Statutory Instruments
2000 No. 721
SOCIAL SECURITY
The Employment Zones Regulations 2000
Made
10th March 2000
Laid before Parliament
13th March 2000
Coming into force
3rd April 2000
The Secretary of State for Education and Employment, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 60 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 and section 19 of the Jobseekers Act 1995 , hereby makes the following Regulations :
Commencement and citation
1. These regulations may be cited as the Employment Zones Regulations 2000 and shall come into force on the 3rd of April 2000.
Interpretation
2. In these regulations–
“the Act" means the Jobseekers Act 1995;
“an action plan" means a plan setting out the action which a claimant will take with a view to securing employment or improving his prospects of securing employment;
“an employment zone" means an area within Great Britain designated by these regulations for the purposes of section 60 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 and “an employment zone programme" means a programme established for such an area or areas designed to assist claimants for a jobseeker’s allowance to obtain sustainable employment;
“an initial interview" means an interview with an employment officer following notice sent to the claimant to attend for the purpose of initiating participation in an employment zone programme.
Areas designated as employment zones
3. The areas within Great Britain designated as employment zones are the 15 areas comprising the districts, London boroughs, counties and county boroughs set out in the schedule as the boundaries to those districts, London boroughs, counties and county boroughs stand on the 5th June 2000 .
Meaning of employment
4. For the purposes of section 60 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999“employment" means employment whether under a contract of service or a contract of apprenticeship, or under a contract for services, or otherwise than under a contract, and includes in particular self employment and the holding of an office.
Eligibility for participation in an employment zone programme
5. A claimant for a jobseeker’s allowance is eligible to participate in an employment zone programme if he is ordinarily resident within an employment zone on the day when notice to attend an initial interview is sent to him pursuant to regulation 23 of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 .
The first stage
6. A claimant begins to participate in the first stage of an employment zone programme on the day when he attends an initial interview and ceases to participate on such day as may be specified by an employment officer by notice to the claimant in writing.
Modifications to the provisions of the Act which apply to claimants during the first stage
7. In relation to a claimant participating in the first stage of an employment zone programme the requirements for receipt of a jobseeker’s allowance set out in subsection 1(2) of the Act are modified by the suspension of the requirement for the claimant to have entered into a jobseeker’s agreement which remains in force.
The Second Stage
8. A Claimant begins to participate in the second stage of an employment zone programme on such date as may be specified by an employment officer by notice to the claimant in writing and ceases to participate on such date as may be specified by an employment officer by notice to the claimant in writing.
Modifications to the provisions of the Act which apply to claimants during the second stage
9. In relation to a claimant participating in the second stage of an employment zone programme the requirements for receipt of a jobseeker’s allowance set out in subsection 1(2) of the Act are modified by the suspension of the requirements for the claimant–
(a) to be available for employment,
(b) to have entered into a jobseeker’s agreement which remains in force, and
(c) to be actively seeking employment.
Amendment of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996
10. —(1)The Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraph of this regulation.
(2) At the end of regulation 75(1)(a) (interpretation) there shall be inserted the word “and" followed by the following sub-paragraph
“ (iii) an employment zone programme, being a programme established for one or more areas designated pursuant to section 60 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 and subject to the Employment Zones Regulations 2000 ” .
Tessa Jowell
Minister of State,
Department for Education and Employment
10th March 2000
SCHEDULE
| Employment Zone | districts, London boroughs, counties and county boroughs |
|---|---|
| Birmingham | The metropolitan district of Birmingham. |
| Brent | The London borough of Brent the London borough of Barnet, the London borough of Camden and the City of Westminster |
| Brighton and Hove | The non-metropolitan district of Brighton and the non-metropolitan district of Hove and the district of Adur . |
| Doncaster | The metropolitan district of Doncaster and the metropolitan district of Rotherham and the non-metropolitan district of Bassetlaw . |
| Glasgow | The metropolitan district of Glasgow. |
| Haringey | The London borough of Haringey. |
| Liverpool and Sefton | The metropolitan district of Liverpool and the metropolitan district of Sefton. |
| Heads of the Valleys and Caerphilly | The county borough of Blaenau Gwent, the county borough of Caerphilly, the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil and the county borough of Torfaen |
| Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland | The non-metropolitan district of Middlesbrough and the non-metropolitan district of Redcar and Cleveland. |
| Newham | The London borough of Newham. |
| North West Wales | The county borough of Conwy, the county of Denbighshire, the county of Anglesey, the county borough of Wrexham and the county of Gwynedd . |
| Nottingham | The non-metropolitan district of Nottingham. |
| Plymouth | The non-metropolitan district of Plymouth and the districts of Caradon, South Hams and West Devon |
| Southwark | The London borough of Southwark. |
| Tower Hamlets | The London borough of Tower Hamlets. |
Explanatory Note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations designate 15 areas in Great Britain to be employment zones within which employment zone programmes can be run. The purpose of such a programme is to assist participants living within a zone and claiming a jobseeker’s allowance to obtain sustainable employment. Employment is defined widely to include any paid work whether carried out for an employer or in the course of any trade, business, profession, partnership, office or vocation.
Regulation 3 designates the areas by reference to lists of wards and electoral divisions set out in the schedule.
Regulation 4 contains the definition of employment.
Regulation 5 provides that eligibility to participate depends upon living within a zone.
Regulation 6 defines a first stage of participation during which Regulation 7 relaxes a requirement of the Jobseekers Act 1995 so as to allow participants to continue to be eligible to receive a jobseeker’s allowance without maintaining a jobseeker’s agreement.
Regulation 8 defines a second stage of participation during which Regulation 9 relaxes additional requirements of the Jobseekers Act 1995 so as to allow participants to continue to be eligible to receive a jobseeker’s allowance without remaining available for employment and without actively seeking employment.
Regulation 10 amends regulation 75 of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 so as to apply the sanction provisions set out in section 19 of the Jobseekers Act 1995 to defaults arising in connection with employment zone programmes.
These regulations do not impose any charge on business.