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Disability Discrimination Act

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the (a) one-off and (b) recurring cost of implementing the Disability Discrimination Act 2004 and 2005 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators. [126637]

Mrs. McGuire: There was no Disability Discrimination Act 2004, but on 1 October 2004 we extended the employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to a further 1 million employers and 7 million jobs, including 600,000 in which disabled people were working. From the same date, we extended the duties for service providers and these changes helped to open up more services to around 10 million people in this country who are likely to be protected by the Act.

Regulatory impact assessments of the costs of implementing the duties that came into force in 2004,
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and of implementing the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, are available in the Library of the House.

Disabled Children

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what support his Department gives to low income households with disabled children. [125544]

Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 12 March 2007]: The Department for Work and Pensions provides a range of financial support for low income households with disabled children.

Depending on the circumstances of the parents, support for low income families may come from jobseeker's allowance or income support, both of which include special premia to help meet the additional costs associated with disability.

Disabled children may also be entitled to disability living allowance (DLA), a non-contributory, non-income-related and tax free contribution towards the disability-related extra care and mobility costs of severely disabled people. If a child receives DLA, their parent or carer may also be eligible to claim additional support through carers allowance.

Support is also available from other Government Departments; for example, HM Revenue and Customs are responsible for administering the child tax credit and working tax credit, both of which provide extra help for families that include a disabled child.

Jobcentre Plus: Chorlton

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what average time staff at the Chorlton office of Jobcentre Plus took to process applications to the Social Fund in the last 12 months; [125583]

(2) how many calls to the call centre at the Chorlton office of Jobcentre Plus were (a) answered, (b) missed and (c) intentionally terminated before being answered in each month since January 2006; [125584]

(3) what average time those calling the call centre at the Chorlton office of Jobcentre Plus waited before their call was answered in the last 12 months. [125585]

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.

Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 20 March 2007:


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Days against target

Budgeting Loans

5.85 days against a target of 6 days

Community Care Grants

10.24 days against a target of 9 days

Crisis Loans

1.41 days against a target of 2 days

Funeral Payments

9.87 days against a target of 16 days

Sure Start Maternity Grants

6.48 days against a target of 5 days


Jobcentre Plus: Compensation

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many special payments have been made to customers of Jobcentre Plus in compensation for the poor performance of Jobcentre Plus in each of the last six months for which figures are available; and what the total amount of such special payments was. [119373]

Mr. Jim Murphy [holding answer 6 February 2007]: 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.

Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 20 March 2007:

Special payments
2006 Number of payments Amount Paid (£)

July

439

166,612.23

August

530

161,749.63

September

412

131,224.17

October

350

133,764.22

November

545

229,654.41

December

339

136,258.45


Jobcentre Plus: Norfolk

Mr. Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many crisis loan payments were made from (a) Swaffham and (b) Downham Market Jobcentre Plus branches in each of the last five years. [126239]


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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.

Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 20 March 2007:

Downham Market Swaffham

2004-05

138

71

2005-06

128

78

2006-07

182

237


Mr. Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how far residents of (a) Swaffham and (b) Downham Market will have to travel to their nearest Jobcentre Plus branch if existing branches are closed; and what assessment he has made of the availability of public transport for those journeys. [126249]

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.

Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 20 March 2007:

Transport availability to other jobcentres from Downham Market and Swaffham
Destination Method Distance (miles) Frequency (minutes) Journey time (minutes)

Downham Market

Kings Lynn Jobcentre

Train

12

60

16

Bus

12

30

40-50

Swaffham

Dereham Jobcentre

Bus

14

30

30

Kings Lynn Jobcentre

Bus

17

30

30


Mr. Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the
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profile of customers visiting each of the Jobcentre Plus branches earmarked for closure in Norfolk; [126250]

(2) what services are offered at the (a) Swaffham, (b) Downham Market, (c) Wymondham and (d) Hunstanton Jobcentre Plus branches; and what average number of people used each branch on each day in the last six months. [126257]

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.

Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 20 March 2007:

Average daily number of fortnightly reviews and adviser interviews at Downham Market, Hunstanton, Swaffham and Wymondham Jobcentres
Fortnightly reviews( 1) Adviser interviews( 1)

Downham Market

22

10

Hunstanton

18

6

Swaffham

20

7

Wymondham

45

15

(1) Per day.

Mr. Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff are employed at the Jobcentre Plus branches in (a) Swaffham and (b) Downham Market. [126252]

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.

Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 20 March 2007:


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