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25 Oct 2007 : Column 532W—continued
Financial Assistance Scheme: Compensation
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Financial Assistance Scheme has paid out in compensation to qualifying members. [159626]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: As at 12 October 2007 the Financial Assistance Scheme has paid out a total of £9,478,123 (gross).
Fuel Poverty
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to tackle long-term fuel poverty. [160362]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department for Work and Pensions is working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, the energy industry, and the voluntary sector to tackle fuel poverty in the UK. Warm Front grants, benefit entitlement checks and the reduction of VAT on fuel has helped many customers not only have an increase in benefit, but also more energy efficient homes which result in lower fuel bills.
The Department is responsible for the winter fuel payment which pays most households £200 where someone is over 60, and £300 if the household includes someone aged 80 or over. In addition, Pension credit is playing a major roll in delivering substantial increases in income to pensioners with only modest savings or occupational pensions. The Pension Service Local Service carry out a benefit check as part of their interviews and refer customers to Warm Front if appropriate.
The Department is also assisting in the reduction in fuel poverty through its work in tackling child poverty. By promoting the Government aim to provide employment opportunities for all, with work for those that can and support for those who cannot, Jobcentre Plus has assisted in the significant reduction of children in low-income households.
Industrial Health and Safety: Formaldehyde
Mr. Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Government has undertaken an impact assessment on the recommendations of the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits to reduce occupational exposure limit values for formaldehyde to 0.2 ppm for 8-hour time weighted average and to 0.4 ppm for short-term exposure limits (up to 15 minutes). [160222]
Mrs. McGuire: The European Commission's Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits (SCOEL) published its final recommendation on occupational exposure limits for formaldehyde in August 2007. The recommendation is currently being considered by the European Commission (Directorate General Employment and Social Affairs) and in the tripartite Working Party on Chemicals in the Workplace.
It has not yet been agreed whether or not formaldehyde will be included in the annex to a third indicative occupational exposure limit values (IOELV) directive or at what level an IOELV for formaldehyde will be set. Once a formal proposal is put forward, the Health and Safety Executive will carry out an impact assessment to estimate the effect on industry of workplace exposure limits set at these levels.
Jobcentre Plus
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2007, Official Report, columns 2368-9W, on Jobcentre Plus, whether an investigation was conducted on the performance of Jobcentre Plus districts against their points profile; and if he will make a statement. [159830]
Caroline Flint: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the right hon. Gentleman with the information requested.
Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 25 October 2007:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about whether an investigation was conducted into the performance of Jobcentre Plus districts against their Job Outcome Target (JOT) profiles. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Jobcentre Plus maintains a close watch on all of its targets and is acutely aware of the importance of JOT as a measure of its performance in helping customers move into work. Jobcentre Plus has made significant efforts to improve its understanding of how to manage JOT and has taken a number of steps to address the shortfall in performance both at national and district levels. It may be helpful if I explain some of these initiatives.
Together with DWP, Jobcentre Plus developed Key Management Indicators (KMIs) to help ensure that staff deliver required work focused interviews for our key customer groups at the right time. These KMIs were subsequently reviewed and, for 2007-08, developed into a new Interventions Delivery Target (IDT) to give an even sharper focus to the timely delivery of work-focused support. In addition, an adviser achievement tool was developed to help ensure interventions were the right quality and properly targeted, with appropriate job submissions.
Recent research published on the national evaluation of JOT(1) concluded that, JOT is largely working as intended. In particular, JOT was seen as supporting the trend of encouraging the use of self help channels among customers who were closer to the labour market, and therefore enabling resources to be concentrated more intensively on providing assistance to 'harder to help' groups. JOT was also viewed as influencing more efficient working practices (for example through more effective use of the Adviser Discretionary Fund), an increased willingness of staff to refer customers to provision and improved team working. This research did not specifically look at performance against JOT profiles.
Other performance management actions include establishing a standing JOT Key Performance Group, chaired by a senior operational Director, to review and direct performance management activities. More recently, steps are being taken to develop Local Employment Partnerships (LEPs), expand the use of work trials, and further up-skill advisers and managers in managing JOT performance.
