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16 Dec 2008 : Column 616W—continued
War widows pension, war disablement pension and their replacement, the armed forces compensation scheme, are paid to compensate for death or injury through service in the armed forces. A part of these weekly payments is disregarded when calculating entitlement to income-related benefits.
Certain elements intended to cover mobility or attendance needs, such as constant attendance allowance, are fully disregarded when paid as part of a war disablement pension.
Lump sum personal injury payments made under these schemes are disregarded in full for 52 weeks from the date they are received. Following this they continue to be fully disregarded if placed into a personal injury trust fund or used to purchase an annuity to help secure the injured person’s long-term future. Income generated from the trust fund/annuity is also fully disregarded.
Occupational pensions paid under the armed forces pension scheme, which are not paid to compensate for death or injury, are taken fully into account when calculating entitlement to income support and the other income-related benefits.
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what conclusions he has drawn from responses to the recent consultation on the industrial injuries disablement benefit scheme on an extension of the period within which claims must be made after injury occurs in regard to work-related illness with long gestation periods; [242855]
(2) what conclusions he has drawn from the responses to the recent consultation on the industrial injuries disablement benefit scheme in relation to those suffering from mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos at work. [242856]
Kitty Ussher: The consultation period ended on 22 October 2008. The consultation asked specifically how we might reform Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit to provide better support to help people adjust to their new circumstances while maintaining the work focus of the modern welfare state, whether lump sum payments are a good way of meeting people’s needs, whether they give people more choice and control and whether we could make more use of them.
In the White Paper published on 10 December we have made it clear that while some respondents to the Green Paper consultation supported the principle of lump sum payments for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits customers, others commented that there was a need for ongoing support for some people injured or made ill by work, particularly for those with serious progressive illnesses. We believe that there remains a strong case for continuing to provide particular support for people whose disability arises from work and we think the current Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits scheme is the best way to do this.
We have no plans for further consultation on the new scheme relating to lump sum payments for those suffering from mesothelioma resulting from exposure to asbestos at work.
Jobcentre Plus: Manpower
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker's allowance claimants there were per customer-facing Jobcentre Plus staff member in each region in each quarter of each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [241031]
Mr. McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 26 November 2008, Official Report, column 1986W.
Jobcentres
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008, Official Report, columns 1993-94W, on jobcentres, how many vacancies have been advertised in jobcentres in each of the last six months. [241037]
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how may vacancies in the Jobcentre Plus network have been advertised in each of the last 12 months. [241451]
Mr. McNulty: The available information is in the table.
| Jobcentre Plus vacancies: Great Britain | ||
| Notified vacancies | Live unfilled vacancies | |
| Notes: 1. Interpretation of this data needs to take account of changes in recent years to Jobcentre Plus procedures for taking and handling vacancies. These figures are not fully comparable over time and may not indicate developments in the labour market. A more detailed explanation is available on the Nomis website at https://www.nomisweb.co.uk 2. Notified vacancies includes any speculative placings recorded by Jobcentre Plus. Datasets from May 2006 may reflect substantially reduced levels of speculative placings as part of the notified series. Consequently, care should be taken in interpreting time-series data. 3. The stocks of unfilled vacancies reflect more accurately the job opportunities actually available via Jobcentre Plus. In the case of unfilled vacancies, use of the figures on live vacancies is recommended (i.e. excluding suspended vacancies), and this is the default option. Live vacancies may still include some vacancies which have already been filled or are otherwise no longer open to recruits, due to natural lags in procedures for following up vacancies with employers. 4. Comprehensive estimates of all job vacancies (not just those notified to Jobcentre Plus) are available from the monthly ONS Vacancy Survey since April 2001, based on a sample of some 6,000 enterprises. However, the ONS survey is currently designed to provide national estimates only. Source: Jobcentre Plus Labour Market System. | ||
Jobseeker’s Allowance
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many new jobseeker’s allowance applications have been received from people in each age group (a) in total and (b) in each of the smallest geographical areas for which figures are available in each month of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [241196]
Mr. McNulty: The information has been placed in the Library.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the Answers of 26 November 2008, Official Report, columns 1996-7W, on jobseeker’s allowance, whether his Department has compiled data on the amount of time jobseeker’s allowance claimants have received the allowance or other out of work benefits over a set period of time including circumstances where a claimant has made more than one claim for an allowance in that period. [242769]
Mr. McNulty
[holding answer 11 December 2008]: The Department does not publish statistics on the amount of time jobseeker’s allowance customers have received the award or other out of work benefits over a set period of time, nor do we publish statistics on circumstances where customers have made more than
one claim. This information could be obtained only after complex analysis of the available data and comprehensive quality assurance. As a result it could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Jobseeker’s Allowance: Employment
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) claimants moved off JSA and into employment in each month of the last five years, broken down by the smallest geographical area for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [241073]
Mr. McNulty: The information has been placed in the Library.
New Deal for Musicians: Finance
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of the New Deal for Musicians programme was in each (a) region and (b) Jobcentre Plus district in each year since its inception; and if he will make a statement. [240734]
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 musicians broken down by nation and Government office region | |||||||||||
| £ million | |||||||||||
| 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | |||
| Notes: 1. New deal for musicians started in 1999. 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 aforementioned figures are confirmed spend and are quoted in cash terms. 4. The source of the above data is from the DWP financial systems. | |||||||||||
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