Written question asked by Lord Boswell of Aynho (Conservative) on Tuesday, 6 February 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 13 February 2001. It was answered by Baroness Hodge of Barking (Labour) on Tuesday, 13 February 2001 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 studies he has commissioned into incentives to move into open employment from supported employment and the likely impact on those providers of supported employment who fail to qualify for those incentives.

Answer: Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what studies he has commissioned into incentives to move into open employment from supported employment and the likely impact on those providers of supported employment who fail to qualify for those incentives. [149756] Ms Hodge: My Department has not commissioned studies into incentives to move into open employment from supported employment, although my Department and the Employment Service receive regular feedback from providers and clients on this issue. We will continue to provide the training and support people need to progress from supported to mainstream employment. This is an important part of the modernised Supported Employment Programme (Workstep) which I announced on 8 December 2000. We expect that rates of progression from the programme will vary between providers and we will monitor the effects of incentives during the early years to see if there is a need to make any changes.

Secondary information