Labour's much-vaunted New Deal for the young unemployed is creating a "revolving door" back on to welfare for, the Conservatives claimed yesterday, after figures showed that there were 37,000 more unemployed people aged 16 to 17 than in May 1997, when Labour came to power.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the total has risen from 665,000 to 702,000 — with the unemployment rate among young people having risen to 14.5 per cent, compared to the 14.4 per cent rate Labour inherited from the Conservatives.

The figures were embarrassing for Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, who in 1997 described the youth unemployment he inherited as a "human tragedy". Labour's 1997 manifesto promised that it would get 250,000 young unemployed off benefit and into work, levying a one-off windfall tax on the profits of the privatised utilities to pay for the New Deal programme. Mr Brown has made tackling youth unemployment one of Labour's priorities, spending billions of pounds on special schemes to get young people off benefit and into work. At the latest count, there have been more than 20 schemes since 1997, targeted at adults, young people and lone parents.

advertisement
Philip Hammond, the Conservative work and pensions spokesman, said there had been a "catastrophic decline" in the Government's flagship programmes, the New Deal for young people and the New Deal 25-plus

He said Tony Blair claimed in September to have "eradicated long-term youth unemployment". But the latest figures showed that long-term youth unemployment stood at 178,000 — 78 per cent higher than it was five years ago. Mr Hammond said the New deal for young people was a "revolving door" back to welfare for the long-term unemployed. Half of those who left the scheme were claiming benefits within a year.

The proportion who found jobs immediately on leaving the programme had almost halved in the past eight years, and now stood at 35 per cent.

Mr Hammond said the proportion leaving to return to Jobseeker's Allowance was six times higher than it was eight years ago. On the scheme for those aged over 25, the picture was worse, with over a third of leavers going straight back on to Jobseeker's Allowance.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said that since 1997 the Government had made tackling youth unemployment a priority.