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Dept for Education and Employment

Answer

Mr. Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the progress of his Department's Employment Service units of delivery review into local variations in the performance of ethnic minorities under the new deal. [138384] Ms Jowell: The Employment Service strategy for engaging ethnic minority jobseekers and businesses in New Deal includes an action plan which is reviewed every six months with units of delivery in all areas. Evidence from the reviews show that the Employment Service are increasingly working in partnership with those representing ethnic minority groups to draw into New Deal those jobless people who are currently outside the system. Young people from ethnic minorities do better on New Deal compared to previous programmes and the general labour market. However, the numbers of those moving into unsubsidised jobs on leaving New Deal is 8 percentage points lower for young people from ethnic minority communities. The Employment Service, with the help of New Deal Task Force's Ethnic Minority Advisory Group and the Black Training and Enterprise Group, has created an improvement plan focusing on areas where changes are needed. We intend to see significant improvements before the end of this Parliament.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

357 c300-1W;357 c301W; 138384

Session

1999-00

Question not reached

Yes

Subjects

Equality Employment schemes Ethnic groups Minority groups Unemployment New deal schemes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk