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18 Nov 2004 : Column 1903W—continued
Webster House
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) where crisis loans will be paid when Webster House in Kirkby is closed; [199156]
(2) how much his Department has allocated to the WIN scheme for Kirkby; which parts of the town are covered by the scheme; how many people have taken part in it; what the scheme's targets are; what its results against targets are to date; how many staff work on the scheme; and from where it will be administered when Webster House closes. [199157]
Jane Kennedy:
The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
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Letter from David Anderson to Mr. George Howarth, dated 18 November 2004:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions concerning the delivery of the Working Neighbourhoods pilot in Knowsley and the issue of Crisis Loan processing. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
It may be helpful if I explain how the overall funding has been distributed for the pilot. The Employment Development & Modernisation Fund provided £77m for the 12 pilot sites operating in some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country for the period 2004/05 to 2005/06. Of this, £5m was allocated for set up and evaluation costs. Of the remaining £72m, each pilot site will receive £3m per year of which £1m is discretionary funding to allow personal advisers, working with Local Strategic Partnerships, the flexibility to meet individual and community needs.
The Working Neighbourhood pilot for Knowsley delivers to selected parts of the Northwood and Towerhill wards. The postcode boundary for the site contains around 6,000 residents, with approximately 2,000 in receipt of working age benefits.
The most recent statistics produced for 31 October 2004 indicate the Knowsley pilot has engaged with 879 customers of which 188 are volunteers to the programme.
With regard to the pilot's targets, there will be overall monitoring of performance and objectives which will then be evaluated. The evaluation of the objectives aims to test the extent to which the programme of local intensive work focussed action is effective in addressing long-standing barriers to work experienced by residents of deprived areas; the number of individuals moving into work and by how much it decreases the overall workless rate within the pilot area.
Whilst Jobcentre Plus job entry targets relate to movement into full time employment all who enter full time, part time and voluntary employment will count as successes for evaluation of the pilot. Retention figures will be gathered for those residents remaining in full time employment for 4, 13 and 26 weeks.
Turning to the results the Knowsley pilot has achieved to date I am able to inform you as of 31 October 2004 229 residents from the pilot have moved into employment. To clarify this further the table below gives a breakdown of the benefit groups involved.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Incapacity benefit | 30 |
| Invalid care allowance | 0 |
| Income support | 63 |
| Jobseekers' allowance | 133 |
| Other benefits | 1 |
| None | 2 |
Twenty staff have been allocated to deliver the Knowsley pilot. The majority of them are personal advisers.
The intended closure of Webster House should have no impact on the Working Neighbourhoods pilot as it has never been delivered from Webster House. The pilot and associated mandatory work focussed interviews have been conducted form the Jobcentre Plus office at St. Chads House, Kirkby. It is also being delivered in the community to voluntary customers from partner's premises and most recently from a Working Neighbourhoods portakabin sited in Northwood.
With regard to the issue of Crisis Loan processing currently undertaken in Webster House, I can confirm that we are looking at the delivery of all of the services in Webster House and the future delivery of Crisis Loans will be included in this. We will consult on our proposals with our staff, trade unions and local partners as soon as plans are fully developed.
I have asked the District Manager for Greater Mersey to keep you updated on all developments. She can be contacted on 01704 306078.
Work Focused Interviews
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have attended one or more Work Focused Interviews in each of the three incapacity benefit pilot areas; how many of these individuals have (a) secured employment, (b) been referred to condition management and (c) been referred to a New Deal for Disabled People broker; and if he will make a statement. [186226]
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Maria Eagle: In total, there have been 5,600 job entries in the Pathways to Work pilots to the end of August 2004. Of these, 4,200 were in the first three pilot districts which have been up and running since the end of October 2003 The following table sets out the details requested solely in relation to those who have had an initial work-focused interview:
Notes:
1. The first three Pathways to Work pilots commenced on 27 October 2003.
2. Work Focused Interviews should take place at around eight weeks after the start of the benefit claim. This means that majority of benefits starts in July and August will not be included in the data.
3. Initial Work Focused Interviews attended refers to the actual number of Work Focused Interviews that have taken place. Some individuals will have attended more than one Work Focused Interview. These will be people who have started more than one benefit spell since 27 October 2003.
4. Job starts: This includes all recorded job entries plus Return to Work Credit (RTWC) awards for which no job entry is yet recorded. (By definition, an RTWC award must indicate that a job entry has occurred).
5. The total number of job entries in the first three pilot areas is higher than that recorded in the table. This table excludes job entries achieved with existing clients who had already started to claim benefit before 27 October 2003 and those not required to have a work-focused interview.
