News on 18 January 2001

The Government is to give small businesses up to £2,300 to recruit long-term unemployed people from deprived communities, education and employment secretary David Blunkett announced today.

The scheme, Recruit, is part of a new package of employment measures designed to meet the recruitment needs of employers and to provide increased support to individual job seekers and disadvantaged communities.

Blunkett said the Government had already helped over a million people back into work and virtually eliminated long-term youth unemployment and that it is now time to extend that success story to the over 25s.

The New Deal, to become compulsory for over 25s later this year will match training to needs as part of its new Regional and Local Employment Action Plans, to be developed by Regional Development Agencies and local partners, including employers.

Commenting on the unemployment rate, Blunkett said: “It is now the lowest it has been for 20 years. Since the last election, over a million people have found work and the New Deal has helped more than 250,000 young people into jobs - virtually eradicating long term youth unemployment. I consider that one of this Government’s greatest achievements to date.

“The new schemes are helping to rejuvenate whole deprived communities, bringing jobs, money and most importantly new opportunities for people living in areas that have so often been left isolated and forgotten in the past.

The Federation of Small Businesses’ (FSB) Head of Parliamentary Affairs, Stephen Alambritis, said: "Putting individual jobseekers and small businesses together through these imaginative proposals will be of immense help to all concerned, and should lead to full and lasting employment as small businesses fulfil their job creation potential."

Blunkett said the Government plans to call suspected benefit fraudsters into Jobcentres more frequently.

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