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26 Nov 2007 : Column 134W—continued
Departmental Flexible Working
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff (a) have applied to work flexible hours and (b) work flexible hours (i) in the Department and (ii) the executive agencies for which the Department is responsible. [164329]
Mrs. McGuire: For the last full year for which headcount statistics are held (year ending 31 December 2006), 41,187 (33.9 per cent.) of employees in the Department for Work and Pensions, and its executive agencies, worked part-time. Included within that figure are employees taking advantage of the various options available to employees to assist their work/life balance—term-time working, compressed working weeks, job sharing, and home working, in addition to what is normally regarded as part-time working. We do not collect the figures for those who have applied to work part-time.
The Department has in place a process which allows parents, adopters, guardians or foster carers of children under six years of age or of disabled children under the age of 18, and for carers of adults, to apply to work flexibly in line with legislation. It additionally accepts requests from any employee with over 26 weeks in the Department who wishes to apply to work a flexible working pattern. Any employee with over 26 weeks in the Department may apply to change working pattern twice a year.
Flexible start and finish times are offered by all businesses within the Department, with the details of each scheme being tailored to their business requirements. Employees and their managers are thus able to accommodate informal arrangements where the
needs of the Department and the individual can both be accommodated, without the need for recording a formal change to working pattern.
Departmental NDPBs
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) budget and (b) remit is of each non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department; who the chairman is of each; and to what salary, including bonuses and expenses, each chairman is entitled. [163613]
Mrs. McGuire: The information requested with regard to the non-departmental public bodies sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions can be found on the Department's internet site at the following location
Departments: Disabled
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 29 October 2007, Official Report, columns 784-9W, on departments: disabled, where the information on which of the buildings of which his Department is the major occupier are fully accessible to disabled people is held; and how many of the buildings of which his Department is the major occupier have had audits to determine whether they are fully accessible to disabled people. [163968]
Mrs. McGuire: Accessibility audits were commissioned in 2004 for all of the 1,191 buildings where my Department is the major occupier. The resultant national programme of works to improve access for disabled people was completed in 2006. Building accessibility is subject to review annually. Information on building accessibility is held at individual site level.
Departments: Official Hospitality
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will break down the figures referred to in the answer of 23 October 2007, Official Report, column 237W, on Departments: official hospitality, giving the amount spent on each function at which hospitality expenses were incurred. [162194]
Mrs. McGuire: The information requested is not available centrally in the format requested and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.
Jobcentre Plus: Advisory Services
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of advice given by Jobcentre Plus that was provided (a) face-to-face, (b) by letter, (c) online and (d) by telephone in the last period for which figures are available. [163580]
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 hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Leslie Strathie, dated 26 November 2007:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning what estimate has been made of the proportion of advice given by Jobcentre Plus that was provided face to face, by letter, online and by telephone in the last period for which figures are available. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
I have not made an estimate of the proportion of advice provided by Jobcentre Plus face to face, by letter, online or by telephone. This information is not routinely collected and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what steps his Department takes to monitor how Jobcentre Plus personal advisers spend their working time; and if he will make a statement; [163582]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effect of diary support officers on the amount of time that personal advisers at Jobcentre Plus are able to spend with clients. [163590]
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 hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Lesley Strathie , dated 26 November 2007:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about the steps being taken to monitor how Jobcentre Plus personal advisers spend their working time and what assessment has been made of the effect of diary support officers on the amount of time that personal advisers at Jobcentre Plus are able to spend with clients. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Jobcentre Plus monitors the use of personal advisers working time with an internal tool— the Adviser Achievement Tool.
The Adviser Achievement Tool sets national benchmark levels on the number of interviews expected and activities that should take place in these interviews. Advisers who do not meet the minimum standards must agree an Adviser Improvement Plan with their manager. The plan records appropriate, specific, timebound actions the adviser will take, with support from their manager, to improve their performance.
In September 2006 Jobcentre Plus put in place a new Advisory Services Model to support Personal Advisers, which introduced the Diary Administrative Support Officer job role.
A review of the new Advisory Services Model concluded that its introduction has led to better support for Personal Advisers and freed up time to spend with customers. As an example, Personal Advisers’ telephones are now routinely transferred to Diary Administrative Support officers during interviews to minimise interruptions.
The clearest indication that the new Advisory Services model is working can be seen in the increased Advisory productivity rates. End of year performance to 2006/07 indicated an increase from 28 to 30 interviews per week per adviser.
