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Number of incapacity benefit claimants whose benefit payable is reduced to zero as a result of receiving income from an occupational pension and associated total benefit expenditure forgone
	Claimants (thousand)	Annual incapacity benefit foregone (£ million—2006-07 prices)
2001-02	1	4
2002-03	4	13
2003-04	5	20
2004-05	7	25
2005-06	8	29
Notes: 1. Figures for claimants are rounded to the nearest thousand and expenditure to the nearest million. 2. Income from occupational pension schemes was introduced in the assessment of entitlement to incapacity benefit in April 2001. Source: The DWP Quarterly Statistical Enquiry data, the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study and the DWP medium-term benefit expenditure tables

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit recipients in each Government region experienced (a) mental and behavioural and (b) physical disorders in each year since 1997, broken down by type of disorder. [124081]

Mrs. McGuire: The available information has been placed in the Library.

Jobcentre Plus

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to answer of 8 November 2006, Official Report, column 1630W, on Jobcentre Plus, what methodology the Department used to generate the estimates. [124090]

Mrs. McGuire: Forecasts of incapacity benefits are constructed by extending historic patterns in benefit on-flows and off-flows into the future. Events such as entering the benefit, moving between rates, gaining additional entitlements and leaving the benefit are simulated on the basis past trends examined by age and gender. Assumptions covering these events give rise to a predicted future caseload.

Jobseekers Allowance: Disqualification

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) fixed and (b) varied length referrals were made to jobseeker’s allowance claimants in each quarter since 1997; and how many of each type of referral resulted in a benefit sanction being imposed in each quarter. [123581]

Mr. Plaskitt [holding answer 26 February 2007]: Jobseeker’s allowance sanctions information is not available prior to April 2000. The available information is in the tables.

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Number of referrals made for fixed length sanctions on jobseeker’s allowance; Great Britain
Quarter ending, in which decision was made	Number of referrals	Number of referrals which resulted in a sanction
April-May 2000	11,120	5,650
August 2000	16,610	8,380
November 2000	17,930	8,470
February 2001	17,140	8,330
May 2001	17,890	8,620
August 2001	17,790	8,380
November 2001	17,160	7,790
February 2002	15,250	7,040
May 2002	18,480	8,530
August 2002	18,480	8,630
November 2002	17,550	8,250
February 2003	15,540	7,660
May 2003	16,590	8,250
August 2003	16,890	8,530
November 2003	15,900	7,760
February 2004	14,340	7,010
May 2004	14,470	7,170
August 2004	15,390	7,580
November 2004	15,430	7,530
February 2005	13,840	7,020
May 2005	15,120	7,680
August 2005	14,500	7,520
November 2005	13,590	7,040
February 2006	13,310	6,960
May 2006	15,700	8,340
August 2006	17,020	8,750

Number of referrals made for variable length sanctions on jobseeker’s allowance; Great Britain
Quarter ending, in which decision was made	Number of referrals	Number of referrals which resulted in a sanction
April-May 2000	75,350	18,090
August 2000	124,530	29,070
November 2000	127,780	28,480
February 2001	117,740	28,320
May 2001	117,160	29,140
August 2001	122,310	29,990
November 2001	113,330	28,230
February 2002	102,750	26,230
May 2002	114,480	29,700
August 2002	114,580	30,080
November 2002	121,200	31,290
February 2003	106,920	28,480
May 2003	95,710	26,520
August 2003	88,410	24,500
November 2003	89,840	23,890
February 2004	87,120	23,340
May 2004	84,470	23,200
August 2004	82,340	22,120
November 2004	83,000	21,320
February 2005	74,130	19,690
May 2005	76,000	20,620
August 2005	71,590	19,190
November 2005	68,770	17,950
February 2006	61,630	16,000
May 2006	64,370	16,080
August 2006	59,790	14,730
Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Information Directorate: JSA Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database; data are cumulative from April 2000 to current data extract date.

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Lone Parents: Employment

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what evidence his Department has collected on the barriers to work for lone parents with children aged over 11. [126364]

Mr. Jim Murphy: A large majority of lone parents say that they want to work. We want to provide lone parents with the help and support to enable them to do so. We understand that in order to do this we need to address the barriers that lone parents face in returning to work. The Department collects a range of evidence on the choices and constraints faced by lone parents in
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making decisions about paid work. Many of these have also been raised in two independent reviews by Lisa Marker and David Freud. We will need to consider these reports carefully before we move ahead.

New Deal

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of new deal leavers entered sustained, unsubsidised jobs in each year since the scheme began. [111293]

Mr. Jim Murphy: The available information is in the following table.

	Percentage of leavers to sustained unsubsidised employment from new deal
	New deal for young people	New deal 25 plus	New deal for lone parents
1998	51	—	9
1999	45	—	20
2000	43	—	31
2001	42	32	35
2002	40	28	35
2003	40	27	31
2004	39	30	30
2005	34	28	28
Notes: 1. Years are calendar years. 2. Latest complete year information is to December 2005. 3. The percentages in the table are calculated from all those who leave the programme, regardless of whether they directly enter employment. 4. A person is defined as leaving new deal for young people and new deal 25 plus to sustained, unsubsidised, employment if they do not return to claim jobseeker’s allowance within 13 weeks. 5. Information for leavers from new deal 25 plus is only available from April 2001 onwards. 6. A person is defined as leaving new deal for lone parents to sustained, unsubsidised, employment if they have gained a job that lasts at least 13 weeks, as measured within the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. 7. A measure of sustainability is not available for new deal for partners and new deal 50 plus. 8. Although a measure of sustainability is available for new deal for disabled people (NDDP), information is not available on whether the immediate destination of leavers from NDDP is to sustained, unsubsidised, employment. 9. Start dates for each programme are: New Deal for Young People: January 1998; New Deal 25 Plus: July 1998; New Deal for Lone Parents: October 1998. Source: Information Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions.

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