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13 July 2006 : Column 538WH—continued
The hon. Member for Daventry spoke about point scoring. However, I can put it no stronger than to say that I note what he says and will reflect on his observation.
The Committee showed understandable interest in the Jobcentre Plus computer systems, as has been recognised in this debate, and I acknowledge that there is more work to do. Jobcentre Plus administers many benefits, some of which are extremely complex. Computer system changes are therefore rarely straightforward. Hon. Members have suggested that a more modular or incremental approach might work best, and Jobcentre Plus has been developing that approach. However, since the Committee’s report was published, we have started refocusing our IT strategy on the changes that we will need to make to support our welfare reform programme. Committee members and other hon. Members will understand that we have listened to the Committee’s concerns as we roll out that strategy.
The report also scrutinises our programme of office closures. It was right for Jobcentre Plus to review its office network. When it was formed in 2002, Jobcentre Plus brought together the Employment Service and the majority of the Benefits Agency. In many towns, both agencies had separate offices, sometimes on the same stretch of road. Reducing duplication has been a necessary step following the amalgamation of the two bodies.
The hon. Member for Cardiff, Central (Jenny Willott), who is no longer in the Chamber—for a good reason, I am sure—asked how we could free advisers from unnecessary clerical duties and responsibilities. There is determination to do that and to remove the responsibility and need for them to collate clerical statistics. This is about providing additional clerical support to the personal advisers. It is important to note that the number of advisers has increased in recent years, both in real terms and as a proportion of Jobcentre Plus staff—from about 10,000 out of 80,000 to about 11,000 out of some 71,000. That is a welcome commitment as we continue to personalise support for individual customers.
I wish to say a word or two about the partnership with the private and voluntary sectors, which my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford, North was keen for the Government to focus on. Much of the face-to-face work with people who need support in finding work is carried out by personal advisers. Jobcentre Plus is supported in its work by private and voluntary sector organisations working under contract to provide specialist employment and training services. Jobcentre Plus spends more than one third of its budget on services delivered through external contractors. Those partners are an essential resource and a key part of our success in coaching and supporting people back to work.
We acknowledge that there have been problems in the past with procurement. We have introduced a provisions forum that enables proper consultation and communication to take place. Providers can influence the development of our contracting strategy, for example, on the size and length of contracts and procedures for letting and ending contracts. Partnership with the private and voluntary sectors is integral to the future of welfare delivery in this country.
We will continue to ensure that the Department delivers best practice in procurement and contracting as we develop and extend our work in this area, which is appropriate when we consider the crucial role of the private and voluntary sector in the national roll-out of pathways to work.
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford, North again for the leadership that he has shown in the Committee, for enabling trenchant observations on mistakes and for creating a consensus in his Committee. I also thank him for achieving consensus on the success of Jobcentre Plus. It is important that, as we reflect on what can be done about the mistakes and failings in the past, we also celebrate the remarkable achievements in our constituencies and listen to those who have experience of being pathways customers.
Our welfare reforms will continue to revolutionise employment-focused support for all those who can and want to work. Our cities strategy, about which we will make an announcement later this month, will open up new opportunities for delivering employment services in cities, enabling the civic leadership, business, the voluntary sector, the media and others to design their own solutions to the distinct problems in their cities. Given that two thirds of those who receive benefit in the UK live in our great cities, the nature and scale of the challenge is clear to us all. This vision can only be built on the foundation of an efficient, modern service. Jobcentre Plus must go further not only in getting the basics right but in being flexible and responsive to the changing customer needs. It must develop priorities about personalised welfare support.
Efficiency is not an optional extra in public services. In leading the Committee’s work on this scheme and in this debate, my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Bradford, North, has raised some crucial matters. I am happy to take note of the points made by hon. Friends and other hon. Members today. I agree that we are striving to achieve the right balance between our customers’ needs, demands and aspirations and the necessity of running an efficient service.
We have made remarkable progress in tackling the roots of poverty and worklessness, but we have to go further. The Committee’s report acknowledges that. Jobcentre Plus is not just about helping individuals to fulfil their potential but about families and communities feeling the benefit of people’s lives being changed for the better, which is why it is so important that we address the issues raised in the report, continue with our drive to modernise Jobcentre Plus and deliver the quality of service that people rightly expect from other public services.
Just because we are dealing with some of the most vulnerable people in our society, we should never lose sight of the fact that they remain aspirational, determined and focused on improving their lives and the lives of their families. Jobcentre Plus, the Government and the private and voluntary sector and others have an important role to play in the partnership and in helping to bring about that transformation. Our discussion on the Select Committee’s report identifies that. I thank the Select Committee for its work.
Adjourned accordingly at Five o’clock.
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