Written question asked by John Bercow (Conservative) on Tuesday, 29 June 1999, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 2 July 1999. It was answered by Andrew Smith (Labour) on Friday, 2 July 1999 on behalf of the Department for Education and Employment.

Dept for Education and Employment

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what independent assessment he has commissioned of the quality of information about the New Deal.

Answer: Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what independent assessment he has commissioned of the quality of information about the New Deal. [89426] Mr. Andrew Smith: Published statistics on the New Deal for unemployed people and the New Deal for Lone Parents are drawn from the New Deal Evaluation Database held by the Employment Service. These statistics are published under the auspices of the Government Statistical Service and conform to the standards laid out for the publication of official statistics--namely, that such statistics are processed, analysed, and disseminated in an unbiased, timely and independent manner. In addition, the Database has been subject to rigorous internal checking with the result that no systematic errors have been identified. This conclusion is supported by a range of external contractors with whom the Database is shared.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 89426; 334 c319W
Session: 1998-99
Subjects: Databases Employment schemes Statistics New deal schemes New deal for long term unemployed New deal for lone parents