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6 Oct 2008 : Column 62W—continued
EDF Energy
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what contracts (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have with EDF; and how much (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies paid to EDF in each of the last 10 years, broken down by the purpose of the payment. [221835]
Mrs. McGuire:
Contracts with EDF for the supply of electricity are managed on behalf of the Department by its estates partner Land Securities Trillium. These contracts
are additional to the main suppliers for energy and are generally legacy arrangements for supply of electricity or meter operating activities, where it has been necessary for the Department to occupy additional premises. The supply for these sites is being transferred from EDF to our main providers as the contracts expire. The following table provides details of the amounts paid to EDF for electricity supplies and charges for meter services since 1998. It is not possible to provide separate figures for electricity supplies and meter service charges nor to separate out the payments made by the Department and its agencies.
| £ | |
Employment and Support Allowance: Radiotherapy
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the operation of the employment and support allowance will include criteria relating to those experiencing the side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. [221919]
Mr. Timms: Claimants receiving intravenous, intraperitoneal or intrathecal chemotherapy or recovering from that treatment, will be automatically treated as having limited capability for work and so be entitled to employment and support allowance without the need to undertake a work capability assessment. These claimants will also be automatically treated as having limited capability for work-related activity and so will be placed in the support group for employment and support allowance and receive a higher rate of that benefit.
Claimants receiving radiotherapy will also be treated as having limited capability for work in any week when they are having treatment or recovering from treatment.
Claimants undergoing other forms of chemotherapy, or who are between courses of radiotherapy, will have their entitlement to employment and support allowance individually assessed on the basis of the effect their illness or treatment has on their physical or mental function. Depending on the severity of those effects they may be assessed as being entitled to the work-related component or the support component of employment and support allowance.
European Social Fund: Trade Unions
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much each UK trade union, and its subsidiary, received from the European Social Fund in the last period for which figures are available. [222317]
Mr. Plaskitt: In 2000-07, the Trades Union Congress received £13.16 million from the European Social Fund in England to deliver 41 employment and skills projects. The Department does not hold information on funding for individual trade unions.
Incapacity Benefit
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of awards for (a) non-means tested incapacity benefit and (b) income support on grounds of incapacity for work have been made to those who are terminally ill in the last three years. [224030]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 17 September 2008]: Information about the proportion of income support claimants that are terminally ill is not available. The available information is in the following table.
| Proportion of incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claimants who are terminally ill | |
| Quarter ending | As a total caseload (percentage) |
| Notes: 1. All incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance awards are non-means tested; figures include national insurance contributions only cases. 2. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation. 3. The ‘terminally ill’ category comes from an indicator on the incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance data; no such indicator exists on the income support data. 4. The best statistics on benefits are now derived from 100 per cent. data sources. However, the 5 per cent. sample data still provide some detail not yet available from the 100 per cent. data sources. 5. Caseload figures have been uprated in line with WPLS 100 per cent. data and rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding. Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate, 5 per cent. sample | |
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of recipients of non-means tested incapacity benefit are awarded income support in addition to incapacity benefit due to qualification for the (a) disability and (b) enhanced disability premium. [224156]
James Purnell: Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance are wholly non-means tested benefits. The available information is in the table.
| Proportions of incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claimants that are also in receipt of the disability premium and enhanced disability premium elements of income support | ||
| Percentage | ||
| Disability premium | Both disability and enhanced disability premiums | |
| Note: 1. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Source: DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent. WPLS. | ||
Incapacity Benefit: Applications
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many new claims for non-means tested incapacity benefit were awarded to (a) single persons aged under 35, (b) single persons aged 35 to 44, (c) single persons aged 35 to 65, (d) couples in which the claimant was aged under 35, (e) couples in which the claimant was aged 35 to 44 and (f) couples in which the claimant was aged 35 to 65 in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [224026]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 17 September 2008]: Details of partners are recorded in cases where an increase is paid for a dependant adult who is caring for a child, or where the spouse is aged 60 or over. Information is not otherwise available on those claimants who have a partner.
