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10 Apr 2003 : Column 413W—continued

Departmental Staff

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff have been employed by (a) the Department for Work and Pensions or the Department for Social Security and (b) each executive agency in each year since 1997. [102992]

Maria Eagle: Information is not available in the format requested prior to June 2001. Such information as is available is given in the table.

DSS/DWP	2001	2002	2003
Benefits Agency	63,718	—	—
Child Support Agency	9,921	10,869	11,209
Employment Service	32,198	—	—
Appeals Service	905	909	884
Jobcentre plus	—	83,783	78,543
The Pension Service	—	9,930	15,801
The Department for Work and Pensions	9,370	20,002	20,566
Total staff	116,112	125,493	127,003

Notes:

1. Numbers are WTE (rounded) and are consistent with Cabinet Office definitions other than the inclusion of staff on paid maternity leave.

2. Numbers for 2001 and 2002 are point in time as at 30 June each year. Figures for 2003 are point in time as at 28 February 2003, the latest data available.

3. The increase in Department for Work and Pensions staffing in 2002 and 2003 is due to the inclusion of staff in Disability and Carers Service and Child Benefit Centre, previously counted as part of Benefits Agency

Jobcentre Plus

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what plans he has to (a) close, (b) reduce the services available from and (c) reduce the opening hours of Job Centre Plus premises open to the public (i) in Hendon and (ii) serving Hendon residents; [108230]

(2) what consultations his Department has had with (a) trade unions, (b) customers and (c) others on changes to the operations of Job Centre Plus (i) in Hendon and (ii) serving residents of Hendon; with which other bodies or persons consultations were held; what the responses to the consultations were; and if he will make a statement. [108236]

Mr. Nicholas Brown [holding answer 9 April 2003]: The administration of Job Centre Plus is a matter for the Acting Chief Executive of Job Centre Plus, Clare Dodgson. She will write to my hon. Friend.

Letter from Clare Dodgson to Mr. Dismore, dated 10 April 2003:

As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about future plans for Hendon Jobcentre Plus offices and the level of consultation which has taken place in relation to this. These are issues which fell within my responsibilities as Acting Chief Executive of the Agency.

The Jobcentre Plus Vision incorporates a commitment to continuously improve the quality, accessibility and delivery of services to all working age customers. Already, the Jobcentre Plus

10 Apr 2003 : Column 414W

Pathfinder offices have begun to demonstrate a very different model of service, which has been widely welcomed by our customers.

As part of the national roll-out programme for Jobcentre Plus, it was necessary to consider the services provided to our customers within each District. It became clear that we needed to review the existing estate and in some cases rationalise the accommodation in Jobcentre Plus and Social Security Offices. The aim of the review is to enable Jobcentre Plus to deliver a better, more focused and cost effective customer service.

Within the North London District, the current service provision at the Hendon and Edgware Social Security Offices (SSOs) was reviewed. Various options were considered as part of this process and the favoured option was in providing National Insurance Number interviews at Hendon, and benefit enquiries/payments at Edgware. It was proposed that by centralising the customer services between the two sites, an overall improvement of service would be achieved. There are good transport links by bus between Hendon and Edgware and customers will be able to access services at both locations regardless of where they live.

The staff affected by the changes to the Hendon and Edgware SSOs have been consulted. The Trade Union and staff directly involved with the proposed changes, were issued with a copy of the proposal on 4 April. Their comments on the proposal are due to be returned by 18 April.

After considering the feedback, MPs and external organisations will then be formally notified of the proposed changes and comments will be invited. The proposed deadline for comments on the proposal is expected to be 2 May 2003.

Decisions on the longer term plans for provision of Jobcentre Plus services in Hendon and Edgware will not be taken until nearer the proposed roll-out date, which is anticipated to be in 2005–06. This is when we expect to have the fully integrated model, currently operating in the Pathfinder Districts, to be introduced in the North London District.

Burnt Oak Jobcentre was part of Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon District and is situated in the HA8 postcode area. Based on the rollout plan for this district for 2002–03, a decision was taken to close this stand-alone Jobcentre, which provided only a limited job broking service. Benefit customers have not been affected. Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon have been putting together these proposals over the course of the past nine months, during which time the local trade union has been kept closely in touch with developments. Although we did not consult customers themselves, we did write to customer representative groups including Community Mental Health teams, the London Homeless services team, local Citizens' Advice Bureaux and local businesses at the same time as we wrote to you and to other local Members of Parliament about the service delivery plan for the Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon Jobcentre Plus district.

I regret that you feel that the letter informing you of the plans for Burnt Oak Jobcentre was unclear. I have reviewed the guidance covering these circumstances and put in place arrangements to help ensure we are clearer about proposals and plans in the future. I have instructed my District Managers to state when writing to Members of Parliament and stakeholders the actual names of any offices they are considering closing as part of their Jobcentre Plus Service Delivery Plans.

I hope this is helpful.

New Deal

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 12 March 2003, Official Report, column 335, on the New Deal, how many individuals embarked upon test trading under (a) the New Deal for Young People and (b) the New Deal 25 Plus, in each period listed. [104628]

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

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New Deal for Young People	Total numbers of people starting test trading
April 1 998 to December 2000	3,400
January to December 2001	1,050
January to September 2002	900
Total	5,350

New Deal 25 plus	Total numbers of people starting test trading
April to December 2001(19)	910
January to September 2002	3,020
Total	3,930

Source:New Deal Evaluation Database

Note:

⁽¹⁹⁾ New Deal 25 plus did not have a self-employment option until it was enhanced in April 2001.

In the answer given to the hon. Member, on 12 March, Official Report, column 335W, the table for the New Deal 25 plus was incorrectly labelled. The section labelled as January to December 2002 should have read January to September 2002.

The corrected table is as follows:

New Deal 25 plus(21)	Left New Deal for sustained employment following test trading(20)
April 1998 to December 2001	30
January to September 2002	410
Total	440

Notes:

⁽²⁰⁾ Figures include people who moved into sustained employment as employees following test trading.

⁽²¹⁾ New Deal 25 Plus did not have a self-employed option until it was enhanced in April 2001.

⁽²²⁾ Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

Source: Labour Market System and New Deal Evaluation Database

10 Apr 2003 : Column 416W

Staff Numbers

Mr. David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff worked in the (a) Child Support Agency, (b) pensions service and administration, (c) disability benefits delivery and administration, (d) child benefit delivery and administration, (e) benefit offices, (f) job centre offices and (g) Central administration rating areas in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement. [97362]

Maria Eagle: Information is not available prior to January 2001. Such information as is available is given in the table .

	2001	2002	2003
(a) Child Support Agency	9,921	10,869	11,209
(b) Pensions Service and Administration	—	9,930	15,801
(c) Disability Benefit Delivery and Administration	6,624	7,294	7,279
(d) Child Benefit delivery and administration	1,754	1,871	1,924
(e) Benefit Offices	55,340	—	—
(f)Job Centre Offices	32,198	83,783	78,543
(g)Central Administration	10,275	11,746	12,247
Total DWP staff	116,112	125,493	127,003

Notes:

⁽²³⁾ Numbers are WTE (rounded) and are consistent with Cabinet Office definitions other than the inclusion of staff on paid maternity leave.

⁽²⁴⁾ Numbers for 2001 and 2002 are point in time as at 30 June each year. Figures for 2003 are point in time as at 28 February 2003, the latest data available.

⁽²⁵⁾ Staff numbers for Appeals Service are included with Central Administration numbers.

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