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20 Jun 2006 : Column 1783W—continued
Employment and Support Allowance Claimants
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the proposed criteria are for the reserved circumstances group of employment and support allowance claimants; and how these will be decided. [78363]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The new employment and support allowance will focus on how we can help people into work and will not automatically assume that because a person has a specific health condition or disability they are incapable of work.
We are still developing details of the criteria that will decide whether a person's physical or mental functions are so severely limited that it would be unreasonable to require them to engage in work-related activity. We want to ensure that the criteria are based on functional ability, not on diagnosis, and that they will correctly identify those who should receive benefit without having to take part in work-related activity, without dismissing those for whom engagement is possible.
In developing the criteria, we are taking into account the comments that have been made in response to the Government's consultation paper.
Employment Services (Disabled People)
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to consult on the review of employment services for disabled people; and if he will make a statement. [77938]
Mrs. McGuire: It is our intention to formally consult later this year on the proposals emerging from the review of services for disabled people.
Free TV Licences
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on the provision of free television licences for over 75-year-olds in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands in each of the last five years. [78032]
James Purnell: The information requested is not available. TV licence expenditure figures are not available broken down by constituency or Government office region.
Illegal Immigrants (Benefits)
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate has been made of the total amount of benefits paid to illegal immigrants in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [79003]
Mr. Plaskitt: Illegal immigrants are not entitled to DWP administered benefits.
Jobcentre Plus
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how, under its Employer Engagement Strategy, local resources in Jobcentre Plus will be matched to services required by major national employers; and how (a) consistency of service delivery across the country and (b) effective communication and liaison between specialist delivery teams will be ensured. [76510]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how, under our Employer Engagement Strategy local resources in Jobcentre Plus will be matched to services required by major national employers; and how consistency of service delivery across the country and effective communication and liaison between specialist delivery teams will be ensured. This is something, which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Jobcentre Plus has a National Sales Team that provides an account management service to our major national employers. The Account Managers work at a strategic level to develop and agree Service Level Agreements with these companies. These Service Level Agreements are communicated to geographically-based Account Managers who ensure that they are used as a basis to agree local solutions to meet individual recruitment needs. The same Account Managers are responsible for engaging with service delivery colleagues within Jobcentres to resolve any issues involving employer requirements or service delivery.
In addition to this, the National Sales Team is fully committed and engaged in the Employer Engagement Strategy at all levels of Jobcentre Plus through Vacancy Planning. Working with delivery
colleagues, they are able to ensure that regional and district plans reflect the current and future needs of national employers.
In support of these activities Jobcentre Plus will shortly be introducing the Employer Relationship Management IT system, which will provide an unprecedented level of data on employers and the labour market in general. Analysis of this data will allow Jobcentre Plus to provide tailored services that meet the needs of employers.
Employer engagement strategies and marketing campaigns will all emanate from this new system and local resources will be channelled accordingly. Consistency of service will be ensured across the whole of Jobcentre Plus as access to the system will be restricted to key decision makers, such as the Account Managers, who manage the interests of the major national employers and will be able to communicate appropriate strategies throughout the organisation.
I hope this is helpful.
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps are being taken to improve liaison between Jobcentre Plus and (a) other parts of his Department and (b) other Government Departments and agencies. [76515]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the steps being taken to improve the liaison between Jobcentre Plus and (a) the other parts of his Department and (b) other Government departments and agencies. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Our new organisational structures, introduced in April, place a new focus on effective partnership working. At Board level this is provided through a Director of External Relations and Communication; and at strategic and operational levels we have external relations functions that maximise the effectiveness of our national, regional and local partnerships.
In particular we now have a team specifically responsible for leading on our relationships with the key governmental organisations with whom we work to deliver our shared agenda on social security and benefit issues affecting our customers. They are in the process of reviewing existing partnership agreements, setting up new ones where they do not already exist and reviewing and improving day to day liaison arrangements. Organisations within the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) covered by this work include the Child Support Agency, Debt Management, the Disability and Carers Service and The Pension Service. Outside DWP the work covers Local Authorities, the Tribunal Service, the Veterans Agency and HM Revenue and Customs.
In parallel Jobcentre Plus works with a range of other Government organisations nationally to improve opportunities for people to move into and stay in work. These organisations include, for example, Regional Development Agencies, the devolved administrations, and the Learning and Skills Council. We also work closely on a wide range of issues with the Home Office's Prison and Probation Services (National Offender Management Service) and Immigration and Nationality Directorate. Opportunities are continually sought to strengthen liaison across all of these partnerships.
