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2 Oct 2006 : Column 2588W—continued
IT Contracts
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the value was of each IT contract awarded by his Department in each of the last five years; and who the contractor was in each case. [88968]
James Purnell: Over the last five years the IT contracts awarded by the DWP with associated value is as follows:
Jobcentre Plus
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Jobcentre Plus offices have reduced their opening hours in each parliamentary constituency in the last 12 months. [78547]
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 many Jobcentre Plus offices have reduced their opening hours in each parliamentary constituency in the last 12 months. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
A total of 73 Jobcentre Plus sites have had a reduction in opening hours since 31 May 2005. For approximately half of these sites, the reduction in hours amounts to less than one day per week. It is not possible to provide information broken down by parliamentary constituency, this information is gathered at a district level. The information available is set out in the attached table, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
Jobcentre Plus Offices will normally open from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm every working day with a later opening one day per week to support staff development. The day of the week will vary from office to office depending on local circumstances. (There are a
small number of offices, which operate fewer hours meeting local needs, and these are gradually being phased out). Key stakeholders are consulted on how customer services will be delivered when major changes of opening hours are proposed.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what was (a) the staffing bill and (b) the overtime bill for Jobcentre Plus in each year of its operation to date. [87539]
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 what was the (a) staffing bill and (b) the overtime bill for Jobcentre Plus in each year of its operation to date. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The figures for total staff costs from 2002-03 to 2004-05 are taken from the published Jobcentre Plus Annual Report and Accounts, copies of which can be found in the House of Commons library.
The total staff costs recorded in the annual accounts and the overtime figures in the supporting records for the period 2002-2005 are shown below. The figures for 2005/06 are the unaudited staff and overtime costs from the draft Agency accounts.
| £000 | ||||
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
The total staff costs include the salaries of permanent and casual staff, temporary duties allowance, overtime, superannuation costs and payment for early release schemes. There was an increase in staff costs from 2004-05 to 2005-06 of £120 million despite a headcount reduction of over 3,500 whole time equivalents. The main reasons for this were the increase in employer's pension contributions of £65 million and £60 million to fund early retirements to reduce headcount.
Ministerial Offices
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many times his ministerial office has been decorated in each of the last five years. [87639]
Mrs. McGuire: The ministerial office has been redecorated once in the last five years as part of a planned maintenance programme. Part of the ministerial office was redecorated in 2004-05, with the remainder being redecorated in 2005-06. The redecoration covered painting and decorating of the office and did not include replacement of fixtures and fittings.
National Insurance
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much time per applicant is allocated for interviews with applicants for national insurance numbers; and what changes to this time allocation (a) have occurred within the last 12 months and (b) are planned within the next 12 months. [82626]
Mr. Plaskitt: Jobcentre Plus is currently in the process of rolling out a standard model for the Secure National Insurance Number Allocation Process which allocates 40 minutes per applicant.
Prior to the introduction of this model, there was no fixed allocation of time per applicant.
The whole of Jobcentre Plus will be using this Secure National Insurance Number Allocation process from the end of July 2006.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of applicants for national insurance numbers were called for face-to-face interviews in the last 12 months for which data are available. [82627]
Mr. Plaskitt: Jobcentre Plus conducted face-to-face interviews for 93 per cent. of national insurance number applicants between June 2005 and May 2006, the last 12 months for which data are available
The remaining 7 per cent. were fast path applicants. Fast path is used for HM Forces, NHS professionals, employers with Home Office approved work permits and people who have sought and been granted asylum
in the UK. NINOs are issued to the latter group without interview because the Home Office provide relevant information gathered during IND interviews with asylum seekers to Jobcentre Plus.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the UK are recorded as eligible for a national insurance number; and how many are in issue. [79032]
Mr. Plaskitt: No figures are recorded on the number of people in the UK who are eligible to receive a national insurance number. As at July 2006, there are 76.8 million national insurance numbers (NINOs) held on the Departmental Central Index (DCI) (now the Customer Information System (CIS)).
In order to maintain the integrity of the system (and for benefit purposes) NINOs are not removed. For example, they are retained after a person dies or moves abroad. This is because individuals who move abroad may at some point have a call upon contributions paid while in the UK. In the case of deceased individuals, a partner may make a claim for a contributory benefit, which is dependant on the contribution record of the deceased individual. This means that the number of accounts held on the system accrues as NINOs are allocated each year to all UK children who reach 16 years and persons from abroad requiring a NINO are added.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many national insurance numbers are held on the Department’s system; how many of these are active; how many of the remainder relate to deceased persons; and what measures are being taken to identify, monitor and close inactive accounts where appropriate. [75337]
Mr. Plaskitt: As at July 2006 there are 76.8 million national insurance numbers (NINOs) held on the Department’s Customer Information System (CIS).
In order to maintain the integrity of the system (and for benefit purposes) NINOs are not removed. For example, they are retained after a person dies or moves abroad. This is because individuals who move abroad may at some point have a call upon contributions paid while in the UK. In the case of deceased individuals, a partner may make a claim for a contributory benefit, which is dependant on the contribution record of the deceased individual. This means that the number of accounts held on the system accrues as NINOs are allocated each year to all UK children who reach 16 years and persons from abroad requiring a NINO are added.
Deceased persons accounts and those of people aged over 82 years where there has been no activity on the account for the previous three years are classified as inactive and “flagged” so that any activity on those accounts will automatically prompt internal checks to ensure legitimate access.
The latest available information in respect of deceased persons is for 2003 and was estimated to be 16.5 million.
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