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6 Feb 2008 : Column 1223W—continued
From 2005-06 onwards SIA have had a token estimates section of £1,000 as they are financed through receipted fees.
Data cannot be separately identified for ASPI for financial year 2004-05.
The information on the cost of restructurings and the disaggregation of information on the Intelligence Services Commissioner, the Interception of Communications Commissioner, the Monitor of Accommodation Centres, the Race Monitor and the Certification Monitor could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Details of any restructuring within other bodies can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Trade Unions
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings she has had with trades union officials since 1 July 2007; on what dates; and with which trades unions. [179870]
Mr. Byrne: Ministers meet many people as part of the process of policy development. It is not normal practice to disclose details of such meetings.
Visas
Mr. Wareing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to expedite the processing of visa applications for those wishing to attend the 2012 Olympic Games; and what additional resources she estimates will be required to deal with the expected rise in the number of applications. [181878]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 28 January 2008]: The handling of visa applications leading up to 2012 forms part of a programme set up by the Border and Immigration Agency to prepare for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. The programme will work with key stakeholders and is looking at the experience of past host nations. It is too early to say what resources will be necessary to deal with the expected increase in visa applications, but a key aim is to ensure the efficient passage of participants, workers and visitors coming to the United Kingdom for the 2012 games while maintaining the security of our Borders.
Work and Pensions
Birthday Cards
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Department has spent on sending birthday messages to people on their 100th birthday in each of the last 10 years. [180142]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Information on how much the Department has spent on sending birthday messages to people on their 100th birthday in each of the last 10 years is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The number of 100th birthday messages sent by the Department in each of the last 10 years is in the table.
| Number of 100th birthday messages sent | |
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the practice of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions sending messages to people on their 100th birthday was introduced. [180143]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The exact information is not available. However, there is evidence that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and its predecessor Departments have been sending congratulatory messages to centenarians for at least the last 30 years.
Child Poverty Unit
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many meetings the Child Poverty Unit has had. [181658]
Mrs. McGuire: The formation of the Child Poverty Unit was announced on 29 October and was established on 12 November. It brings together officials from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Children, Schools and Families who work side by side.
Members of the Unit have had numerous meetings with lobby, think tank and other stakeholders, as well as attending ministerial meetings. In addition, the Unit held a seminar on tackling child poverty in local areas for local authorities and others, hosted a cross-Whitehall Stakeholder Group meeting, and attended the recent Four Countries meeting, hosted by the Scottish Executive.
Departmental Corporate Hospitality
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions he has accepted corporate hospitality in the last 12 months. [171314]
Mrs. McGuire: Chapter 7 of the Ministerial Code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff work in his Department’s parliamentary branch; and what proportion of their time is spent on dealing with (a) Parliamentary Questions and (b) correspondence from hon. Members and Peers. [174958]
Mrs. McGuire: There are 11 staff in the parliamentary branch; four deal exclusively with parliamentary questions. Other staff in the parliamentary branch spend a proportion of their time dealing with parliamentary questions equivalent to approximately 50 per cent. of one post. The parliamentary branch does not deal with correspondence from Members or Peers.
Departmental Standards
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken towards delivering in its business strategy the six Cs of focusing on the customer, developing our culture, continuous improvement, giving customers choice, extending contestability and establishing a clear distinction between commissioning and delivery roles. [179273]
Mrs. McGuire: The Department’s business strategy is now being implemented through a DWP Change Programme. The programme aims to provide more integrated services that better meet the needs of our customers; to give greater choice to our customers on how they can access our services and to support our staff in continuously improving processes using lean techniques, ensuring that they provide what is most important to the customer, while cutting out wasteful activities.
The Department has established a new customer insight function to help us to gain a better understanding of our customers’ needs and provide a more informed basis for our future service design. A number of locations are trialling the use of lean techniques, while other locations are involved in providing more integrated services for customers who move in and out of work. This work is being taken forward in collaboration with local authorities and HMRC. In addition, the Department is improving the services that are available to our customers over the internet.
Departmental Telephone Services
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what contracts his Department has for the provision of call centres outside the UK. [183621]
Mrs. McGuire: My Department has no call centres outside the UK for the provision of its business or internal services.
