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7 Nov 2002 : Column 660W—continued

Unemployment and Sickness Benefit (Wales)

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are claiming (a) unemployment related and (b) sickness-related benefits in each local authority in Wales. [80240]

Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the tables.

Numbers of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in Wales by local authority at September 2002

Local authority	Numbers
Blaenau Gwent	1,740
Bridgend	1,730
Caerphilly	2,785
Cardiff	5,752
Carmarthenshire	2,485
Ceredigion	858
Conwy	1,454
Denbighshire	1,141
Flintshire	1,725
Anglesey, Isle of	1,554
Gwynedd	2,088
Merthyr Tydfil	1,139
Monmouthshire	837
Neath Port Talbot	2,280
Newport	2,714
Pembrokeshire	2,119
Powys	1,293
Rhondda, Cynon, Taff	3,390
Swansea	3,979
The Vale of Glamorgan	1,906
Torfaen	1,385
Wrexham	1,702
Wales	46,056

Notes:

The figures include those receiving either contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) or income-based JSA or both and those receiving National Insurance credits only.

Source:

Jobcentre Plus Computer Systems, 100 per cent. count of all unemployed people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance.

Numbers of working age people claiming sickness-related benefits in Wales by local authority at May 2002

Local authority	Numbers
Blaenau Gwent	8,100
Bridgend	11,600
Caerphilly	17,200
Cardiff	18,700
Carmarthenshire	13,700
Ceredigion	4,400
Conwy	6,800
Denbighshire	5,800
Flintshire	7,300
Anglesey, Isle of	4,400
Gwynedd	5,900
Merthyr Tydfil	7,700
Monmouthshire	3,600
Neath Port Talbot	14,200
Newport	9,300
Pembrokeshire	7,200
Powys	6,400
Rhondda, Cynon, Taff	24,700
Swansea	17,900
The Vale of Glamorgan	6,100
Torfaen	8,300
Wrexham	8,200
Wales	217,600

Notes:

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.

2. XSickness-related" benefits are defined for the purposes of this table as Incapacity Benefit (IB), Severe Disablement Allowance and Income Support with disability premium and National Insurance credits only (1B).

Source:

DWP Client Group Analysis, 5 per cent. statistical samples relating to May 2002.

7 Nov 2002 : Column 661W

Incapacity Benefit

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what circumstances incapacity benefit is means tested; and whether the incapacity benefit is reduced if a man aged 61 has an occupational pension. [76924]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: Incapacity Benefit exists to provide a measure of earnings replacement for people of working age who are incapable of work. Where a person is duplicating this provision the law provides for this to be taken into account.

If a person claiming Incapacity Benefit receives an occupational pension, personal pension or payments through a permanent health insurance scheme of #85 a week or more, their Incapacity Benefit is reduced by half the amount which exceeds #85. Only people making new claims from 6 April 2001 are affected by the new rules.

7 Nov 2002 : Column 662W

Occupational Deafness

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he will publish the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council report on occupational deafness. [79764]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council expects to publish its report on occupational deafness shortly.

Focus Group Research

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what use he and his Department have made of focus group research since June 2001; if he will identify for each research project the topics covered, the person or organisation carrying out the research, and the total cost; and if he will publish the research on his Department's website. [74986]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: The information is available in the table.