6. Job starts figures include job starts achieved through referral to New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP) job brokers.
7. The job starts figures represent all job starts that have occurred subsequent to an initial Work Focused Interview within the same benefit spell.
8. Referred to Condition Management Programme: this represents all Condition Management Programme referrals that have occurred subsequent to an initial Work Focused Interview within the same benefit spell.
9. New Deal for Disabled People referrals: The data provided is all NDDP broker registrations plus referrals to NDDP brokers that have not yet resulted in a registration. This represents all NDDP referrals that have occurred subsequent to an initial Work Focused Interview within the same benefit spell.
Work Preparation Programmes
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what estimate he has made of the cost per person of getting a person who has entered (a) an Access to Work programme, (b) a Work Preparation programme and (c) Workstep into sustained employment; and if he will make a statement; [191700]
(2) how much has been spent on (a) Access to Work, (b) Work Preparation and (c) Workstep in each year since 2001, broken down by region; [191710]
(3) what estimate he has made of the average cost per person who has entered (a) an Access to Work programme, (b) a Work Preparation programme and (c) Workstep since 2001. [191712]
Maria Eagle: Information on the costs associated with getting a person into sustained employment through the Access to Work and Work Preparation programmes is not available.
Access to Work helps disabled people who are already employed, or about to start a job by providing a grant to help overcome barriers in the workplace associated with disability. Since the programme began in June 1994, the average Access to Work spend per person is £1,346. The available information on the spend on the Access to Work programme, broken down by region, is in Table 1.
Work Preparation is an individually tailored programme designed to help people with health conditions or a disability return to work following a long period of sickness or unemployment. It can also help people who are at risk of losing their job because of their disability by helping them to overcome difficulties that are affecting their work. The available information on spend on the Work Preparation programme is in Table 2. The average spend per person entering Work Preparation since 2001 is £1,144.
Workstep provides tailored support to find, secure and retain jobs for disabled people who have more complex barriers to finding and keeping work. While on Workstep, participants who are able to progress into unsupported jobs are given the support to do so, and Workstep continues to help those who cannot. Since 2001, when Workstep was introduced, an average of 1,900 people a year have progressed into unsupported jobs of which Remploy Limited has contributed an average of 1,400 progressions per year and non-Remploy providers have contributed an average of 500 progressions per year. When a progressed participant is in employment six months after the date of progression, and has been in employment for a minimum of 22 weeks in a 26-week period, this is deemed to be sustained progression. An outcome payment of £500 per person is paid to Workstep providers (except Remploy) when
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sustained progression is achieved. The total average spend per person on Workstep (including Remploy) is approximately £6,700.
Information on how much has been spent on Workstep in each year since 2001 broken down by region is not available. Information on national costs in each year is in Table 3.
(34) Spend is not available broken down by region.
Note:
A regional breakdown is not available for 2001–02. National spend for the year was £42.492 million.
Source:
Disability and Rehabilitation Division
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 7.466 |
| 2002–03 | 7.821 |
| 2003–04 | 10.049 |
| Total | 25.336 |
Notes:
1. Spend is not available broken down by region.
2. Figures for 2001–02 are for the predecessor programme to Work Preparation, the Employment Rehabilitation Programme.
Source:
Disability and Rehabilitation Division.
Note:
Spend is not available broken down by region.
Source:
Disability and Rehabilitation Division.
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who have entered (a) an Access to Work programme, (b) a Work Preparation programme and (c) Workstep in each year since 2001 have gone on to enter sustained employment, broken down by (i) age and (ii) region. [191702]
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Maria Eagle: Access to Work is a specialist disability programme, which provides practical advice and support to help disabled people enter or stay in paid employment. The support is aimed at overcoming work related obstacles resulting from disability. It does this through a system of grants towards the cost of providing support.
Types of help available include the additional costs in travelling to work, providing human intervention support in the workplace, adapting work premises and providing special aids and equipment in the workplace.
Access to Work is open to those who are employed as well as people moving out of unemployment and is a highly effective job retention measure.
There are many disabled people, who with the right amount of support are perfectly capable of working if they wish to do so. Access to Work can help provide that support.
Information as requested in the question is not available as customers are already in work or have a job to start.
Work Preparation is an individually tailored, work-focused programme that enables disabled people to address barriers associated with their disability and prepare for working with the confidence necessary to achieve and sustain their job goal.
Although each customer has specific needs, the broad areas, which are addressed during the Work Preparation programmes are the need to develop in one or more of the following areas:
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