To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he intends to defer a decision on whether to make New Deal interviews compulsory until after the results of pilot schemes are known. [79781]

From April 2000, we plan to implement new legislation to make it a condition of receiving benefit that people take part in interviews to talk about their prospects of finding work. This requirement will initially affect only the 12 Single Work-Focused Gateway pilot areas and will be introduced in ways that take account of individual circumstances. The evaluation of the pilots will enable us to consider whether to extend this approach more widely.