Employment Schemes: Finance
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was of all Government employment programmes in each year since 1997 for which information is available. [173753]
Mr. Timms: The available information is in the following table.
| Cost of all employment programmes | |
| £ million | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are in nominal terms. 2. Programmes included are: Employment Zones; Working Neighbourhoods Pilot; External Action Teams; Princes Youth Business Trust; Work Based Learning for Adults; European Social Fund; Jobsearch Provision; Incapacity Benefit Reforms; Ambition; Adviser Discretion Fund; Internal Action Teams; Ethnic Minorities Pilot; New Deals; Remploy (see note 6); Work Step; Access to Work; Residential Training Centres; Work Preparation. 3. Not all programmes ran in each year. 4. Information about programme expenditure for Employment Zones, The Prince's Trust, and Working Neighbourhoods is not available prior to 2004-05, and is not included in the figures for earlier years. 5. The figures do not include administration expenditure. 6. Remploy is an executive non-departmental public body, limited by guarantee and, for accounting purposes, a public corporation which publishes its own annual report and accounts and whose net liabilities are guaranteed by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. The Jobcentre Plus payment to Remploy included in the figures in the table represents grant in aid to help meet the additional costs associated with supporting large numbers of disabled people Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Jobcentre Plus, and Employment Service annual reports | |
Employment: Disabled
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the two tick system in guaranteeing a disabled person with appropriate qualifications an interview for an advertised job. [185104]
Mrs. McGuire: No assessment has been made of how many more people have been guaranteed an interview purely as a result of the disability symbol being awarded. However, once the disability symbol has been awarded it is reviewed annually to make sure employers continue to meet the associated commitments.
As part of the award or review process, employers are asked to explain how they apply their commitment to guarantee interviews (internal and external) for disabled customers and how they make the minimum criteria available to applicants. Where concerns are identified, Jobcentre Plus will work with the employer to resolve these and to strengthen their employment practices. Ultimately, if an employer fails to meet any element of their two ticks commitments, the symbol status is withdrawn.
Industrial Health and Safety: Music
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what guidance he gives to employers on the volume of recorded music broadcast in the workplace; and if he will make a statement; [180369]
(2) what legislative provisions are in place governing the volume of recorded music which may be broadcast in the workplace; and if he will make a statement. [180371]
Mrs. McGuire: The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 came into force on 6 April 2006. These regulations require employers to assess the risks to their employees from exposure to noise at work and to reduce these risks to as low a level as is reasonably practicable. The Health and Safety Executive does not provide specific guidance on the volume of recorded music broadcast in the workplace, but HSE’s guidance “Controlling noise at work” (ISBN 0717661644) sets out the regulations and provides general guidance for employers on protecting employees from risks caused by noise at work.
Jobseeker’s Allowance
Chris Grayling:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department may take in cases where people in receipt of jobseeker's
allowance are offered appropriate employment and do not take it. [173754]
Mr. Timms: 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 6 February 2007:
The Secretary of State for Employment and Welfare Reform has asked me to reply to your question about what steps his Department may take in cases where people in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance are offered appropriate employment and do not take it. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Where it appears someone has not done enough to find work or is unreasonably restricting their availability for work, the case is referred to an independent decision maker to see if the customer is entitled to Jobseekers Allowance (JSA). A key part of the JSA labour market intervention process is making sure people are aware of, and making best use of, all vacancy sources, e.g. our telephony based service (Jobseeker Direct) and our on-line Internet Job Bank, both of which provide people with fast and easy access to jobs.
Where it is clear, from discussions with the customer that they are actively seeking work and making best use of appropriate vacancy sources, the issue of refusing employment does not tend to arise. However, where someone has been matched and submitted to a specific job, e.g. at one of the more in-depth interviews everyone has with a personal adviser at key stages or with providers of our mandatory contracted provision, and they refuse the offer, the case will be referred to a decision maker and, where good cause cannot be shown, a benefit sanction is applied.
I hope this reply is helpful and assures you of our intent to make sure Jobseekers Allowance is paid only to those who are looking for work and therefore entitled to payment.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants aged 16 to 24 terminated their claim after five months but before six months of making an initial claim in the latest period for which figures are available; and of those how many returned to JSA within (a) one week, (b) one month, (c) three months, (d) six months and (e) one year of such termination. [173756]
Mr. Timms: The available information is in the following table.
| Number of jobseeker ’ s allowance (JSA) terminations aged 16 to 24, who terminated their claim between five and six months, then flowed back on to JSA | ||||||
| Number of which that flowed on to JSA | ||||||
| Quarter ending | Number of JSA terminations | Within one week | More than a week but less than a month | More than a month but less than three months | More than three months but less than six months | More than six months but less than a year |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Data commences in 2005 to ensure capture of information on people flowing back on to JSA up to 12 months after the termination of their claim. Source: DWP Information Directorate five per cent sample and five per cent. terminations dataset. | ||||||
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