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25 Jun 2007 : Column 478Wcontinued
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claiming jobseekers allowance remain unemployed as a result of refusing jobs on grounds of (a) conscientious and (b) religious objections. [144093]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many claimants of income-based jobseekers allowance have (a) working and (b) non-working partners; [145926]
(2) how many claimants of contribution-based jobseekers allowance have (a) working and (b) non-working partners. [145927]
Mr. Plaskitt: Information on Jobseekers Allowance claimants who have partners with full-time earnings is not available. The available information is in the tables.
Income Based Jobseekers Allowance claimants November 2006 | |
Number | |
Claimants with a partner who does not have part-time earnings recorded |
Mr. David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what restrictions are placed on the ability to claim jobseeker's allowance of an individual undertaking voluntary work; [144808]
(2) what steps his Department has taken to encourage individuals on jobseeker's allowance to undertake voluntary work which benefits their local community. [144809]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide my hon. Friend with the information requested.
Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 25 June 2007:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions concerning individuals undertaking voluntary work who wish to claim jobseeker's allowance (JSA). This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The Department recognises that not only does voluntary work make an invaluable contribution to society and local communities, but it can also help improve an individual's readiness for employment. In particular, those jobseekers who have been away from the labour market for some time will find a period of voluntary work not only develops important skills but also helps develop behaviours valuable to prospective employers.
For these reasons, arrangements are in place to ensure benefit recipients are not discouraged from undertaking voluntary work. Volunteers receiving any benefits can continue to perform their voluntary activity for as many hours as they wish, without affecting their benefit entitlement in any way. For JSA recipients, this is subject to the underlying conditions for JSA being met. These conditions include:
being available for, and
actively seeking work each week; and
having a Jobseeker's Agreement in force.
JSA recipients are required to be able to take up employment immediately of up to 40 hours per week. Jobcentre Plus arrangements, however, provide an important exception to this rule for people undertaking voluntary work. These volunteers must be willing and able to take up employment on being given one weeks notice and to attend a job interview within 48 hours. These arrangements allow volunteers to continue to receive benefits while being engaged in voluntary work.
In addition, Jobcentre Plus advisers treat involvement in voluntary work as one of the steps a jobseeker can take to improve their chance of securing work. The steps are recorded on the Jobseeker's Agreement, used to monitor jobsearch activities and to inform any additional help that the jobseeker may require.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of people were living in households with (a) below the (i) mean, (ii) mode and (iii) median averages of income in each year since 1992 and (b) below 60 per cent. of each of those averages of income. [136108]
Mr. Jim Murphy [holding answer 8 May 2007]: The available information is in the following tables.
Information on the modal income cannot be provided as effectively everyone has different incomes.
The median is the middle value of the incomei.e. there are 50 per cent. of the population above the line and 50 per cent. below the line.
For our income child poverty threshold we take the value of 60 per cent. of this medianthe fact that we have cut this means that we have moved children from below 60 per cent. of median income to over this threshold.
The mean income is the average of all individuals and is much higher than the median, this is because of the very high incomes at the top of the income distribution moving the average upwards; the mean is largely driven by the highest incomes.
By contrast, fraction-of-median poverty lines are unaffected by the highest incomes. Instead they focus,
as is appropriate for a poverty measure, on the gap between the poorest and typical families, so they are very clearly measures of poverty rather than inequality.
Table 1: People living in households below mean income: Before H ousing C osts | ||
Number (million) | Percentage | |
Source: Family Resources Survey. |
Table 2: People living in households below 60 per cent. mean income: Before H ousing C osts | ||
Number (million ) | Percentage | |
Notes: 1. Data are for Great Britain up to 2001-02 and for the United Kingdom from 2002-03 onwards because the Family Resources Survey did not collect Northern Ireland data until 2002-03. 2. Figures are based on OECD equalisation factors and therefore will not be the same as any figures previously published that were based on McClements equivalisation factors. Source: Family Resources Survey. |
Table 3: People living in households below median income: Before H ousing C osts | ||
Number (million ) | Percentage | |
Source: Family Resources Survey |
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