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26 Mar 2008 : Column 177W—continued


Work and Pensions

Child Support Agency: Payments

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals received consolatory payments from (a) his Department, (b) the Child Support Agency, (c) Jobcentre or Jobcentre Plus, (d) the Disability and Carers Service, (e) the Pension Service, (f) the Rent Service and (g) the Debt Management Service in each year since 1997; what the average value of payments made in each year was; and how much was paid in consolatory payments in each year in each case. [185931]

Mr. Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the tables.

Consolatory payments made by DWP
Total value of payments (rounded to nearest £000) Number of individual awards made( 1)

2006-07

850,000

11,389

2005-06

822,000

11,435

2004-05

752,000

10,946

2003-04

557,000

7,248

2002-03

773,000

9,725

2001-02

835,000

9,811

2000-01

758,000

7,553

1999-2000

575,000

5,211

1998-99

664,000

4,645



26 Mar 2008 : Column 178W
Consolatory payments made by DWP agencies
Total value of payments (rounded to nearest £000) Number of individual awards made( 1)

2006-07

TPS

43,000

509

JCP

109,000

1265

DCS

25,000

272

CSA

666,000

9,194

2005-06

TPS

38,000

414

JCP

125,000

1,294

DCS

35,000

323

CSA

608,000

9,208

2004-05

TPS

38,000

511

JCP

96,000

993

DCS

29,000

322

CSA

582,000

8,998

2003-04

TPS

23,000

304

JCP

90,000

932

DCS

24,000

289

CSA

407,000

5,561

2002-03

TPS

14,000

150

JCP

60,000

667

DCS

33,000

377

CSA

661,000

8,443

2001-02

BA

83,000

849

CSA

696,000

8,320

2000-01

BA

72,000

737

CSA

654,000

6,336

1999-2000

BA

82,000

682

CSA

485,000

4,469

1998-99

BA

80,000

300

CSA

565,000

4,235

( 1 ) Notes:
1. The Department has three main categories of consolatory payments. Where a person is found to have suffered gross inconvenience, embarrassment or severe distress as a result of maladministration a consolatory payment is made. Each case is judged on its individual merits and an award is made, as applicable, for each of these categories.
2. The Department does not retain details of the number of individuals who receive consolatory payments. Records are retained of the number of awards made under each of the above categories. Where, for example, a customer receives an initial award based on an early examination of a complaint he may later receive additional awards as a result of further investigation or under one of the other categories. The number of awards made therefore exceeds the number of individuals concerned.
3. The first table shows the entire sum awarded as consolatory payments by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and its predecessor, the Department of Social Security (DSS). The figures include those paid by agencies that were part of the Department at the relevant time.
4. The Pension Service, Jobcentre Plus and the Disability and Carers Service were formed in 2002, prior to this they were part of the Benefits Agency (BA).
5. Debt Management is not an Executive agency of DWP. A consolatory payment awarded because of maladministration by Debt Management is awarded by Jobcentre Plus.
6. The Rent Service (TRS) was formed in October 1999 as an Executive agency of the Department of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. TRS became an executive agency of the Department for Work and Pensions in June 2001. The Rent Service has not made any consolatory payments.

26 Mar 2008 : Column 179W

Departmental Disclosure of Information

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action has been taken in response to allegations of a breach of the Civil Service Code in respect of unauthorised publication of material on the internet by a member of his Department; what the cost to the public purse of this action has been; what the results were; and if he will make a statement. [196178]

Mrs. McGuire: The Department takes any allegation of a breach of the civil service code seriously. It would be inappropriate to comment on any investigation or disciplinary procedure.

Departmental ICT

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) mobile telephones, (b) personal digital assistants and (c) laptop computers issued to departmental staff were reported (i) lost, (ii) missing and (iii) stolen in each year since 2001. [184318]

Mrs. McGuire: The following table shows the numbers of (a) mobile telephones (b) personal digital assistants (PDAs), and (c) laptop computers which were issued to departmental staff and were reported as stolen, lost, or missing (presumed to be stolen) since 2001, together with the average number of staff in each year. The records do not differentiate between those items which were reported as lost, stolen or missing, respectively.

Total number of staff Mobile phones PDAs Laptops

2001

(1)86,806

1

0

23

2002

124,117

3

0

42

2003

131,409

30

0

42

2004

130,786

34

1

75

2005

126,988

31

0

46

2006

119,972

15

0

28

2007

114,500

14

19

15

(1 )Figure relates to the former Department of Social Security only.

Employment: Rural Areas

Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the proposals contained in the Green Paper, In Work Better Off: Next steps to full employment on rural communities; by what process such an assessment was reached; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that rural communities receive in equitable benefit from the implementation of any proposals arising out of the Green Paper. [192824]

Mr. Timms: Most Department of Work and Pensions policies and programmes are aimed at individuals, with eligibility dependent on personal circumstances rather than where they live. This means that even without specific targeting the help provided by the Department is concentrated in areas facing labour market disadvantage. Over the last ten years, the biggest labour market improvements have been in the areas that started in the worst position.


26 Mar 2008 : Column 180W

In addition to national programmes there is also a range of locally flexible support, such as the Jobcentre Plus Adviser Discretion Fund, the Deprived Areas Fund and the new Working Neighbourhoods Fund.

When determining how to deliver its services, Jobcentre Plus also considers the implications for rural and other areas. For example, support is provided not only through the Jobcentre network but also by telephone through the Contact Centre and Benefit Delivery Centre network as well as the internet. This allows all customers to access key services regardless of where they live. Where there are issues about the ability of customers to access Jobcentre Plus support, provision can be made for additional or more flexible arrangements. These include the installation of jobpoints in libraries, surgeries in third party premises, partnering in local authority outlets and, where practical, some mobile services.

Taken together, the Department's approach helps to ensure that individuals in deprived communities across the country are able to get the help and support they need to move back into work. However, our new generation of employment programmes, including Pathways to Work and the flexible New Deal, will offer further scope for provision to be tailored to the needs of individuals in different geographical locations and those facing particular labour market challenges.

On 13 December 2007, we published ‘Ready for work: full employment in our generation’ which sets out the measures the Government will take to reach the goals of an 80 per cent. employment rate and working people with world class skills. The paper responds to the ‘In work, better off’ consultation exercise which ran from July to October 2007. A full assessment of the effects of those measures will be carried out as part of post-implementation evaluation.

A key feature of the measures is the need to provide more flexible, responsive and individually focused employment and skills support. For example, by extending our use of private and voluntary sector organisations we will be making use of their knowledge of the challenges faced by particular groups or localities. They will be able to provide the right kind of support to individuals based on their particular circumstances, which could include issues related to where they live. Each contract will be evaluated as to its effectiveness throughout the duration of that contract.


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