Focus Group Research since 1 June 2001

Project Title	Topics covered	Organisation undertaking the research	Total Cost	Research published on Department's website?
Employment Service	Implementation Training and guidance	BMRB and Insite	#19,830	No
Review of the Job Entry Target	The Jobcentre Plus Job Entry Target—focus groups with staff	Policy Research Institute	#24,105	No
Good Practice in Work Preparation	Purpose and function of Work preparation:	Social Policy Research Unit	#72,288	Yes
Evaluation of the permitted work rules for Incapacity Benefit claimants	The use of the new arrangements by staff who apply them or refer to them in their work.	Institute for Employment Studies	#199,000	Research commissioned in Summer 2002, findings to be published in 2004
Incapacity Benefits & Work Incentives	Client experiences of a series of work incentive measures.	Social Policy Research Unit	#47,025	Yes
The Role of GPs in Sickness Certification	The knowledge, attitudes and experiences of GPs acting as certifying medical practitioners.	National Centre for Social Research	#73,333	Yes
Diversity in Disability	To provide a greater understanding of the life experiences of disabled men and women from different minority ethnic groups.	National Centre for Social Research	#136,798	Research to be published early 2003.
Social Fund use amongst older people in Britain	To provide an understanding of the reasons for take-up and non-take-up among eligible older people.	Personal Finance Research Centre (PFRC), University of Bristol	#55,230	Yes
Attitudes to Electronic Service Delivery	Use of the internet and computers	Andrew Irving Associates	#46,000	The project is ongoing and will be published on the website when complete
Investigating Low Labour Market Participation among Lone Parents in London.	Six workshops conducted with lone parent ''experts'' such as NDLP advisers in London, Merseyside and Strathclyde.	The National Centre for Social Research.	#22,938	Forthcoming research to be published 2002–2003.
Partners of non JSA benefit recipients	Attitudes and barriers to work	ECOTEC Research and Consulting Ltd.	#52,385	Yes
Reforming Services for Pensioners: Perceptions of The Pension Service Proposed Business Model for 2006 Among Today's Pensioners	Customers' views of what they would like to see from The Pension Service in the future.	Forum Qualitative	#34,400	No, customer testing for internal use.
Evaluation of NDLP Innovation Fund	Client perceptions project delivery.	York Consulting	#80,051	Research will be published in early 2003 and will be available on department website in due course
Child Support Reforms	Testing of leaflets and letters.	Andrew Irvine Associates	#80,403	No

7 Nov 2002 : Column 663W

Pay Offer Pack

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost was of the Pay 2002 information pack circulation; and if he will make a statement in respect of targeting information to recipients [78337]

Mr. McCartney: The cost for design, print and distribution of the Department 2002 Pay Offer information pack was #1.34 per pack. Around 146,500 copies were issued to staff.

Distribution of the package was based on payroll information for staff from the former Department for Social Security, and the most recent ''census'' information for staff from the former Employment Service.

This year's pay offer to staff was particularly significant because it was the first since the Department was formed in 2001, where staff were brought together from the former DSS, Employment Services and Department for Education and Employment. For the past year different terms and conditions have applied within the Department.

The offer package provided staff with comprehensive details on a raft of harmonised changes to their terms and conditions, pay structure and conditions of employment for staff in the Department for Work and Pensions. The proposed changes to terms and conditions contained in the 2002 pay offer were complex and contractual. It was therefore, essential that all staff had the opportunity to read, understand and ask questions about the changes. The only way to ensure that this was achieved was to distribute personal copies of the information package to all staff in the Department.

Jobcentres (Wiltshire)

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employees there are broken down by function at (a) Avon House Jobcentre, Salisbury, (b)

7 Nov 2002 : Column 664W

Amesbury Jobcentre and (c) Summerlock House, Salisbury; and what plans he has to change the number of jobs, broken down by function, at each location. [80301]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: The number of staff and the functions they perform in the two jobcentres are as follows:

	Salisbury Jobcentre	Amesbury Jobcentre
Employer Services	1	1
Personal Advisers	7	1
Customer Services	9	2
Jobseeker's Allowance claims processing	6	0
Programme Centre	2	0
Management and Office services	1	1
Total	26	5

In the Summerlock House Social Security Office the staff deployment is as follows:

Customer Services	7
Income Support claims processing	8
Incapacity Benefit claims processing	10
Home visiting	2
Management and Office services	5
Counter Fraud Investigation Service	4
Minimum Income Guarantee claims processing	2
Retirement Pension claims processing	19
Total	57

There are no plans to make significant changes to job functions in the short term. In the longer term the migration of existing Jobcentres and Social Security Offices into fully integrated Jobcentre Plus offices and the development of The Pensions Service may lead to changes in job functions in order to deliver improved services to customers.

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of his staff at (a) Avon House Jobcentre, Salisbury, (b) Amesbury Jobcentre and (c) Summerlock House, Salisbury were (i) threatened, (ii) verbally abused and (iii) physically assaulted in 2001; on how many occasions the police were called; and how many prosecutions followed. [80300]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: The number of incidents recorded during 2001 was as follows:

Office Name	Verbally Abused	Threatened	Actual Physical Assaults	Number of times the Police were asked to attend	Number of prosecutions
Avon House Salisbury	11	7	3	3	0
Amesbury Jobcentre	0	1	0	0	0
Summerlock House Salisbury	3	1	1	0	0

7 Nov 2002 : Column 665W

Whilst clearly unacceptable, the physical assaults that occurred were minor incidents in which no member of staff sustained serious injuries.

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