under contract or provide funds and other resources, including training funds, to enhance the quality of New Deal in their areas. The public and voluntary sector organisations which contribute to the New Deal in this way fall within the remit of the Scottish Executive.

Information is not available on a constituency basis. The table below shows the numbers in Scotland by Unit of Delivery enrolled (end May figures) in each of the following New Deal options: a) full-time education and training; b) voluntary sector, and c) the Environment Task Force.

Unit of Delivery	Full Time Education/Training	Voluntary Sector	Environment Task Force
Ayrshire	127	91	68
Borders	20	17	18
Dumfries and Galloway	89	21	27
Edinburgh, East and Mid Lothian	123	69	80
Forth Valley	132	75	66
Glasgow	459	180	151
Grampian	62	15	15
Inverness and Nairn	14	8	12
Lanarkshire	278	123	168
Renfrewshire	93	68	68
Tayside	164	65	96
Western Isles	16	6	7
Dunbarton	81	26	53
Fife	196	56	76
Moray, Strathspey and Badenoch	19	15	12
West Lothian	31	22	22
Argyll and The Islands	11	11	1
Caithness and Sutherland	7	6	8
Lochaber	4	1	0
Orkney	5	0	3
Ross and Cromarty	17	4	9
Shetland	4	0	0
Skye and Lochalsh	5	0	0

Standing Orders do not require individuals or organisations giving evidence to Committees of the Parliament to make a declaration of interests before being questioned. It is open to Committees to ask for such a declaration where they consider it relevant.

The UK Government has prepared drafts, which have now been received by the Scottish Executive. Once they have been agreed between the UK Government and the devolved administrations, they will be presented to the Parliament for their endorsement.