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26 Nov 2008 : Column 1997W—continued
Jobseeker's Allowance: Females
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people who started to claim jobseeker's allowance in each of the last 12 months were women, broken down by (a) profession, (b) region and (c) age. [231657]
Mr. McNulty: The available information has been placed in the Library.
Local Housing Allowance
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households are receiving local housing allowance at a rate of (a) under £5,000, (b) between £5,001 and £7,000, (c) between £7,001 and £10,000, (d) between £10,001 and £15,000 and (e) over £15,000 per month. [236862]
Kitty Ussher: This information is not currently available at a national level.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the maximum level of local housing allowance in each broad market rental area is for a (a) one bedroom, (b) two bedroom, (c) three bedroom, (d) four bedroom, (e) five bedroom, (f) six bedroom, (g) seven bedroom, (h) eight bedroom, (i) nine bedroom and (j) 10 bedroom property. [236863]
Kitty Ussher: The local housing allowance rates for property sizes up to five bedrooms are published by The Rent Service. The most easily accessible version of this information can be found on the Rent Service's internet site at:
https://lha-direct.therentservice.gov.uk/Secure/LHARateSearch.aspx?SearchType=LA.
Rates for six through to 10 bedrooms are not published as they are calculated individually by rent officers where a claim for benefit requiring these rates has been made.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what circumstances local housing allowance may be paid at a rate above the average market rent in a given area. [236864]
Kitty Ussher: The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is not paid at rates above average market rents. The amount a tenant can receive is subject to the overall limit of the average market rent appropriate for their area and household size.
An LHA rate is a median value calculated from a list of rents, for a given number of bedrooms, collected from the private rented sector in a broad rental market area. As the LHA is a median value, the middle value from the list of rents held in ascending order, it should ensure that half of the properties in the broad rental market area will be affordable for housing benefit customers.
The Rent Service determines the median rents for each broad rental market area using information about actual confirmed tenancies. Details of average market rents in Broad Market Rent Areas are published on a monthly basis by The Rent Service online at
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what process was used to set area boundaries for local housing allowance; and if he will make a statement. [237646]
Kitty Ussher: The area boundaries, or broad rental market areas (BRMAs), used to determine local housing allowance, are set by rent officers in the three national rent services. BRMAs are intended to reflect the patterns of areas in which people live and enjoy a range of services, and the rental values within those areas.
Specifically, rent officers took account of health, education, recreation, banking and finance facilities in each area reviewed. Local authorities were consulted on the proposed changes in advance of area boundaries being implemented.
Mortgages: Interest Rates
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will introduce a system of variations to the standard rate of interest as applied to claims made for mortgage interest payments to allow for the fact that some lenders do not pass on Bank of England interest rate cuts to their borrowers. [238646]
Kitty Ussher:
We continue to keep under review the support available for mortgage interest. We have already announced that, for working age people, there will be an increase in the upper mortgage limit from £100,000
to £200,000, and a decrease in the waiting period from 39 weeks to 13 weeks, both from January next year.
We also announced that the standard interest rate which is used as part of the calculation of support for mortgage interest will be maintained at its current level for the next six months, rather than reflecting the 1.5 per cent. reduction in the Bank of England Base Rate.
National Insurance
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many new National Insurance numbers, excluding those generated automatically on reaching the age of 16 years, have been issued in each (a) London borough and (b) county of England in each of the last five years. [238236]
Mr. McNulty: The requested information is not available.
New Deal for 50 Plus
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent on the New Deal 50 Plus Programme, broken down by (a) region and (b) Jobcentre Plus district in each year since its inception; and if he will make a statement. [230561]
Mr. McNulty: Due to the reorganisation of Jobcentre Plus over the past five years it is not possible to provide comparable data at district level. The available information is in the table.
| Expenditure on New Deal 50 Plus broken down by nation and Government office region | |||||||||
| £ million | |||||||||
| 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-5 | 2005-6 | 2006-7 | 2007-08 | |
| Notes: 1. New Deal 50 plus started in 2000. 2. Expenditure figures exclude admin costs as they cannot be identified since 2002-03 when ringfences were removed with agreement from HM Treasury. 3. All the above figures are confirmed spend and are quoted in cash terms. 4. The source of the above data is from the DWP financial systems. The New Deal 50 plus totals agree to the departmental report. 5. New Deal 50 plus costs reduce after 2002-03 as the 50 plus element of the working tax credit transferred to HMRC. | |||||||||
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of claimants on the New Deal 50 Plus entered sustainable employment immediately in each month since May 2007, broken down by (a) region and (b) Jobcentre Plus district; and if he will make a statement. [231131]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is not available.
New Deal for 50 Plus: Crosby
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many residents of Crosby constituency are enrolled in the New Deal 50 plus programme. [236689]
Mr. McNulty: Statistics relating to current participants on New Deal 50 Plus are not available.
New Deal for Disabled People
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of (1) leavers from the New Deal for Disabled People Programme entered immediately into sustainable employment in each month since March 2006, broken down by (a) region and (b) Jobcentre Plus district; and if he will make a statement; [230533]
(2) claimants on the New Deal for Disabled People Programme entered sustainable employment immediately in each month since March 2006, broken down by (a) region and (b) Jobcentre Plus district; and if he will make a statement. [231130]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is not available.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the annual cost was of the New Deal for Disabled People Programme in each year since establishment, broken down by (a) region and (b) Jobcentre Plus district; and if he will make a statement. [231078]
Mr. McNulty: Due to the re-organisation of Jobcentre Plus over the past five years it is not possible to provide comparable data at district level. The available information is in the table.
| Expenditure on new deal for disabled people broken down by nation and Government office region | |||||
| £million | |||||
| 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | |
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