Written question asked by Paul Rowen (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 2 July 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 7 July 2009. It was answered by Jonathan Shaw (Labour) on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Workstep

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Workstep places were available in each region in (a) each of the last five years and (b) 2009.

Answer

[holding answer 7 July 2009]: The information is in the following table.

The number of contracted Workstep places by region over the last five years, and preliminary allocations for 2009-10
	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
East Midlands	711	711	711	714	663	594
North East	455	435	561	560	467	389
London	673	633	576	530	469	394
South East	1,314	1,334	1,280	1,282	1,261	1,227
Yorkshire and Humberside	875	875	907	907	743	667
Wales	851	853	940	940	940	944
West Midlands	616	616	736	693	635	553
Scotland	1,729	1,725	1,882	1,533	1,790	1,734
South West	1,352	1,354	1,431	1,428	1,399	1,331
North West	775	775	907	907	758	721
East	639	637	767	768	712	687
Nationals	3,514	3,559	4,182	3,758	3,701	3,575
Notes:
1. Figures are full-time equivalent rounded to the nearest whole figure.
2. Figures are an average, full-time equivalent for each year shown except the current year.
3. Figures for 2009-10 represent preliminary allocations. Additional places will be awarded to reflect local need and provider performance. Overall number of places will match 2008-09.
4. The 'Nationals' column represents providers who deliver support across the country.

Secondary information