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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]


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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.

Letter from Lesley Strathie:

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.

Letter from Lesley Strathie:

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
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Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Lesley Strathie:

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.


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Percentage of medical reports in each grade for benefits and dates shown
Grade
Benefit type/Period A B C

Incapacity benefit

September 2004 to August 2005

79

18

4

September 2005 to May 2006

76

21

3

Disability living allowance and attendance allowance

September 2004 to August 2005

69

27

4

September 2005 to May 2006

70

26

4

Industrial injuries disablement benefit

September 2004 to August 2005

86

12

2

September 2005 to May 2006

84

14

2

Note:
Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.
Source:
Atos Origin Medical Services

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.


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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:

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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