H.M. TREASURY

HM Treasury 6

9 November 1999

NEW MEASURES TO HELP UNEMPLOYED ADULTS INTO WORK

New measures to increase the support available to unemployed people aged 25 and over to move into work were announced today by the Chancellor Gordon Brown.

The Government intends to intensify and extend New Deal 25+ on a national basis from April 2001, building on the principles of the New Deal for under 25s, bringing rights and responsibilities for the 25+ into line with those for young people.

The package, outlined in the Pre-Budget Report, will be backed by extra steps to advertise the support and advice available for job seekers aged 25 and over.

The Chancellor said:

"There are almost one million vacancies in economy at the moment, spread over the country. We want better matching of the unemployed to these jobs. And we want people to take up the opportunities available. Rights and responsibilities go hand in hand.

"As a first step we will increase the amount of information available to job-seekers on local vacancies and strengthen the New Deal 25+ to give those who need it extra help to move into work.

"We will expect job-seekers to take up this extra support to move into employment or to enhance their employability. It will not be an option for long-term unemployed people to do nothing."

The measures, for those unemployed for 6 months or more, include:

more intensive and pro-active job broking, including the creation of a jobs and learning bank, which will put jobs, jobseekers' CVs and information about careers and learning opportunities on the Internet; a national network of job-broking call centres; expansion of a nationwide network of touch-screen job points in job centres and developing links with the BBC and other possible partners to harness the potential of interactive TV;

access to basic skills help, and more use of worktrials, to give unemployed people the chance to try out jobs and prove their suitability to employers; and

using this structured approach to reinforce the JSA regime - including the requirements to widen jobsearch both occupationally and geographically - with tougher implementation of sanctions. JSA claims will be disallowed if jobseekers do not take up the available opportunities without good reason.

In preparation for the nationwide intensification of the New Deal 25+, from April 2000 the support available for those unemployed for 2 years or more from New Deal 25+ into line with those for young people by:

a more intensive gateway advisory process, with participants actively submitted for interview for appropriate jobs, together will follow-up for unsuccessful candidates;

more structured support to develop an Action Plan, including access to careers advice and mentoring support as well as support for job search techniques and help with basic skills and soft skills development (eg communications skills) and access to specialist support for the hard to help, including homeless people or those with drug or alcohol problems; and

backed up with tougher implementation of sanctions - JSA claims will be disallowed if jobseekers do not meet their obligations or take up the support on offer.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. These measures will be available for all those who have been claiming Job Seekers' Allowance (JSA) for either 6 or 24 months. People claiming JSA are required to be available for and actively seeking work.

2. The New Deal 25+ was launched nationally in June 1998. Those aged 25 and over and unemployed for 2 years or more have had access to a Personal Adviser and, alongside a range of options for the long-term unemployed, a £75 a week wage subsidy and opportunities to undertake full-time education.

3. New Deal 25+ pilots were launched in November 1998 to test a range of innovative approaches to helping people unemployed for 18, or in some cases, 12 months or more. There are 28 pilots in Great Britain; and the whole of Northern Ireland is covered by a pilot.

4. Unemployed people aged 50 or more who have been claiming JSA for at least 6 months will be eligible for Personal Adviser support and an employment credit under the New Deal 50+ announced in Budget 99, currently available in 12 pathfinder areas and available nationally from Spring 2000. The New Deal 50+ was launched by the Chancellor and David Blunkett, Secretary for State for Education and Employment on 4 November 1999.

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