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26 Jun 2006 : Column 52W—continued
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will consider Hartlepool borough council as one of the planned pilots for the housing benefit sanction proposals announced on 5 June. [76138]
Mr. Plaskitt: We are currently consulting stakeholders on the detail of the proposal, and will be investigating pilot sites later this year. Hartlepool will be considered as a possible pilot site as part of this process.
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on housing benefit for tenants in (a) council property, (b) housing association property, (c) registered social landlord property and (d) private sector housing in Houghton and Washington, East constituency in each of the last three years. [76335]
Mr. Plaskitt: Information is not available broken down by constituency. Information cannot be broken down by landlord type other than by council or private tenancies. The latter includes housing associations and registered social landlords. The available information for Sunderland city council is in the table.
| Housing benefit expenditure in Sunderland city council | |||
| £ | |||
| Expenditure in council property | Expenditure in all private property | All housing benefit expenditure | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest £000. 2. There are issues still to be resolved in the 2004-05 claim and therefore the figures for this year are subject to change. Source: Audited subsidy claims submitted by local authority. | |||
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what percentage of one parent households received housing benefit in 2005-06; [76878]
(2) what percentage of one parent households received council tax benefit in 2005-06. [76886]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is in the following table.
| Housing benefit and council tax benefit recipients who are lone parents: Great Britain, May 2004 | ||
| Lone parents in receipt of HB/CTB | Percentage of lone parents in receipt of HB/CTB( 1) | |
| (1) Figures are given as a percentage of the lone parent population. Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand and percentages to one decimal place. 2. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended payment cases. 3. Council tax benefit totals exclude any second adult rebate cases. Source: Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System. Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 2004. General Register Office (GRO) for Scotland/Office for National Statistics (ONS) lone parent population estimates based on the 2001 census. | ||
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the change in the number of incapacity benefit customers moving into work in the pathways to work pilot areas. [67860]
Mrs. McGuire: Our successful pathways to work pilots have been acknowledged internationally as the best way of helping people on incapacity benefits back into work quickly. There have been 21,400 job entries in pathways to work areas, including over 3,360 from voluntary customers. The number of recorded job entries for people with a health condition or disability has almost doubled since before pathways started.
The specific information requested is not available.
Information on Jobcentre Plus Job Entry Target (JET) job entries is in the table.
| Jobcentre Plus Job Entry Target (JET) job entries in the 12 months prior to, and in the 12 months after, the roll-out of Pathways | |||
| 12 months prior to Pathways roll-out | 12 months after Pathways rollout | Percentage change | |
| (1) The first phase of the Pathways to Work Pilots commenced on 27 October 2003 in Bridgend Rhondda Cynon and Taf, Derbyshire and Renfrewshire Inverclyde Argyll and Bute. (2 )The second phase of the Pathways to Work Pilots commenced on 5 April 2004 in Essex, Gateshead and South Tyneside, Lancashire East and Somerset. Notes 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Jobcentre Plus JET data does not account for all job entries that occur when somebody leaves Incapacity Benefit, the JET jobs are only jobs that occur following a significant intervention from JCP (such as a job submission or the award of a financial incentive). | |||
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals are claiming (a) short-term and (b) long-term incapacity benefit in (i) Lewisham, Deptford constituency and (ii) Lewisham borough. [79151]
Mrs. McGuire: The information is in the following table.
| Incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance (SDA) claimants in London borough of Lewisham and Lewisham, Deptford parliamentary constituency, November 2005 | ||
| London borough of Lewisham | Lewisham, Deptford constituency | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. ‘Claimant' figures include all incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance, including incapacity benefit credits only cases. Source: DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data. | ||
Industrial Relations
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the state of industrial relations with staff of his Department and its agencies. [76522]
Mrs. McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) seeks an effective and constructive engagement with its three recognised trade unions. We provide allowances of 0.2 per cent. over staffing costs (equating to around £5.5 million of public money) to fund the cost of employee trade union representatives, in order to ensure proper engagement. Recent evidence of constructive consultative relationships include: a three-year pay deal negotiated and agreed with the unions; a “seeking to avoid compulsory redundancies” agreement signed in November 2004 which has the confidence of all parties and has enabled us to make significant staffing reductions without dispute; and a re-launch of our attendance management policy in July 2005 with a joint statement with the unions.
The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) is currently in dispute with DWP over our efficiency programme. This is a matter of regret to the Department but talks are currently in progress to seek to resolve this dispute.
Job Vacancies (Hartlepool)
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many job vacancies were listed at Jobcentre Plus in Hartlepool constituency in each year since 1997. [77176]
Mr. Jim Murphy: Information on Jobcentre Plus vacancy data at parliamentary constituency level is only available from April 2004 and is set out in the following table.
| Hartlepool Parliamentary Constituency | ||
| Period | Vacancies notified to Jobcentre Plus | Average number of 'live' unfilled vacancies on any given day |
| Source: Jobcentre Plus Labour Market System | ||
Jobcentre Plus
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many telephone calls to the Jobcentre Plus 0845 603 6347 telephone number were received each month from April 2005 to April 2006; [71195]
(2) whether there has been an unusually heavy demand placed upon the Jobcentre Plus 0845 603 6347 telephone number in recent months; and if he will make a statement; [71196]
(3) what alternative contact points can provide assistance regarding benefits claimed by an individual who cannot get through to the Jobcentre Plus 0845 603 6347 telephone number; [71197]
(4) what recent estimate his Department has made of the proportion of callers to Jobcentre Plus on 0845 603 6347 who encounter the engaged dial tone. [71198]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking about the use of the 0845 603 6347 telephone number. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Since 17 April 2006, we have been piloting the handling of claims and enquiries from customers in central London by our Glasgow Benefit Delivery Centre (BDC). Customers can contact the Glasgow BDC using the 0845 603 6347 telephone number. The number was not in use before 17 April. As part of this pilot we are paying particular attention to customer service issues, and local managers are reviewing the resources currently deployed handling telephone calls. A full evaluation of the pilot is planned for September and therefore at this early stage the information you have requested is not available.
Customers experiencing difficulties getting through on the 0845 603 6347 number can still access our services in person at Central London Jobcentres.
Customers in the Leicester area are not included in this pilot.
I hope this is helpful.
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of how Jobcentre Plus in Yorkshire and the Humber measured against their performance indicators in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2004-05. [71552]
Mr. Jim Murphy [holding answer 18 May 2006]: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide my hon. Friend with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what assessment he has made of how Jobcentre Plus in Yorkshire and the Humber Region measured against their performance indicators in 2005-06 and 2004-05. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The targets and achievements for 2004-05 and 2005-06 are listed in the table. The Yorkshire and Humber Region achieved all its targets in 2004/2005 and 4 out of 5 in 2005/2006. The Region as a whole did not meet its job entry target in 2005/06 but has maintained the number of Priority Group One customers (lone parents/sick and disabled people) moving into work. However, I should add that the job entry target for Selby and North Yorkshire District for 2005/2006 was exceeded.
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |||
| Target | Achieved | Target | Achieved | |
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