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12 Nov 2008 : Column 1249W—continued
Jobcentre Plus provides its employment advisers with general awareness training to enable them to have a broad understanding of various health conditions, including mental health conditions. This knowledge helps the adviser provide better help and support to the customer through recognition of how their condition might affect their job search activities. Jobcentre Plus develops its people in the skills required to manage a range of behaviours demonstrated by customers, regardless of their health condition. This approach ensures that they are better equipped to deal with a diverse set of circumstances and meeting the needs of our customers.
The learning programme for Jobcentre Plus advisers focuses on raising awareness of the customer’s personal circumstances and the impact this might have on their ability to move into sustainable employment. Mental health and depression are covered within an Adviser Skills event which focuses on providing advisers with a broad understanding of conditions. Incapacity Benefit Personal Advisers, and Disability Employment Advisers, who focus on customers needing more extensive support, receive further levels of skills training appropriate to their customers.
Employment: Coastal Areas
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the difference between summer and winter employment rates was in the latest period for which figures are available in (a) Barry, (b) Blackpool, (c) Bognor Regis, (d) Bournemouth, (e) Bridlington, (f) Brighton, (g) Burnham on Sea, (h) Clacton, (i) Conwy, (j) Dawlish/Teignmouth, (k) Deal, (l) Eastbourne, (m) Exmouth, (n) Falmouth, (o) Folkestone/Hythe, (p) Great Yarmouth, (q) Hastings/Bexhill, (r) Ilfracombe, (s) Isle of Wight, (t) Lowestoft, (u) Minehead, (v) Morecambe/Heysham, (w) Newquay, (x) Penzance, (y) Porthcawl, (z) Rhyl, (aa) Scarborough, (bb) Sidmouth, (cc) Skegness, (dd) Southend on Sea, (ee) Southport, (ff) St Ives, (gg) Swanage, (hh) Thanet, (ii) Torbay, (jj) Weston super Mare, (kk) Weymouth, (ll) Whitby, (mm) Whitley Bay, (nn) Whitstable/Herne Bay and (oo) Worthing. [228599]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is not available.
Fit for Work Service
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for a trial of the Fit for Work Service, as referred to in the Green Paper No One Written Off: reforming welfare to reward responsibility. [234845]
Mr. McNulty: We intend to begin piloting the Fit for Work service in locations across Great Britain from 2009.
We will provide further information on the Fit for Work service in the Government’s response to Dame Carol Black’s Review of the health of Britain’s working age population, which will be published later this year.
Industrial Injuries Scheme
Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people successfully claimed industrial injuries benefit due to ill health following the administration of an occupational vaccine in each of the last 25 years; which vaccines were involved in each successful claim; what classification was given to the illness of each successful claimant; and how many of the claims were classed as an (a) industrial injury and (b) industrial accident; [232512]
(2) how many people have made unsuccessful claims for industrial injuries benefits following the administration of an occupational vaccine to them in each of the last 25 years; how many of those people had their claims refused on the grounds that they were studying or training to be qualified for the relevant occupation in each of those years; and which vaccines were cited in the claims in each case. [232513]
Kitty Ussher: The information is not available.
Jobcentre Plus: Manpower
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many personal advisers worked in Jobcentre Plus offices in each month since 2002, broken down by region; and what their total salary cost was in each such month in each region. [231471]
Jonathan Shaw: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many personal advisers worked in Jobcentre Plus offices in each month since 2002, broken down by region; and what their total salary cost was in each such month in each region. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
We are unable to provide information prior to April 2003. I have placed information regarding the number of personal advisers, expressed as full-time equivalents (FTEs) along with the associated total salary costs, by region in each such month since April 2003 in the Library.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Independent Case Examiner plans to reply to the letter of 9 September 2008 from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford on his constituent, Ms J. Wood of Great Leighs, Chelmsford. [235252]
Jonathan Shaw: The letter was not received by the Independent Case Examiner until 10 November 2008. A response was issued the same day.
New Deal for 50 Plus
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many individuals were enrolled in the New Deal 50 Plus programme in each month since its launch; [231828]
(2) how many individuals are enrolled in the New Deal 50 Plus programme. [231829]
Mr. McNulty: The available information on the number of individuals enrolled on the New Deal 50 Plus in each month is in the table.
| New Deal 50 Plus—Starters (Individuals) since January 2004 People starting: Time Series—month of starting | |
| Total | |
| Notes: 1. Definitions and conventions: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Figures may not sum to total due to rounding. 2. Information on the month of starting is available from January 2004 (the programme was introduced in April 2000). The latest data are to May 2008. 3. This information is published at http://83.244.183.180/new_deals/nd50plus/live/tabtool.html 4. Statistics relating to current participants on New Deal 50 Plus are under review and will be released as soon as possible. The available information is in the table. Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate. | |
Poverty: Children
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent assessment is of the Government’s progress towards meeting their targets to reduce child poverty. [234494]
Kitty Ussher: We have lifted 600,000 children out of relative poverty since 1999, and around a further 500,000 will be lifted out of relative poverty as a result of policies already agreed and in the process of being implemented.
We will continue to do everything we can to support low-income families with children. This is why the Prime Minister announced in September that we will enshrine in legislation our commitment to eradicate child poverty by 2020.
Social Security Benefits: Applications
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of support group employment and support allowance claims which last for (a) less than three months, ( b) between three months and one year, (c) between one and two years, (d) between two and three years and (e) more than three years. [224028]
Jonathan Shaw
[holding answer 17 September 2008]: Employment and support allowance was introduced on 27 October 2008. Therefore there have been no outturn data yet. However, estimates have been made, which
show expected claim durations. These figures are not an assessment of the aims or effect of the introduction of the new benefit.
Details of the proportion of people remaining on benefit after particular periods provided in the following table are in line with the cautious and prudent approach to making fiscal projections, where the impact of existing and proposed policies is taken into account once there is robust evidence of their effect, but the impact of new or planned policies is not considered where the evidence is more limited.
The historical data on severely disabled incapacity benefit cases show that they leave benefit very slowly as it takes longer for them to adapt to their conditions. Virtually no one who is severely disabled leaves benefit within three months, though outflows from this group start to rise over time.
| Estimated proportion of employment and support allowance support group claimants remaining on benefit after a particular period of time | |
| Percentage | |
| Notes: 1. Employment and support allowance was introduced on 27 October 2008 and replaces incapacity benefit and income support on the grounds of sickness or disability for new claimants. 2. Estimates do not take into account new or planned policies where evidence is more limited. 3. Estimates are based on the latest available data and are subject to revision as new data become available. 4. Estimates relate to employment and support allowance support group awards for adults of working-age. 5. Estimates are extrapolated from the historic administrative data on survival of the most severely disabled on incapacity benefits. | |
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