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11 Jul 2003 : Column 1035W—continued
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. David: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the regulations for incapacity benefit allow for the payment of benefit when an individual has been injured in a criminal activity. [122812]
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Maria Eagle: Entitlement to Incapacity Benefit (IB) or IB credits is based on an individual's inability to perform a range of everyday work-related activities. Conditions of entitlement are not dependant upon how a claimant became incapacitated.
Jobcentre Plus
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Hendon of 6 May 2003, Official Report, column 554W, on Jobcentre Plus, what the definition of unreasonable amount of time for customers to travel as a result of closing an existing Jobcentre Plus office is; what assistance will be provided for travel costs; how clients will be informed of this assistance; and if he will make a statement. [113258]
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 Paul Holmes, dated 11 July 2003:
- As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the travelling time for customers following the closure of a local Jobcentre. This falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
- Ease of access to our services is one of the many factors taken into consideration during the initial planning stages of service delivery, when the closure or re-location of a site has been considered.
- The introduction of integrated Jobcentre plus offices is enabling customers to make enquiries about both their benefits and employment opportunities in the same place, reducing the amount of travelling needed. Our new telephone contact centres mean that customers can make enquiries about both benefits and jobs without even having to come into one of our offices. The introduction of new technology is also enabling people to find the information they need about jobs and training via the Internet and our new Jobpoints. These are not only being placed in Jobcentre Plus offices, they are also being placed in other public places such as libraries and supermarkets. All of these developments are making it easier for our customers to take advantage of the services we provide.
- No customer is required to travel more than one hour door to door to a Jobcentre or be absent from home for more than four hours without being offered the option of postal signing. This allows them to attend the office every three months to maintain their claim rather than every fortnight.
- All customers who are required to attend an advisory interview are entitled to have any extra travelling expenses reimbursed if their appointment is either not in their normal office or not on their normal day of attendance. In exceptional circumstances Business Managers can approve the use of a taxi or special vehicle, for example for people with a disability or health condition.
- Re-imbursement of these expenses is explained to the customer verbally or by letter when the interview is arranged and offered at the start of the interview.
- I hope this is helpful.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what programmes have been implemented to train Jobcentre Plus staff for their new responsibilities in respect of working-age benefits; and if he will make a statement. [121502]
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Mr. Browne: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from David Anderson to Norman Lamb, dated 11 July 2003:
- As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the programmes that have been implemented to train Jobcentre Plus staff for their new responsibilities in respect of working-age benefits. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
- The development of Jobcentre Plus is building on the high quality service already provided through social security offices and Jobcentres. We are bringing these two services together to deliver a single, integrated, work focussed service to all people of working age. All staff involved in delivering this new service are receiving extensive training to provide them with the necessary skills for their new role.
- Each individual member of staff within Jobcentre Plus has their training needs identified in conjunction with their line manager. This information then forms a personal training plan for that individual. The training is planned in such a way that when they are required to start their job, they have completed and consolidated all their necessary training.
- Jobcentre Plus has over 200 training programmes available to its staff, 70 of which have been extensively re-designed to reflect the new roles and responsibilities of staff in these offices. These training programmes fit into three different areas: IT and telephony; procedural, including training on benefit entitlement; and the "New Beginnings" programme. The latter introduces the individual to the new Jobcentre Plus culture and expectations.
- The three types of training, delivered to the right people at the right time, have and will ensure that individuals have the skills, knowledge and confidence to deliver the best service possible to the public within Jobcentre Plus.
- I hope this is helpful to you.
Pensions (Administrative Costs)
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the administrative costs for pensioners for the Benefits Agency in (a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99 and (c) 1999–2000 on a basis consistent with his estimates in Table 2 on page 126 of his 2003 departmental report. [123034]
Maria Eagle: Information is not currently available in the format requested. For the years requested, there was no requirement for the Department to breakdown Benefits Agency expenditure by Strategic Objective.
However, an indication of total departmental expenditure on Pensioner Administration for 1998–99 and 1999–2000 can be found in Table 5 in the departmental report.
Private Office Costs
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the running costs have been of Ministers' private offices in his Department in each year since 1997. [123116]
Maria Eagle: The available information is as follows.
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| Department for Work and Pensions (formed June 2001) | ||
| 2002–03 | 2,900 | |
| 2001–02 | 2,600 | |
| Department of Social Security | ||
| 2000–01 | 2,500 | |
| 1999–2000 | 2,600 | |
| 1998–99 | 2,300 | |
| 1997–98 | (12)— | |
(12) Information not available.
Social Security Offices/Job Centres
Mr. Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) social security offices and (b) job centres there are in the UK. [116921]
Mr. Browne: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Maples, dated 11 July 2003:
- As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the numbers of Jobcentres and Social Security offices. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
- The ongoing roll out of the new Jobcentre Plus service means that the number of offices is continuously changing. As of 2 June there were 425 Social Security offices, 756 Jobcentres and 261 new integrated Jobcentre Plus offices in Great Britain.
- The administration of Social Security offices and Jobcentres in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
- I hope this is helpful.
Staff Costs
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff the Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which the Department is responsible had in each year since 1997; and what the cost of those staff was in each of those years. [122254]
Maria Eagle: Data on staffing levels in the civil service are collected from departments and agencies twice-yearly, in April and October. Headline figures are published under National Statistics guidelines via a press notice. Those for October 2002 were published on 27 February 2003.
A copy of the press notice, accompanying media brief and supporting tables is available on the World Wide Web at www.civil-service.gov.uk/statistics. Copies of these documents are also placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
More detailed information on the civil service is published annually in "Civil Service Statistics", copies of which are laid in the Libraries of both Houses. The last edition, based on April 2001 data, was published in June 2002. The next edition, based on April 2002 data, is due to be published at the end of July 2003.
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Data on staffing levels in non-departmental public bodies are published by the Cabinet Office in its annual publication "Public Bodies". The information contains details of the numbers of staff employed by each NDPB at 31 March each year. Copies of "Public Bodies" published each year since 1997 are available in the Libraries of both Houses.
Information on staff costs for the Department and its agencies is published annually in the DWP
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departmental report and in individual agency annual report and accounts.
Information on staff costs for each of the non-departmental public bodies for which the Department is responsible who employ staff for each of the years 1997–98 up to 2001–02, where available, is in the following table. Information on staff costs for 2002–03 are not included because costs for this year have not as yet been audited or published.
| 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health and Safety Commission/Executive | 118.0 | 119.9 | 124.7 | 130.6 | 136.7 |
| Remploy Ltd. | 130.2 | 132.4 | 134.6 | 138.8 | 137.6 |
| Disability Rights Commission | — | — | — | 2.6 | 4.2 |
| Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (OPRA) | n/a | 4.0 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 6.1 |
| Pensions Ombudsman/Occupational Pensions Board | n/a | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.0 |
Notes:
Costs are in £ million rounded.
Disability Rights Commission was formed in April 2000.
Information on staff costs in respect of OPRA, the Pensions Ombudsman and the Occupational Pensions Board is not available prior to 1998–99.
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