The available information is in the following table.
| New incapacity benefit claims in the 12 months to November 2007 | ||
| Single | With a partner | |
| Notes: 1. Incapacity benefit is not means-tested. 2. The best statistics on benefits are now derived from 100 per cent. data sources. However, the 5 per cent. sample data still provide some detail not yet available from the 100 per cent. data sources. 3. Figures are subject to a high degree of sampling error and should only be used as a guide. 4. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 5. New claimant figures for the latest available quarter. (February 2008) do not include any late notifications, and have therefore not been used. Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate, 5 per cent. sample | ||
Income Support: Disabled
Chris Grayling:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many new claims of income support on the grounds of incapacity for work for which the claimant qualified for the enhanced disability premium from the start of the claim were awarded to (a) single persons aged under 35, (b) single persons aged 35 to 44, (c) single persons aged 35 to 65, (d)
couples with claimant aged under 35, (e) couples with claimant aged 35 to 44 and (f) couples with claimant aged 35 to 65 in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available. [223941]
James Purnell: The requested information is not available.
Income Support: Mortgages
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many home owners in proceedings relating to repossession have applied for income support for mortgage interest in the last two years. [222396]
Mr. Plaskitt: The requested information is not available.
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent (a) discussions and (b) joint working there has been with (i) the Department for Communities and Local Government and (ii) HM Treasury on income support for mortgage interest in relation to changes in the economic performance of the housing market. [222397]
Mr. Plaskitt: We continue to work jointly with other Government Departments to consider how best we can support the minority of borrowers who may be facing difficulties.
Jobcentres: Kilburn
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects the impact assessment on the closure of the Kilburn Jobcentre Plus office to be completed; and if he will make a statement. [221764]
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.
The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your question asking when he expects the impact assessment on the closure of Kilburn Jobcentre Plus to be completed. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
As part of our continuing national review of Jobcentres, a proposal was put forward to close six Jobcentre Plus offices in London. Kilburn Jobcentre Plus was one. The review is a consequence of the development of alternative channels for our customers to access our services and the subsequent reduction in the number of customers who need to visit a Jobcentre.
In addition, there has been a shift towards a more individualised service for our most disadvantaged customers delivered in partnership with the private and voluntary sectors. This has increased outreach work, for example in Children's Centres and partnership with providers, particularly private sector led New Deal and Pathways to Work which are provided outside of our office network.
A seven week consultation exercise took place between 3 March and 18 April 2008 with a range of stakeholders. This included the completion of a Diversity Impact Assessment. We are considering the feedback from the consultation before making a recommendation to Ministers on the closure of Kilburn Jobcentre Plus.
Should a decision to close Kilburn Jobcentre be made, the Diversity Impact Assessment will be published on the Jobcentre Plus website.
Jobcentres: North East
Mr. Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much is planned to be spent on local Jobcentre Plus centres in the North East region over the next 12 months for the provision of access to online job-search facilities and one to one advice. [222632]
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.
The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your question asking how much is planned to be spent on local Jobcentre Plus centres in the North East region over the next 12 months for the provision of access to online job-search facilities and one to one advice. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The requested information is not available.
Online job-search facilities are available in each of our 45 Jobcentre Plus offices in the North East region via “Jobpoints”. In the year to June 2007 which is the most recent figure available, the contract with our local IT supplier to maintain the Jobpoints cost the Agency £230,897. Jobsearch facilities are also available via the internet. However, this is a national service and cannot be broken down by region. This year's financial allocation for staffing in the North East Region's Jobcentres is £49.4m to March 2009. This includes £17,227,212 for Personal Advisors and £5,334,184 for staff providing regular face to face support during fortnightly job reviews. I am unable to provide you with a separate figure for one to one advice.
Customers are now using our Jobcentres differently. More of our face-to-face customer contact is on an appointment basis and information on job vacancies is readily available by telephone and the internet. This enables staff in our offices to focus on those customers in greatest need of support to return to work.
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