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the introduction of the Adviser Achievement Tool into Jobcentre Plus. [76519]
Mr. Jim Murphy:
The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre
Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question regarding the introduction of the Adviser Achievement Tool (AAT) into Jobcentre Plus. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The AAT was introduced in April 2006 to ensure all our advisers make an effective contribution to Jobcentre Plus’ aims, and to identify those advisers who may need additional help to achieve this. The AAT supports the new Job Outcome Target which introduces a change to the way performance is measured. All job outcomes will count towards achievement of this target, not just those achieved through Jobcentre Plus notified vacancies or financial initiatives. Advisers will no longer have individual points targets linked to job entries as part of their personal objectives.
The AAT has been designed to improve adviser performance and strengthen the support for advisers and their managers. It reflects the new approach to evaluating individual performance which is required under the new target regime. It is supplemented by individually tailored Improvement Plans which managers and advisers will use to address personal development issues. It is intended that the AAT will provide an indicator of advisers’ performance and will help their managers to regularly monitor adviser achievements.
Adviser managers will not rely on the AAT alone to deliver performance improvements. Other activities such as mandatory observations from the Quality Assurance Framework must also be undertaken on a regular basis, in conjunction with agreed individual objectives as part of the Department’s internal Performance Development System.
We will be evaluating and refining the AAT throughout the year as the Job Outcome Target system becomes more established and we learn more about the blend of quality and productivity information needed to optimise individual adviser performance.
I hope this is helpful.
Medical Assessments
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of medical assessments for (a) disability living allowance, (b) attendance allowance, (c) industrial injuries disablement benefit and incapacity benefit and (d) incapacity benefit have been classified as (i) Grade A, (ii) Grade B and (iii) Grade C in each year in which ATOS Origin and SEMA Group have been conducting such assessments. [76880]
Mrs. McGuire: Information is not available prior to September 2004 due to concerns about the reliability of the available data. No separate breakdown is available for attendance allowance and disability living allowance figures. The available information is in the following table.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of grade C medical assessments for (a) disability living allowance, (b) attendance allowance, (c) industrial injuries disablement benefit and incapacity benefit and (d) incapacity benefit have resulted in a (i) new assessment and (ii) modification of the original assessment in each of the last five years. [76881]
Mrs. McGuire: If a medical report is found to be C grade at audit, Atos Origin must rework it before it is used by the decision maker to determine entitlement to benefit.
In cases where reports which have not been subject to audit are subsequently found to be deficient, as part of a complaints investigation, for example, Atos Origin notify the decision maker so that the decision maker can review their decision.
Records as to the outcome from these procedures are not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost is per claimant of a medical assessment for (a) disability living allowance, (b) attendance allowance, (c) industrial injuries disablement benefit and incapacity benefit and (d) incapacity benefit. [76884]
Mrs. McGuire: Financial information connected with individual medical assessments is commercially sensitive and cannot be disclosed as to do so may prejudice the commercial interests of the Department and/or its suppliers.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will reply to question 73877, on cold-calling, tabled by the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight on 25 May 2006. [79105]
Mr. Plaskitt: I replied to the hon. Member on 19 June 2006, Official Report, columns 1698-99W.
Pathways to Work
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of Pathways to Work provision is by the (a) public and (b) private sector. [76832]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The information requested is not available.
Both voluntary and private sector organisations deliver a number of different programmes which support Pathways to Work. Some of these programmes are specific to Pathways to Work (in-work support and condition management programmes), while others are delivered nationally across Jobcentre Plus, for example WORKSTEP and new deal for disabled people.
In the Green Paper we said the next phase of Pathways to Work roll-out will be delivered through voluntary and private sector providers contracted locally.
Staff Surveys
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library copies of the results of the latest staff surveys for (a) his Department and (b) each of its Executive agencies. [35394]
Mrs. McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions routinely publishes its annual survey results within the public domain. This includes percentage responses for all survey questions for the DWP overall and for each of the main businesses, client groups and corporate services within the Department. Results for 2002, 2003 and 2004 are held by:
The British Library
The National Libraries for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Oxford Library
Cambridge Library
Results for the DWP Survey 2005 are currently being published in the same way. In addition, copies are being placed in the House of Commons and House of Lords Libraries as well as being placed on the Department’s website. We are awaiting confirmation of publication of all departmental surveys on the Cabinet Office website before proceeding.
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