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8 Jul 2003 : Column 757W—continued
Jobcentre Plus (Wales)
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will list the Jobcentre Plus centres it is intended to open in North Wales; and if he will make a statement; [117521]
- (2) how many Jobcentre Plus centres have been opened in Wales. [117522]
Mr. Browne: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Llwyd dated, July 2003:
- As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the opening of Jobcentre Plus offices in Wales. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
- We are progressively extending the new integrated Jobcentre Plus office network across Great Britain over the next three years. These offices are delivering a single, integrated service to people of working age, with a clear focus on work. They provide an active and responsive service to help people find jobs, and give advice on the full range of help and support available to them.
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- During 2002–03, we successfully introduced the Jobcentre Plus model in eighteen offices across Bridgend Rhondda Cynon Taff and South East Wales districts. As part of our plans to extend the new integrated Jobcentre Plus model throughout Wales, we will be implementing Jobcentre Plus in North West Wales and Powys district during 2003–04. Our current plan is to complete the rollout of Jobcentre Plus across Wales by early 2006.
- The District Manager is currently working on the detailed plans for the North West Wales and Powys district. At this stage, I cannot confirm the exact locations for Jobcentre Plus offices as this is subject to the current planning and consultation process. The District Manager wrote to you, other local MPs, Assembly Members, staff, trade unions and other local stakeholders on 14 February to inform you of his proposals and to seek your comments on them.
- I hope this is helpful.
KPMG
Mr. Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many contracts his Department has awarded to KPMG since 1997. [113692]
Maria Eagle: From the establishment of the Department for Work and Pensions in 2001–02, the Department has let five contracts to KPMG under its management consultancy framework agreements. Before April 2001 contracts were awarded by Executive Agencies of the then DSS and by the Employment Service as Executive Agency of the then Department for Education and Employment. Information about these contracts was not collated centrally and could not now be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
Lost Working Days
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his Answer of 17 June 2003, Official Report, column 157W, on lost working days, if he will provide a breakdown for days lost through (a) sickness and (b) other reasons. [121900]
Maria Eagle: Pursuant to my written answer on 17 June 2003, Official Report, column 157W, the figures provided were for the average days lost per person through sick absence only.
Information on the average days lost for other reasons is in the table. The information is based on the number of staff in post on the 31 of March in each year.
| Average number of days lost per person | ||
|---|---|---|
| Reason | 1 April 2001 to31 March 2002 | 1 April 2002 to31 March 2003 |
| Unauthorised | 2.16 | 0.23 |
| Paid special leave | 0.78 | 0.80 |
| Unpaid special leave(17) | 7.93 | 7.86 |
| Maternity leave | 3.30 | 3.54 |
(17) Includes staff on career breaks.
Means-tested Benefits
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the extent of delays in processing claims for means-tested benefits. [121495]
Malcolm Wicks: Targets for clearance times for both income support and jobseeker's allowance new claims is 12 days, while the target for actioning income support changes of circumstances is four days. The latest
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statistical information available confirms that on average these targets are being met. The average clearance time for a new claim to income support is 10.39 days and for jobseeker's allowance 10.71 days. The average clearance time for income support change of circumstances is 2.40 days.
Statistics on actual clearance times indicate that 76.19 per cent. of all income support claims are cleared within the 12-day target with 91.78 per cent. of jobseeker's allowance claims cleared within the same period.
The target for clearance of a minimum income guarantee claim is 10 days while the target for actioning minimum income guarantee changes of circumstances is four days. The latest statistical information available confirms clearance time of 12.4 days for minimum income guarantee claims and 3.5 for minimum income guarantee changes of circumstances.
Mental Health
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what help is available under the benefits system for those who are recovering from mental health problems and who wish to enter work; and if he will make a statement; [119934]
- (2) what evaluation is being undertaken of pilots on access to employment for people recovering from mental health problems; and if he will make a statement. [119935]
Maria Eagle: We are ensuring that the benefit system encourages and promotes work where possible, and provides greater security for those for whom work is not an option. We also have a wide range of programmes such as WORKSTEP that have proved successful in helping people with disabilities, including mental health problems, secure work where they are ready and able to do so.
The new permitted work rules, introduced from April 2002, provide a stepping stone to full-time work for people receiving incapacity benefit (IB). Anyone claiming IB can now work for up to and including £20 a week for an unlimited period, or work for less than 16 hours a week and earn up to and including £67.50 a week for 26 weeks. People with conditions that may be unlikely to improve over time, such as those with severe mental health problems, will continue to be able to work and earn up to £67.50 a week for as long as they are receiving IB. People on incapacity benefits can also do as much voluntary work as they like without affecting their benefit entitlement.
These arrangements have enabled people with many different disability-related barriers to work, including those with mental illness, to move successfully into jobs. However, there are a number of initiatives and pilots taking place looking at improving access to employment and job retention for people with a range of health conditions, including mental health.
The Incapacity Benefit Reform Pilots, due to start in October 2003, aim to provide a range of help to people with health conditions to move off benefits through achieving sustained employment. An independent evaluation of each pilot will be conducted using a range
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of methodologies. Each evaluation will assess the overall impact of each pilot, and will also provide a range of quantitative and qualitative data on the success of each pilot in helping those with mental health conditions to gain and retain employment.
Pension Credit
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria are used to select those pensioners to whom his Department plans to write about the introduction of pension credit before October. [121311]
Malcolm Wicks: The Pension Service has begun to write to pensioner households to explain pension credit and to invite applications. The order in which households are contacted has been designed to produce a controlled build up of applications, evenly distributed throughout the UK. The households to be contacted before October represent a cross section of the pensioner population, including pensioners of all age groups and likely levels of eligibility for pension credit. By June 2004, all pensioner households will have been contacted. All those who apply before October 2004, if they are entitled, will receive payment as though they had claimed at the very start, or to the first day they could have qualified if this is later.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of people eligible to receive pension credit; and what take-up targets his Department has been set. [122692]
Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 30 June, Official Report, column 83–4W.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which Departmental Information Technology system will be used to support pension credit; and if he will make a statement. [122694]
Malcolm Wicks: Pension Credit will be paid through the Income Support Computer System. This is a tried and tested system that currently pays the minimum income guarantee to 1.8 million pensioners. It has been enhanced to enable it to handle Pension Credit.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason the Pension Service will be writing to every pensioner household about the pension credit between April 2003 and October 2003, as referred to on page 2 of the June 2003 edition of the Appeals Service External Newsletter. [123033]
Malcolm Wicks: The statement in the Appeals Service External Newsletter to which the hon. Member refers is incorrect. The Pension Service began to send mail packs about pension credit to pensioner households in April 2003 and will complete this process by June 2004. People currently in receipt of the minimum income guarantee were informed at the beginning of this year that they will be converted automatically to pension credit. Online versions of the newsletter are now correct. A correction will also appear in the next edition of the newsletter, to be published in September.
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Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how he will identify the names and addresses of men aged between 60 and 64 when distributing pension credit personal direct mail packs. [123325]
Malcolm Wicks: The names and addresses of men aged between 60 and 64 have been identified from data held by the Department, in the same way as those of other people who may be entitled to pension credit.
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