I hope this is helpful.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what training is provided to Jobcentre Plus personal advisers to enable them to meet the demands of clients with unusual or distinct needs. [163587]
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 hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Leslie Strathie, dated 26 November 2007:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning what training is provided to Jobcentre Plus personal advisers to enable them to meet the demands of clients with unusual or distinct needs. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Jobcentre Plus has a comprehensive programme of blended learning designed to equip advisers with the full range of knowledge and skills required to support all customers. Our training package provides the adviser with the key knowledge and skills to interview customers and enable them to work effectively with specific customer groups, for example, lone parents, and people who are sick or have a disability.
In addition, those advisers who work with disabled customers receive additional training to equip them with the necessary skills to support the most disadvantaged, disabled customers move towards sustained employment.
I hope this is helpful.
National Insurance: Elderly
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) women aged 60 and over and (b) men aged 65 and over will have accrued 30 years national insurance contributions before April 2010. [164651]
Mr. Plaskitt: The latest information available indicates that at the end of the financial year 2003-04 there were around 60,000 women and around 10,000 men between state pension age and age 80 who had accrued exactly 30 qualifying years for basic state pension.
Notes:
1. Figures refer to people who are estimated to be resident in the UK in 2003-04.
2. Entitlement to basic state pension depends on a number of factors including the number of qualifying years accrued, Home Responsibilities Protection and the spouse’s contribution record.
3. Detailed information is not available for people aged 80 and over due to archiving of records from the National Insurance Recording System.
Source:
Lifetime Labour Market Database 2, 2003-04
Older Workers
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what form the 50+ face-to-face guidance work options pilot project is expected to take; [164384]
(2) how many people aged 50 years will be consulted by each of the six contractors participating in the 50+ face-to-face guidance work options pilot project. [164385]
Caroline Flint:
The pilot will look at innovative ways of encouraging people to seek information when they are thinking about how and when to retire as well as making use of flexible working options to help them remain in work or work for longer. It will test different communication methods depending on the geographical area and population and will focus on the delivery of
face-to-face guidance tailored to the particular needs of the individual. The contractors will use their knowledge of the local labour market, employers, and other organisations in the local area to design and test out different formats.
In addition, this will test how many people aged 50 and over will be attracted to take up the guidance on offer by each of the contractors. We will be closely monitoring levels of participation generated by each of the contractors.
Pension Credit: Overpayments
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many overpayments there were of pension credits in each of the last three years; what the average sum involved was; and how much has been or is expected to be recouped from the executors of deceased pension credits claimants. [Official Report, 3 March 2008, Vol. 472, c. 21MC.] [163335]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 13 November 2007]: The information relating to the volumes and average value of all pension credit overpayments identified in the last three years are in the following table:
| Volume | Average value (£) | |
The large increase in overpayments identified in 2006-07 reflects the Department’s effort in improving the management and recovery of overpayments and in reducing error in the benefits system, including the identification and removal of error from the pension credit caseload. The increase in average value in 2006-07 is due to the priority attached to tackling high value error and the fact that overpayments identified could have existed since the introduction of pension credit in October 2003.
Information relating to how much has been recovered from executors of deceased pension credit claimants is only available from 2006, and is in the following table. Information relating to how much is expected to be recouped is not available.
| Amount recovered (£) | |
Pensions: Financial Assistance Scheme
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Financial Assistance Scheme has paid out to members of pension schemes wound up before 6 April 2005 with insufficient funds to cover all entitlements since its inception; and if he will make a statement. [167151]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Financial Assistance Scheme has paid out a total of £10,244,178 to 3,243 members of qualifying schemes as of 16 November 2007.
Population
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the percentage change in the working age population was in each year since 1977; and what the size of the working age population was in (a) 1977, (b) 1997 and (c) 2006. [167625]
Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 26 November 2007:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question regarding the percentage change in the working age population in each year since 1997, and what the size of the working age population was in a) 1977, b) 1997 and c) 2006 (167625).
The attached table shows the working age population and the percentage change for the years requested. The latest population estimates available are for mid-2006.
| Table 1: Working age population( 1) of England and Wales and annual percentage change | ||
| Mid-year | Working age population( 1) | Percentage change from previous year |
| (1) Working age population is 16-59 for females and 16-64 for males. Note: Data are rounded to the nearest 1,000. Source: Office for National Statistics | ||
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