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10 Mar 2006 : Column 1793W—continued
Carers
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department has given to Jobcentre Plus on the support they should offer to young carers. [51521]
Margaret Hodge: In the National Strategy for Carers, "Caring About Carers", published in February 1999, the Government set out how we will support carers of working age to remain in work or to return to work when their caring responsibilities allow them to do so.
Carers do face additional barriers to work—in particular the need for and cost of alternative care arrangements during their working hours. Carers may also have been out of the labour market for long periods of time with the loss of confidence and lack of relevant skills that can entail.
The Department for Education and Skills supports carers who are under the age of 18, enabling them to benefit from health care, social care and education. The Connexions Service plays an important role by providing a network of personal advisers who are able to provide advice and support to these young people, as well as putting them in touch with appropriate specialist and support services.
DWP provides a similar service through Jobcentre Plus to support those on working-age benefits. Carers have access to a Personal Adviser who will give them advice on jobsearch techniques and vocational training opportunities, whether they are still caring or their caring responsibilities have come to an end.
Post Office Card Accounts
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have used the Post Office card account (POCA) in each year since it was introduced; how much the Post Office receives for each POCA payment it makes; and what other administrative costs the Government pay in respect of each POCA transaction. [52623]
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Mr. Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested.
The Post Office card account service was introduced in April 2003.
The following table shows the number of Post Office card accounts in use since it was introduced.
Date | Number of Post Office card accounts in use |
|---|---|
| March 2004 | 834,773 |
| March 2005 | 4,183,666 |
| December 2005 | 4,270,412 |
In addition to accounts used by my Department these figures include Post Office card accounts used by the Northern Ireland Social Security agency, the Veterans Agency (Ministry of Defence) and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
The annual cost to the Department of the Post Office card account for the first three years from April 2003 averaged £173 million.
Currently the average cost to my Department of making a payment into a Post Office card account is approximately £1.
Teenager Poverty
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of those aged 16 to 19 years are living in poverty; what research he has conducted on levels in other EU countries; and if he will make a statement. [41403]
Margaret Hodge: The seventh annual 'Opportunity for all' report (Cm 6673) sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and reports progress against a range of indicators.
Detailed information about the number and proportion of children living in low income households is published in "Households Below Average Income 1994/95–2003/04", available in the Library. The report includes comparisons of incomes against low income
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thresholds, such as the commonly used relative low income threshold of 60 per cent. of contemporary median income.
The following table shows the proportion of those aged 16–19 years in Great Britain living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of median in 2003–04.
| Type of 16 to 19-year-olds | Before housing costs | After housing costs |
|---|---|---|
| Dependent children(1) | 19 | 23 |
| Adults(2) | 21 | 28 |
| All 16 to 19-year-olds | 20 | 26 |
(1) Dependent children are those 16 to 19-year-olds treated as the responsibility of an adult.
(2) Adults are here defined as those 16 to 19-year-olds who are living independently of any responsible adult.
We take very seriously the problem of poverty and under-achievement within this group, particularly those who are not in employment, education or training (the NEET group). One of the characteristics of this group is the volatility of their circumstances which makes estimating numbers difficult. But our research into the problems faced by 16 and 17-year-old gives an estimated UK figure of 150,000 or 1 in 8 of the age group as NEET at any one time.
This Department has not carried out any comparative research on poverty levels among 16 to 19-year-olds in EU countries. However, together with Department for Education and Skills and HM Treasury, we have conducted a review of financial support for 16 to 19-year-olds. We have commissioned research into the support systems available in OECD counties. This found that most OECD countries have complex and often fragmented systems of financial support for 16 to 19-year-olds. The exception is Australia which has developed a unitary, large-scale system aimed at increasing the participation of young people in education, training and employment.
As a result of our work we have introduced measures that come into force in April 2006, including the extension of financial support beyond the age of 19 to enable young people to complete their courses.
Unemployment
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) people aged 25 to 49 years, (b) women aged 50 to 59 years and (c) men aged 50 to 64 years have been unemployed for more than 18 months in each month in each year since 1992. [56968]
John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 10 March 2006:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about duration of unemployment. I am replying in her absence. (56968)
Information relating to unemployment for 18 months and over is not readily available. However, I am placing in the House of Commons Library a table giving estimates of the number of
- people resident in the United Kingdom who were unemployed for 2 years or more. It covers people aged 25 to 49 years; women aged 50 to 59 years; and men aged 50 to 64 years, in each month from 1992 to 2005.
These seasonally adjusted estimates from Labour Force Survey (LFS) are, as with any sample survey, subject to a margin of uncertainty.
(3) Men aged up to 64 and women aged up to 59.
Source:
ONS Labour Force Survey
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