The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide my hon. Friend with the information requested.
Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 24 July 2007:
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked me to reply to your question about the number of job applicants undertaking a work trial and the number of these resulting in the applicant taking the position since the inception of the work trial programme. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Work trials were first introduced in 1989, since when they have formed part of an overall and constantly evolving package of measures to assist employers meet their recruitment needs. Until 2000 we did not routinely capture detailed management information on work trials. Since then, we have recorded information on the number of customers undertaking a work trial, but not the number of people confirmed permanently in the job. Our success in helping people into work is measured in terms of the number of people who leave benefit and move into work, but this is not broken down specifically to identify those securing a job through the help of a work trial.
The table below shows the number of work trial starts since April 2000.
April to March each year: Work trial starts 2000-01 6,580 2001-02 4,390 2002-03 3,340 2003-04 2,240 2004-05 1,700 2005-06 2,040 2006-07 3,640
Although we do not keep data on the number of people confirmed in post following a work trial, internal research suggests that up to 50% of those people who secured the job would not have done so without the help of a work trial.
I hope this is helpful.