(1) JOT National Evaluation , DWP Research Report 462, October 2007
National Insurance: Lancashire
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many national insurance numbers were issued to non-UK citizens resident in Ribble Valley in each of the last five years. [161384]
Mr. Plaskitt: Information is not available for parliamentary constituencies prior to April 2005 and for local authorities prior to April 2004. The available information is in the following table.
| National insurance number registrations in respect of non-UK nationals in Ribble Valley parliamentary constituency and Ribble Valley local authority | ||
| Year of registration | Ribble Valley constituency | Ribble Valley local authority |
| Notes: 1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Numbers are based on 100 per cent data from the National Insurance Recording System (NIRS). 4. Parliamentary constituency and local authority is assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory. 5. Parliamentary constituency and local authority counts are based on the most recently recorded address of the National Insurance number recipient. Source: 100 per cent sample at 25 June 2005, 17 June 2006 and 14 May 2007 from the National Insurance Recording System (NIRS). | ||
New Deal for Young People: Berkshire
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of participants in the new deal for young people in (a) Reading, (b) Wokingham and (c) Berkshire were repeat participants in the last year for which figures are available. [159509]
Caroline Flint: New deal for young people has helped 1,140 people in the Reading district authority area, 240 people in the Wokingham district authority area and 3,650 people in the county of Berkshire into work since it started in January 1998.
In the period March 2006 to February 2007(1) 31 per cent. of those on the programme in the Reading district authority area, 27 per cent. of those on the programme in the Wokingham district authority area and 27 per cent. of those on the programme in the county of Berkshire(2) were repeat participants.
(1 )Latest available data is to February 2007
(2 )The county of Berkshire consists of the unitary authorities of West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham, Bracknell Forest, Reading, and Slough.
Note:
Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of participants in the new deal for young people in (a) Reading, (b) Wokingham and (c) Berkshire returned to receiving jobseeker’s allowance (i) immediately and (ii) within one year after leaving the new deal in (A) 2006 and (B) 2004. [159511]
Caroline Flint: The available information is in the following table.
| Percentage of new deal for young people (NDYP) participants returning to receive jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) after leaving new deal | ||||||
| 2004 | 2006 | |||||
| Reading | Wokingham | Berkshire | Reading | Wokingham | Berkshire | |
| Notes: 1. The county of Berkshire consists of the unitary authorities of West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham, Bracknell Forest, Reading, and Slough. 2. The number of people who left NDYP to return immediately to JSA in Wokingham in 2004 is too low to calculate a percentage. 3. Complete data are not yet available for the percentage of participants in 2006 who returned to JSA after leaving new deal to be calculated as JSA data are only available to February 2007. 4. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 5. All percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. Source: Information Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions. | ||||||
New Deal for Young People: Forest of Dean
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of participants in the New Deal for Young People in the Forest of Dean district were repeat participants in the last year for which figures are available. [158046]
Caroline Flint: New Deal for Young People has helped 710 people into work in the Forest of Dean District since it started in January 1998. In the period March 2006 to February 2007(1)( )36 per cent. of those on the programme in the Forest of Dean District were repeat participants.
(1) Latest available data.
New Deal for Young People: Jobseekers Allowance
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of participants in the new deal for young people in (a) Pembrokeshire, (b) Wales and (c) the UK returned to receive jobseeker’s allowance (i) immediately and (ii) within one year in (A) 2006 and (B) 2004. [158478]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 16 October 2007]: The available information is in the following table.
Complete data are not yet available to allow the percentage of leavers in 2006 who return to JSA within one year to be calculated as the latest JSA data are available only to February 2007.
New Deal for Young People: Milton Keynes
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of participants in the New Deal for Young People in Milton Keynes unitary authority were repeat participants in the last year for which figures are available. [159206]
Caroline Flint: New Deal for Young People has helped 1,630 people into work in the Milton Keynes local authority area since it started in January 1998. In the period March 2006 to February 2007(1) 36 per cent. of those on the programme in the Milton Keynes local authority area were repeat participants.
(1) Latest available data.
Occupational Pensions
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of the working age population that belonged to an employer-sponsored defined benefit pension scheme in each year since 1997. [159618]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is presented in the following table.
| An estimate of the percentage of the working-age population who belong to an employer-sponsored defined benefit pension scheme by year | |||
| Number in defined benefit scheme( 1) (million) | Working age population ( 2,3) | Percentage of working age population in a defined benefit scheme | |
| (1) Pension scheme membership figures are estimates and are taken from the Occupational Pension Scheme Survey. Data for years 1991, 1995, 2000 and 2004 were produced by the Government Actuary's Department (GAD). Data for 2006 were produced by the Office for National Statistics. 2006 is the latest year published. The coverage of the survey is the UK. (2) Population figures are estimates and are taken from Table 1 of the mid-year population estimates and were produced by the Office for National Statistics. 2006 is the latest year published. (3) The working age population is defined as males aged 16 to 64 and females aged 16 to 59. Note: To be eligible for membership of an occupational pension scheme, including defined benefit schemes, a person must be an employee working for an employer offering such a scheme. | |||
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