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8 Nov 2005 : Column 377W—continued
New Deal
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on his Department's contribution to the establishment of the New Deal for Skills. [21815]
Margaret Hodge:
The Departments for Work and Pensions, Education and Skills, Trade and Industry and Treasury have worked jointly to develop a package of measures that are known collectively as New Deal for Skills. DWP and DfES are taking the work forward as a joint project.
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New Deal for Skills comprises three main strands: Skills Coaching, Skills Passports and the Adult Learning Option. DWP have been actively involved in the design and delivery of the DfES funded Skills Coaching and Skills Passports trials. DWP are then funding and managing the evaluation work for the Skills Coaching and Skills Passports trials. We expect the full evaluation report to be available next summer.
DWP have lead responsibility for the work to pilot the Adult Learning Option from September 2006. This will test the effectiveness of providing financial support to encourage low skilled Jobcentre Plus customers to take up full-time Level 2 further education courses, where a lack of skills stops them entering the labour market.
More detail on the New Deal for Skills may be found in Skills and the Global Economy" and Skills:Getting on in Business, getting on at work"(Cm6483). Both documents are available in the Library.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which training companies providing courses under the new deal for young people he expects to have their contracts renewed. [25200]
Margaret Hodge: Contracts for new deal for young people are currently being re-tendered, to run for a minimum of two years from April 2006. The competitive tendering process is in two stages. The closing date for first stage bids is 4 November in most instances. All bids received will be carefully evaluated against published criteria, and those bidders who are successful at that stage will be invited to submit second stage bids. Contracts will be awarded in early 2006.
Organisations currently providing new deal training services for young people are entitled to bid for these new contracts. We cannot pre-empt the results of the procurement process, but it is likely that many current providers will be successful in winning further work for Jobcentre Plus, either in their own right or as sub-contractors to other training providers.
Pensions
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what estimate he has made of the number of people in receipt of UK state pensions which have been frozen due to their residence in countries without reciprocal pension arrangements with the UK; [26245]
(2) what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) up-rating all frozen overseas pensions from 1 January 2006 and (b) backdating them to the point at which they were first frozen; [26243]
(3) what estimate he has made of the net cost of establishing reciprocal pension arrangements with all countries which have no such agreement with the UK. [26244]
Mr. Timms:
At 31 October 2005 approximately 510,000 UK state pensions were in payment to people residing outside the European economic area (EEA) in a country with which the UK do not have a reciprocal agreement covering the uprating of pensions.
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Benefits are normally uprated in April. The estimated cost of uprating these pensions from April 2006 is £20 million in 2006–07. This increases to £110 million by 2009–10 and with ongoing increases thereafter.
If the rate paid was restored to that which would have been payable had the individuals concerned remained in the UK and arrears of benefit were paid in respect of earlier periods during which the pension had not been uprated—the cost would be in the region of £3 billion in 2006–07, with ongoing costs of £400 million per annum rising over subsequent years
The UK state pension is currently paid in over 150 countries outside the EEA with which the UK do not have a reciprocal agreement covering the uprating of pensions. The fundamental requirements for any reciprocal agreement on the uprating of pensions are that the 'other' country has a system for paying the equivalent of the UK state pension and that there is reciprocity of costs. It is not possible to estimate the net costs of establishing reciprocal agreements as the Department do not hold information on:
b) the numbers of people resident in the UK who would as a result of reciprocal agreements become eligible for pensions under the systems of the countries in question.
Pension Commission
Sir Malcolm Rifkind: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of the Pension Commission has been to date. [25054]
Mr. Timms: The Pensions Commission's estimated monthly average costs between April 2003 and September 2005 are as follows:
| Cost of: | |
|---|---|
| Pensions Commissioners' time | 0 |
| Pensions Commission Secretariat staffing | 33,000 |
| Pensions Commission non-staff costs | 8,000 |
| Pensions Commission social research | 8,000 |
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 1000.
2. The Department meets the costs of general office overheads e.g. accommodation, IT etc. Consequently, these costs are not separately identifiable from DWP's running costs.
Recycled Paper
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much paper his Department used in each year since 1997; how much was recycled paper; and if he will make a statement. [21611]
Mr. Plaskitt: Paper usage, for the Department for Work and Pensions, as reported in the Greening Government, and Sustainable Development in Government report, is summarised in the table.
(16) DSS only.
(17) ES.
(18) Information not available.
The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in June 2001 from the former Department of Social Security (DSS) and parts of the former Department for Education and Employment including the former Employment Service (ES).
In September 2005 new contracts for stationery and paper for printed publications were let. This will make the use of recycled paper the standard across DWP.
Jobseeker's Allowance
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the off-flow from jobseeker's allowance was in each year since 1997 for (a) the UK, (b) each region and (c) each parliamentary constituency, broken down by reason; and what percentage of jobseeker's allowance off-flow this represented in each case. [18622]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information has been placed in the Library.
Unemployment
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many unemployed or economically inactive adults wanting to work (a) held a Level 2 qualification and (i) had and (ii) did not have a limiting longstanding health condition and (b) did not hold a Level 2 qualification and (A) had and (B) did not have a limiting longstanding health condition in (1) 1997 and (2) 2005. [23285]
Margaret Hodge: The information requested is in the following table:
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Notes:
1. The figures are for Great Britain.
2. The figures are based on ILO definitions of unemployment and economic inactivity.
3. The economic inactive group includes students and retired people.
Source:
The 1997 Labour Force Survey (summer quarter) and the 2005 Labour Force Survey (summer quarter).
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Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the change was in claimant count unemployment attributable to (a) new claims and (b) changes in the duration of existing claims in each of the last 12 calendar months. [24766]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information requested is in the following table.
Notes:
1. Figures are for UK, seasonally adjusted, and to the nearest 100.
2. Inflows are standardised to a four 1/3 week month.
Source:
Office for National Statistics data (available at www.nomisweb.co.uk).
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