Work and Pensions written question – answered at on 20 December 2012.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the level of unemployment in Hartlepool constituency in recent months; and what steps he will take to reduce the number of unemployed people in Hartlepool constituency.
Over the past year the number of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants has fallen in two thirds of constituencies. In Hartlepool this is not the case, as the number has risen 460 in the year to November 2012, to 4,728. The change over this period is affected by the fact that people entering the Work programme continue to receive JSA and remain on the claimant count until they find regular work, whereas under previous programmes they were removed from the figures and recorded separately on training allowances. Wider welfare reforms, such as reassessment of incapacity benefit claims, changes to eligibility for lone parent benefits and equalisation of state pension age, are also adding to the number on JSA.
The Department is aware of the challenges facing jobseekers in the labour market, particularly in places like Hartlepool where the proportion of the population on JSA, having nearly doubled between 2007 and 2009, is well above the national average. A substantial body of support has been put in place to help people move into work. Jobcentre Plus currently offers claimants a comprehensive menu of help including skills provision and job search support. This is bolstered by a number of Get Britain Working measures including: work experience placements, Work Clubs and support for those looking to start their own business known as the new enterprise allowance.
The Work programme provides tailored support to those claimants furthest from the labour market. Claimants with more challenging barriers to work can be referred early. Providers are paid on the results they achieve, and are paid more for supporting the hardest to help into sustained work.
The Youth Contract, launched on
Extra funding is being made available to support the most vulnerable 16 and 17-year-olds not in education, employment or training, into learning, an apprenticeship or a job with training.
From late July 2012, in 20 local authority areas designated as ‘youth unemployment Hotspots’ including Hartlepool, wage incentives were also made available via Jobcentre Plus to employ 18 to 24-year-olds that have been claiming for six months and were not yet attached to the Work programme. From December 17 this approach was extended nationally so that all 18 to 24-year-olds who have been claiming for six months have access.
In order to maintain additional provision in the ‘hotspots’, additional Jobcentre Plus support will be made available for young people at the start of their claim in these areas from January 2013.
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