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16 Feb 2006 : Column 2433W—continued
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what budget his Department has allocated to (a) press and (b) communications in 2005–06; and how much has been spent in each case. [29986]
Mrs. McGuire: The main communications budget allocation for 2005–06 is £47,692,000 of which £3,561,000 is for press. These figures include both staff and non-staff costs, including all major marketing campaigns. The year to date spend figures to January 2006 are £26,506,000, and £2,497,000 respectively.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on end-of-year bonus pay awards for staff in each year since 1997. [39180]
Mrs. McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in June 2001 from the Department of Social Security and parts of the former Department for Education and Employment including the Employment Service. Information is therefore only available for the Department from 2002 onwards.
Performance bonus payments are awarded to employees on the basis of their individual performance. They are paid after the completion of the performance year. The expenditure incurred is as follows:
| Expenditure incurred on individual bonus payments | |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 20.9 |
| 2003 | 24.7 |
| 2004 | 37.9 |
| 2005 | 41.9 |
In addition to individual performance bonus payments, DWP also paid team bonuses to selected units within the Department. The expenditure incurred is as follows:
| Expenditure incurred on team bonus payments | |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 7.8 |
| 2003 | 29.4 |
| 2004 | 3.3 |
No team bonus schemes are currently running.
Departmental Skills Development Plan
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's Skills Development Plan. [23857]
Mrs. McGuire: A copy of the Department for Work and Pensions Skills Development Plan will be placed in the Library.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff have been employed by his central Department in each year since 1996–97 (a) in total, (b) on press and publicity work and (c) on policy work; and if he will make a statement. [41329]
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Mrs. McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in June 2001 from the Department of Social Security and parts of the former Department for Education and Employment including the Employment Service. Comparable historical staffing information prior to this date is not available.
Information on the number of staff in the central Department, excluding the Department's agencies is in the following table. The figures include staff engaged on policy development and those employed in corporate and shared services, such as human resources, finance and debt management. The table also includes information on the number of staff employed in the central department on press and publicity work.
The number of staff currently employed on policy work is 1,233. The number of staff employed on policy work is not available historically.
Total central staff | Press and publicity staff (included in total staff numbers) | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 April 2002 | 14,118 | 75 |
| 31 March 2003 | 13,898 | 78 |
| 31 March 2004 | 12,068 | 90 |
| 31 March 2005 | 11,874 | 92 |
Notes:
1. Figures are point in time at the stated dates, are full-time equivalent and include temporary staff.
2. Figures for 2002 are given as at 30 April, because this is the first point at which data is available for the Department in a form comparable to its current structure.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people worked for his Department in (a) January 1997 and (b) January 2006; [41896]
(2) how many people were employed by (a) the Child Support Agency, (b) Jobcentre Plus and (c) other agencies of his Department in (i) January 1997 and (ii) January 2006. [41897]
Mrs. McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in June 2001 from the Department of Social Security and parts of the former Department for Education and Employment including the Employment Service. Information on the average number of staff in the Department in each year from 2000–01 to 2005–06 can be found in table 6 of the Department for Work and Pensions departmental report 2005.
Information on the average number of staff in the former Department of Social Security in each year from 1997–98 until its incorporation into the Department for Work and Pensions can be found in table 10 of the social security departmental report 2001.
Information on the average number of staff in the former Employment Service in each year from 1997–98 until its incorporation into the Department for Work and Pensions can be found in annex J of the Department for Education and Skills departmental report 2001.
Each of the reports is available in the Library.
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Information on staffing in the Department's agencies as at 30 November 2005 is in the following table.
| Agency | Staff |
|---|---|
| Jobcentre Plus | 73,363 |
| The Pension Service | 14,686 |
| Child Support Agency | 10,672 |
| Disability and Carers Service | 6,490 |
| Appeals Service | 763 |
| The Rent Service | 682 |
Note:
These figures include staff on maternity and other paid leave and are full-time equivalent.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disciplinary actions against civil servants employed in his Department (a) were commenced and (b) resulted in a sanction being applied in each of the last five years. [43483]
Mrs. McGuire: On the number of disciplinary actions commenced against Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) employees.
Information on the number of disciplinary actions for serious or gross misconduct against DWP employees that resulted in a sanction for the period July 2003 to September 2005 is as follows:
Disabled Children
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action his Department has taken to place disabled children and their families on equal terms with non-disabled children and their families in the 10-year Strategy for Childcare, as recommended by the report by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit, Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People. [49790]
Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
The Government are committed to ensuring that disabled children benefit from early years support which maximises their outcomes in later life. The Childcare Bill, currently going through Parliament, will help implement key aspects of the 10 year Childcare Strategy. It introduces a new duty for local authorities to provide sufficient child care to meet the needs of working parents, or those making the transition to work. Child care will not be judged as sufficient unless it meets the needs of two groups in particular: disabled children and lower income families. Local authorities will be required to consult parents, providers and the local community to ensure that the needs of all families are taken into account when developing and planning child care services locally.
The Bill places a duty to improve the outcomes of all young children, and to reduce inequalities between them. When local authorities are considering how to narrow gaps in achievement, they will need to identify the disadvantaged groups relevant to their area. Disabled children are very likely to be among the groups on whom local authorities will need to target resources.
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These new duties will ensure that services for families with disabled children are prioritised and that they are given equal access to high quality and appropriate care.
Guidance on the inclusion of disabled children in the Sure Start Children's Centres programme was issued in November 2005. It focuses on: the need to consult the parents and carers of disabled children when developing services; mainstreaming the successful Early Support Pilot programme across England, including the use of 'key workers'; the need to provide appropriate family support services including the development of Portage and other home visiting services.
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