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11 Dec 2007 : Column 466W—continued
Housing: Low Incomes
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on (a) advice on and (b) overall implementation of local housing allowance in the nine pathfinder areas. [169088]
Mr. Plaskitt: The Department has paid out around £9.7 million for the overall implementation of the local housing allowance in the nine pathfinder authority areas. This money was for a range of implementation activity. The payments were made at regular intervals to the pathfinder authorities and included funds for money management advice, IT costs, training, communications and advertising.
It is not possible to provide a breakdown of expenditure by each activity.
Jobcentre Plus: Applications
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time taken for Jobcentre Plus to process applications for crisis loans and community care grants was in each of the last five years, broken down by outcome of application. [173402]
Mr. Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to her on 3 December 2007, Official Report, columns 883-84W, for information on average clearance times. We are not able to break down the average clearance times by outcome.
Jobcentre Plus: Telephones
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of calls received from a mobile telephone by (a) the Social Fund and (b) Jobcentre Plus in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of the total number of calls received this represented in each case. [173401]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mel Groves, dated 11 December 2007:
The Secretary of State has asked Lesley Strathie to reply to your question asking what estimate he has made of the number of calls received from a mobile phone by (a) Social Fund (b) Jobcentre Plus in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of the total number of calls received this represented in each case. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Ms Strathie as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus. I am replying in her absence as Acting Chief Executive.
Jobcentre Plus is unable to establish the origin of each call received through any of our telephones. Our telephony systems do not record if a customer's call is made from a land line or mobile phone.
I hope this is helpful.
Jobseeker’s Allowance: Lone Parents
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of the suitability of the procedures for jobseeker's allowance for lone parents; and if he will make a statement. [170680]
Mr. Plaskitt: There are already a number of lone parents who are claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) rather than Income Support who are able to meet the conditions for receipt of JSA and make use of the help available to get back to work.
JSA conditions already have flexibilities with the necessary scope to allow carers, including lone parents, to tailor their availability for work to suit their personal circumstances. These include: changing their pattern of availability during school holidays; limiting availability to a minimum of 16 hours and; being treated as available and actively seeking work if there is a domestic emergency. Each case is judged on its own merit and all the available evidence is considered in reaching a decision. However, these flexibilities are subject to them having a reasonable prospect of finding work and being available for work for at least 16 hours a week.
The impact of these measures and how they can best be tailored to lone parents, were considered in our Green Paper ‘In work, better off: next steps to full employment’ and in the subsequent consultation on its proposals. We will be responding to these in our Green Paper response.
Local Authorities: Equal Opportunities
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department issued to local authorities on the provision of access to disability information services for disabled people. [162800]
Mrs. McGuire: Within my Department the Office for Disability Issues has been working with central and local government and disability organisations to look at how disabled people get information about public services, what they think of it, and how access to that information can be improved.
Two reports were published earlier this year as a result of the project’s work, aimed at communicators and practitioners. One, ‘Improving Information for Disabled People’ summarised the progress that had been made and the other, ‘Five principles for producing better information for disabled people’ set out the five core information principles that have been identified ‘as essential to make sure that services and information are designed and delivered to a high standard.’
The project is continuing to work in partnership with four local authority-led projects in England, Cheshire, North Tyneside, Surrey and Croydon, aimed at improving provision of services locally.
Departmental Relocation
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what relocations are planned by his Department over the next two years; what the current locations of those posts are; and where they are being relocated to. [168961]
Mrs. McGuire: In line with its commitment to the Lyons Review of Public Sector Relocation, as at 31 October 2007 (latest data available) the Department for Work and Pensions had relocated a total of 3,992 full-time equivalent posts from London and the south-east to other parts of the United Kingdom. A further 28 full-time equivalent relocations are planned over the next two years. Details of the planned relocations are set out in the following table.
| Current Location | New Location | Number of Posts |
New Deal for Long Term Unemployed: Employment
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of the entrants to the New Deal 25 plus found sustained employment during (a) the four month Gateway Period and (b) the period
of activity on mandatory options in each year since the inception of the programme; and what percentage of those engaged in each option found sustained employment. [162677]
Caroline Flint: New Deal 25 plus is mandatory for people aged 25 and over who have claimed jobseeker's allowance (JSA) for 18 out of the last 21 months. Participants enter a Gateway of intensive job search and specialist help to improve job prospects which lasts for a maximum of 16 weeks.
Those still claiming JSA at the end of the Gateway take part in the Intensive Activity Period (IAP). This lasts for a minimum of 13 weeks and is designed to give people the skills and experience they need to move into work. IAP provision includes basic employability training, self-employment support, education and training opportunities, and flexible packages of support, which can combine work experience or placements, work-focused training and help with motivation and soft skills. Those still unemployed at the end of the IAP period are referred to the Follow-Through phase of the programme.
The available information requested has been placed in the Library.
New Deal for Young People: Peterborough
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals who participated in new deal for young people in the Peterborough constituency were not in either full-time or part-time work 12 months after completing the scheme in each year since 1998; and if he will make a statement. [170604]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 4 December 2007]: Information is not available on how many individuals who participated in new deal for young people in the Peterborough constituency were not in either full-time or part-time work 12 months after completing the scheme in each year since 1998.
The available information on the immediate destination of leavers from new deal for young people in the Peterborough constituency is in the following tables.
| New deal for young people— immediate destination on leaving, Peterborough parliamentary constituency | ||||||||||
| Percentage | ||||||||||
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | Total | |
| Notes: 1. Latest complete year data are 2006. 2. Immediate destination is measured within two weeks of leaving new deal, using information from the Work and Pensions longitudinal study (WPLS). 3. People recorded as leaving to Employment and Benefits have evidence of both employment and an active benefit. Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate | ||||||||||
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