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2 Oct 2006 : Column 2589W—continued
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 is 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 is 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.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases of suspected illegal immigrants granted national insurance numbers were passed to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in each quarter since April 1997; and if he will make a statement. [75799]
Mr. Plaskitt [holding answer 8 June 2006]: The requested information is only available from April 2005 and is unavailable broken down by quarter. From April 2005 to March 2006, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) notified the Immigration and Nationality Directorate of 2,537 cases where national insurance numbers were allocated to suspected immigration offenders. In addition, 772 cases involving suspect documents that have been refused a NINO were notified to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate by DWP.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many national insurance numbers there have been on (a) the Departmental Central Index and (b) National Insurance Recording Systems 1 and 2 in each year since 1997. [77524]
Mr. Plaskitt: The National Insurance Recording Systems are administered by HM Revenue and Customs, and are a matter for my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
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)). Prior to this, only approximate figures can be provided. The available information is in the following table.
| Approximate number of NINOs held on DCI/CIS | |
| million | |
| Number | |
| Note: DCI/CIS holds both NINOs and Child Reference Numbers (CRNs). The proportion of NINOs to CRNs is not available in precise detail for those years. However, a recent scan of CIS has shown that the precise number of NINOs is 76.8 million (July 2006). The precise number of CRNs is 11.7 million. The figures are rounded to the nearest 100,000. | |
Mr. Marshall-Andrews: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many national insurance numbers are in operation for persons over 16 years old in England and Wales. [77928]
Mr. Plaskitt: 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)). These figures relate to the UK, as we are unable to specify separately the numbers for England and Wales.
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.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many temporary national insurance numbers have been issued in each (a) month and (b) quarter since April 2003; and if he will make a statement. [78393]
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Government have taken to ensure that temporary national insurance numbers are not used to gain access to (a) services, (b) benefits and (c) forms of identification to which the holder is not entitled; and if he will make a statement. [79034]
Mr. Plaskitt: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) does not issue temporary national insurance numbers (NINO).
There are exceptional situations where DWP use internal reference numbers in the same format as a NINO to facilitate benefit administration prior to the allocation of a NINO. However, such numbers are not issued to customers. They cannot be used to enter the benefits system, or be used for identification purposes or to gain access to any other services.
Neurological Conditions
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the progression into work of people with neurological conditions and the progression into work of incapacity benefit claimants. [87542]
Mrs. McGuire: 11 per cent. of people with neurological conditions who have joined Pathways to Work between October 2003 and February 2006 have progressed into work.
Information on the number of people with neurological conditions who have progressed into work in the last three years without participating in Pathways is not available.
We know that a large proportion want to work and so we want to ensure that they are given the opportunity to do so. We do not believe in writing anyone off—one of the key principles of our successful Pathways to Work programme is inclusion and support for all.
Personal
advisers tailor packages of help and support for individuals with a
range of health problems, including neurological conditions. In
Pathways to Work areas,
Condition Management Programmes aim to help people manage their health
condition or disability more effectively, so that they can get the jobs
they
want.
Notes:
1. The statistics quoted in this response are taken from the Pathways to Work Evaluation Database.
2. Data are to the end of February 2006.
3. Data include information for the extension to existing customers.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement about percentage rates of people with neurological conditions who had been claiming incapacity benefit for over 12 months when starting work-focused interviews, compared to other people claiming incapacity benefit for over 12 months. [87543]
Mrs. McGuire: Mandatory work-focused interviews for incapacity benefit customers occur eight weeks after the start of their benefit claim. Therefore no one who started the mandatory work-focused interview process has been in receipt of incapacity benefits for over 12 months.
The exception to this is participants in the mandatory extension of Pathways to Work. They are identified as those being in receipt of benefit between one and three years at the time the mandatory extension commenced. Therefore they have all been in receipt of incapacity benefits for over 12 months.
Only in the first 12 months after roll out would voluntary participants in Pathways to Work have been in receipt of incapacity benefits for less than 12 months. After that period they will all have been in receipt of incapacity benefits for over 12 months as all fresh claims will have been captured by work-focused interviews through Pathways to Work.
Establishing percentage rates of people with neurological conditions who had been claiming incapacity benefit for over 12 months when volunteering for work-focused interviews compared to other people claiming incapacity benefit for over 12 months in that initial period can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
New Deal
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of known job entrants from (a) new deal for young people and (b) new deal 25 plus started jobs that were not sustained beyond 13 weeks duration in each year since the programmes began. [56972]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The information is in the following table.
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