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Unemployment Benefit

Volume 976: debated on Thursday 20 December 1979

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asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, since only one in 300 claims for unemployment benefit is rejected, if he is satisfied that conditions for rejections of claims are (a) sufficiently clear, (b) stringent and (c) effectively applied.

:The figures quoted by my hon. Friend relate to disqualifications for unemployment benefit or credits imposed in the year ending 30 June 1979 for one of the reasons set out in my reply to my hon. Friend of 30 November. [Vol, 974, c. 824.] Disallowance and disqualifications for all reasons amounted to 21 per cent. of claims in that year.I am satisfied that the rules for disqualifying claimants who do not avail themselves of suitable employment are adequate, but we intend to enforce these rules more strictly. My hon. Friend will no doubt be aware of the unemployment review procedures, which at present apply only to supplementary benefit claimants, under which specialist officers help and encourage the longer-term unemployed to return to work. We intend to extend these procedures in the new year to people receiving unsupplemented unemployment benefit; and initially 60 officers will be allocated to this new work. Further extension of the scheme will be considered in the light of the results they achieve, which will be carefully monitored.