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Dept for Work and Pensions

Answer

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people participated in each New Deal scheme; and how many of these received a benefit sanction each year, broken down by (a) New Deal programme and (b) type of sanction. [177555] Jane Kennedy: Information on the number of people who have participated in each New Deal scheme is in the following table. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Number of New Deal Participants1 New Deal for Young People2 831,350 New Deal 25 plus3 496,790 New Deal for Lone Parents4 459,070 New Deal for Disabled People5 69,460 New Deal for Partners6 7,480 New Deal 50 plus7 98,040 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. 1 All figures relate to individuals who have started each programme. 2 January 1998 to December 2003. 3 April 1998 to December 2003. 4 October 1998 to December 2003. 5 Pilots launched in September 1998. National network of NDDP job brokers launched from July 2001. Up to December 2003. 6 Launched as New Deal for Partners of Unemployed People in April 1999. Extended to partners of other benefit recipients in April 2001. Up to December 2003. 7 New Deal 50 plus was introduced in nine pathfinder areas on 25 October 1999 and rolled out nationally on 3 April 2000. Up to March 2003. Source: New Deal Evaluation Database, Information and Analysis Directorate, DWP. Within the New Deal programme, benefit sanctions are only applied within the New Deal for Young People and New Deal 25 plus. Information is not available for sanctions applied to participants in New Deal 25 plus. The Social Security Advisory Committee identified in late 2003 that work needed to be undertaken to review and evaluate the Sanctions Regime and DWP is nearing completion on a new Sanctions Database which will be operational following testing and evaluation. This will provide detailed sanction Ml on a regular basis and information will be published in the Library. Information on the numbers of sanctions applied to New Deal for Young People participants broken down by reason for sanction, up to March 1999, is published in the "Analysis of Adjudication Officers' Decisions". Information from April 1999 onwards is published in "Analysis of Sector Decision Making". Copies of quarterly and annual reports are available in the Library.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

177555; 422 c1442W;422 c1441-2W

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Benefits rules Deductions Recipients Social security benefits New deal schemes New deal for young people New deal for long term unemployed New deal for lone parents New deal for 50 plus New deal for disabled people New deal for partners

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

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