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Learning Disability

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will fund the voluntary sector to provide learning disability awareness training for Jobcentre Plus staff. [47249]

Margaret Hodge: Jobcentre Plus has its own learning and development division which already ensures that training, including reference to an e-learning package providing awareness on learning disabilities, is available for all staff who work with customers with disabilities.

In addition, disability employment advisers and specialist incapacity benefit advisers receive specialist knowledge training on health conditions including, learning disability. This training is delivered in-house by Jobcentre Plus. We have consulted with a range of key external partners, including RNIB, RNID, MENCAP and Equal Ability, to ensure the materials provide staff with the necessary knowledge to support our disabled customers' job search activity.

We are currently revising our 'Disability Awareness Handbook' and our 'Working with People with Health Conditions and Disabilities' products and we will consult with our external partners in due course to ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of the products.
 
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Means-tested Benefits

Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many means-tested benefits are potentially available for people over 65 years of age. [55519]

Mr. Timms: The Department administers three income-related benefits that are available to people over 65 years of age should they meet the qualifying conditions. The entitlements are: pension credit (guarantee credit and saving credit), housing benefit and council tax benefit. People receiving pension credit may also have access to social fund loans and grants.

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs administers the child tax credit and working tax credit for which this group may also qualify.

More information on financial and other help available to pensioners is given in the Pensioners' Guide—http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/resourcecentre/pensionersquide/home.asp

New Deal (Expenditure)

Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the level of spending was in 2004–05 on education and training within the (a) new deal for 18 to 24-year-olds, outside the full-time education and training option, (b) new deal 25 plus, (c) new deal 50 plus, (d) new deal for lone parents and (e) new deal for disabled people; and what the estimates are for (i) 2005–06 and (ii) 2006–07 in each case. [46858]

Margaret Hodge: Information is not separately recorded on the cost of any education and training undertaken through the new deal, other than through the new deal for young people full time education and training option.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the average time taken to respond to parliamentary written questions from hon. Members on (a) all subjects for which his Department is responsible and (b) the Child Support Agency since 1st June; and if he will make a statement. [33701]

Mr. Plaskitt [holding answer 5 December 2005]: Between 1 June 2005 and 31 December 2005 the Department took an average of 16.9 working days to respond to Commons written parliamentary questions on all subjects and 22.4 working days to respond to questions relating to the Child Support Agency. The Department is committed to answering questions within parliamentary deadlines where possible.

Pathways to Work

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to use the private and voluntary sector to provide work focused interviews in (a) existing Pathways to Work areas and (b) the next phase of Pathways to Work areas. [51736]

Margaret Hodge: As we set out in the recent Welfare Reform Green Paper, we want to continue to engage private and voluntary sector providers. Building on the
 
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success of New Deal for Disabled People and other initiatives, we wish to develop further our services for incapacity benefits claimants.

We intend to ask the private and voluntary sectors to lead the work in the next phase of pathways to work areas. This will allow new and innovative approaches to be tested while ensuring that quality support is available to a wide range of claimants, delivered with maximum flexibility.

Pensions

Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what transitional arrangements are in place for pension centre operation prior to the reduction in pension centres. [54233]

Mr. Timms: The Pension Service's Pensions Transformation Programme will put in place the organisational, structural and technological changes necessary to make further improvements in customer service and efficiency—as well as to increase take up of pensioner entitlements.

During this period, work from pension centres not being retained will be migrated to those selected to deliver the transformed service. During the transition they will continue to provide support through existing arrangements to ensure that customer service and overall performance are maintained.

Personal Capability Assessments

Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many centres were carrying out personal capability assessment health checks in each of the last five years. [51987]

Mrs. McGuire: The information requested is not routinely collected. The available information is that in December 2001 there were 121 permanent medical examination centres (MECs) and in July 2005 there were 125. In addition, medical services use up to 40 casual hire sites, as and when required.

Since July 2005, Atos Origin Medical Services have closed seven smaller centres (with a further four closures scheduled for February 2006) and opened one larger centre (with two additional large centres scheduled to open by the end of February 2006) to improve overall customer service.

Post Office Card Account

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 13 February 2006 to the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander), Official Report, columns 1690–91W, on Post Office card accounts, what the estimated cost is of the three pilot schemes. [53734]

Mr. Plaskitt: We estimate that the costs of the pilots will be less than £150,000. This will be met from within existing budgets.
 
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Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract between his Department and Post Office Ltd. for the delivery of Post Office Card Accounts until 2010. [53746]

Mr. Plaskitt: I have placed an abridged copy of the contract in the Library. This includes the background to the contract and the nature of the agreement between the parties, which is the only part of the document I have taken quotations from. The rest of the document is both commercially confidential and technical in nature and is not appropriate to make public.

Social Enterprise Sector

Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what changes he plans to the training given to incapacity benefit personal advisers; and what he expects the cost to his Department of the training to be. [51969]

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Lesley Strathie:

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what changes he plans to the training given to incapacity benefit personal advisers and what he expects the cost to his Department of the training to be. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.

The Government has recently published a Green Paper setting out its thinking on the reform of incapacity benefits. At this stage it is too early to say what changes will be required to the training given to Personal Advisers, or to estimate what the cost of any such changes may be.

Once any changes to Incapacity Benefit have been finalised, Jobcentre Plus will carry out a learning needs analysis and put in place a programme of training for all the key roles affected by the changes, including Personal Advisers.

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