Jobseeker’s Allowance (Work for your Benefit Pilot Scheme) Regulations 2010

My Lords, I, too, thank my noble friend for bringing forward these regulations. I should like to add a little more optimism to the debates. I recognise that there are many complexities in the jobseeker’s allowance Work for your Benefit pilot scheme, but does my noble friend accept that, in working with DWP, as many of the sector skills councils are, there are opportunities for private employers that are already expressing an interest to ensure for the longer term that these young people—they are mostly young people, although some are older—are brought into the sector of work? In this way, the understanding of going to work, getting up and all the interests that we know employers have are fulfilled. I seek a couple of assurances from my noble friend. First—I think that he has already stated this—I hope that the pilot will not have to run its full length before we start to look at increasing the opportunities. Secondly, I hope that there is a clear understanding of how this will work, so that individuals know that this is not a job but an opportunity for a placement and so that employers clearly understand that what they are bringing for these young people is the opportunity to understand the world of work, without necessarily guaranteeing employment. There has been some confusion over that. Certainly I welcome this opportunity on behalf of many of the sector skills councils.