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19 Nov 2008 : Column 550W—continued
Disability Living Allowance
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who received (a) disability living allowance higher rate mobility component and (b) war pensioners’ mobility component in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many vehicle excise duty exemptions were made for each group. [220310]
Jonathan Shaw: The following answer was provided to the hon. Member on 17 September 2008, however, due to a procedural error it was not published in the Official Report. The answer is as follows:
At November 2007, 1,719,920 people were in receipt of the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance. Information about the number of vehicle excise duty exemption certificates issued by this Department for people in this group could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Information about the war pensioners’ mobility component is a matter for my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence.
Employment and Support Allowance
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what proportion of operational staff he estimates will be fully trained to operate the IT systems for the introduction of the employment and support allowance; [220211]
(2) how many Jobcentre Plus branches operate the customer account management system in anticipation of the introduction of the employment and support allowance. [220247]
Mr. McNulty: The following answer was provided to the hon. Member on 17 September 2008, however, due to a procedural error it was not published in the Official Report. The answer is as follows:
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:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking what proportion of operational staff he estimates will be fully trained to operate the IT systems for the introduction of the Employment and Support Allowance on 27th October 2008; and how many Jobcentre Plus branches operate the Customer Account Management system in anticipation of the introduction of the Employment and Support Allowance. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
For the introduction of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), we are introducing the Customer Account Management (CAM) system to capture new claim information and we have adapted the Jobseeker’s Allowance Payment System to make payments to ESA customers.
CAM will not be deployed within Jobcentre Plus offices before the introduction of ESA. Jobcentre Plus is implementing ESA using a carefully phased approach. The CAM system will initially be deployed in one of the 64 Benefit Delivery Centres, its linked Jobcentres, and the 6 Contact Centres that will handle ESA claims from 27 October 2008. The rest of the Benefit Delivery Centre and Jobcentre network processing ESA will operate clerical data input processes, with CAM rolling out fully following an evaluation of the initial deployment of the system. Further roll out is currently planned, subject to evaluation for the first half of 2009.
We have put in place a rolling training plan to ensure that staff can confidently use these new programmes whilst maintaining a full service to our customers.
This phased approach to CAM will provide an opportunity to learn from the initial deployment to ensure that a fully optimised system rolls out nationally. We are confident that, with the plans we have in place, ESA will be successfully delivered in October 2008, but we do not underestimate the challenge for Jobcentre Plus that ESA represents. ESA is not simply a new benefit but a cultural shift to focus on customers’ capability to improve their lives through finding and staying in work.
Health and Safety Executive: Inspections
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of Health and Safety Executive inspections on safety in the workplace. [219332]
Jonathan Shaw: The following answer was provided to the hon. Member on 17 September 2008, however, due to a procedural error it was not published in the Official Report. The answer is as follows:
Inspection is an important part of ensuring Health and Safety laws are adhered to. Research has indicated that inspection has an influence in this respect; alongside a variety of other factors which are also influential.
HSE influences employers in many different ways; including the provision of advice and guidance, and interventions through inspection, campaigns, blitzes and formal enforcement. The prime factor which governs whether there are fatalities, injuries or ill
heath at work is the motivation of the employer. Changes in employer motivation cannot solely be achieved through HSE inspection.
HSE regularly reviews and revisits the impact of its interventions on health and safety outcomes. HSE is already developing further research that assesses the impact of inspection and associated activities, over and above the influence of other factors, on health and safety outcomes.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Health and Safety Executive inspections he expects to take place in 2008. [219334]
Jonathan Shaw: The following answer was provided to the hon. Member on 17 September 2008, however, due to a procedural error it was not published in the Official Report. The answer is as follows:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) expects to increase its operational productivity by 2 per cent. in 2008-09, compared to that in 2007-08. In 2007-08, HSE spent 190,561 days on frontline activity which includes inspection, investigation, assessment of safety cases and other work.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Health and Safety Executive inspections took place in each of the last three years. [219335]
Jonathan Shaw: The following answer was provided to the hon. Member on 17 September 2008, however, due to a procedural error it was not published in the Official Report. The answer is as follows:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) records the amount of lime spent on frontline activity which includes inspection, investigation, assessment of safety cases and other work, rather than the number of inspections carried out.
For the three years; 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08, the time spent by HSE on frontline activity was:
| H ealth and Safety E xecutive Inspections | |
| Frontline activity | Number of d ays |
Health and Safety Executive: Manpower
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many inspectors were employed by the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Directorate in each of the last five years, broken down by division. [236567]
Jonathan Shaw: The answer to the question is provided in the following table.
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the Government's policy is on the future of incapacity benefit; what related initiatives he (a) has recently introduced and (b) plans to introduce; and if he will make a statement. [219449]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 17 July 2008]: The following answer was provided to the hon. Member on 17 September 2008, however, due to a procedural error it was not published in the Official Report. The answer is as follows:
From April 2008, Pathways to Work support has been available to everyone in Great Britain on incapacity benefits. This is mandatory for new customers.
From October 2008 incapacity benefits will be replaced for new customers by the employment and support allowance. Employment and support allowance will include the new work capability assessment, focusing on what people can do, not what they cannot.
From 2009 Pathways to Work support will be mandatory for existing claimants under the age of 25. Also from 2009, we plan to start applying the new work capability assessment to incapacity benefits customers who are under the age of 25 to establish entitlement to employment and support allowance and to the rest of the incapacity benefits claimants from 2010, as and when customers are due to have their benefit entitlement reassessed. This means that over a three year period everyone on incapacity benefits will have been reassessed using the new test, and transferred either to employment and support allowance or to jobseekers allowance.
Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what transitional support will be available for incapacity benefit claimants who fail the new work capability assessment and move onto other benefits; and what account this support will take of (a) whether people continue to have disabilities and (b) the period for which people have been out of work. [220323]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 21 July 2008]: The following answer was provided to the hon. Member on 17 September 2008, however, due to a procedural error it was not published in the Official Report. The answer is as follows:
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