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11 Mar 2009 : Column 534W—continued
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the 2009-10 personal allowance for council tax benefit is for (a) single people aged under 25 and lone parents aged under 18, (b) single people aged 25 to 59 and lone parents aged 18 to 59, (c) single people aged 60 or over, (d) couples where both partners are aged under 18, (e) couples where the older partner is aged 18 to 59 and (f) couples where the older partner is aged 60 or over. [261951]
Kitty Ussher [holding answer 9 March 2009]: The information is in the table.
| Council tax benefit personal allowance rates for 2009-10 | |
| £ | |
|
Single people aged 25-59 (or any age entitled to main phase ESA) | |
|
Couples where one or both are aged 60 or over, but both are aged under 65 | |
| Notes: 1. Nil rate quoted as a person must be aged 18 or over in order to be liable for council tax. 2. Rates quoted above do not include any additional allowances which might be applicable, for example in respect of children. Source: Following the uprating statement to Parliament made by right hon. Tony McNulty MP on 11 December 2008, DWP issued a press release giving details of the benefit uprating: www.dwp.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2008/dec/NewBenefitRates.pdf Local authorities were informed of the new rates in HB/CTB Circular A27/2008, a copy of which is at: www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/user-communications/circulars/2008/a27-2008.pdf | |
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the minimum level of (a) weekly and (b) annual household income is at which a household is no longer eligible for (i) full and (ii) partial full council tax benefit for (A) a single pensioner, (B) a pensioner couple, (C) a working-age single person, (D) a working-age couple, (E) a lone parent with one child and (F) two parents with one child. [262020]
Kitty Ussher [holding answer 9 March 2009]: The level of income at which income extinguishes entitlement to council tax benefit (CTB) will depend upon the liability for council tax as well as the individuals’ personal circumstances. For this reason, it is not possible to provide income figures in the way envisaged in the question.
People receiving the guarantee credit element of pension credit, income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance or income-related employment support allowance are deemed to have no income or capital and they receive maximum CTB (subject to any standard deductions for any non-dependant household member).
People not receiving the income-related benefits listed above will have their CTB assessed on the basis of an “applicable amount”. The amount is made up of personal allowances and premiums. The personal allowances vary according to age and whether a person is single or one of a married or unmarried couple. The premiums are awarded to those groups identified as having extra needs, for example, long term sick or disabled people and elderly people.
If net income is equal to or is less than the applicable amount, the customer will receive an amount equal to 100 per cent. of their council tax liability less any non-dependant deductions. If net income is more than the applicable amount, the customer will get less CTB. For each pound of extra income over the applicable amount, an adjustment of 20 pence will be made (this is the CTB taper).
In addition, anyone with savings, investments and other capital valued at more than £16,000 will not normally qualify for CTB. Capital of £6,000 or less is ignored. Capital of between £6,000 and £16,000 will be deemed to provide a weekly income of £1 for every £250 (or part thereof) if the person is aged less than 60, or £1 for every £500 (or part thereof) if they are 60 or over.
The following tables set out the applicable amounts, and hence the level at which customers begin to start paying some council tax for the client groups listed in the question.
| Pensioners | Starts to pay some council tax when net income exceeds (£) |
| Working age | Starts to pay some council tax when net income exceeds (£) |
| Notes: 1. All examples assume no disabilities/no childcare costs/no non-dependants. 2. Rates are for current year (2008-09). | |
Departmental Aviation
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many journeys (a) he and his predecessors and (b) his officials made by aeroplane in the course of their duties in each of the last five years. [246672]
Jonathan Shaw: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate costs. Travel by Ministers and civil servants are undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code respectively.
Departmental Surveys
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by his Department on staff surveys in each of the last five years; and which companies were contracted to carry out the surveys. [260873]
Jonathan Shaw: The costs for DWP surveys in the last five years are as follows:
| £ | |
| (1) Full census. (2) 20 per cent. sample. | |
The survey supplier for all these surveys was ORC International.
Departmental Training
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has provided voice coaching to any of its employees in the last 12 months. [260635]
Jonathan Shaw: The Department does provide training on voice coaching to our contact centre staff, which includes a one-hour module on voice training and acoustic shock (the shock caused by sudden/loud noises on the telephone) and training on techniques in speaking clearly, explaining well and the importance of voice care. In addition to this, line managers provide coaching on the use of language and vocal tone as part of their normal call monitoring processes.
Incapacity Benefit: North East
Mr. Ronnie Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Blyth Valley constituency and (b) the North East over the age of 60 years are in receipt of incapacity benefit. [258934]
Jonathan Shaw: The available information is in the following table.
| Number of people claiming incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance aged 60 and over in Blyth Valley parliamentary constituency, north east and north west government office regions—August 2008 | |
| Claimants over 60 | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Data available on: www.nomisweb.co.uk Source: The Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study | |
Jobcentre Plus
Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many local drug jobcentre co-ordinators his Department plans to employ; and what percentage of Jobcentre Plus offices will have a dedicated local drug jobcentre co-ordinator by October 2009; [260858]
(2) at what Civil Service payband local drug jobcentre co-ordinators will be employed; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the job specification for this role. [260859]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 5 March 2009]: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide my hon. Friend with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about Jobcentre Plus Drug Co-ordinators including how many will be employed; what percentage of Jobcentre Plus offices they will cover; which grade they will be; and whether a job specification can be made available. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The introduction of Drug Co-ordinators is a joint initiative between Jobcentre Plus, the Department of Health (DH) and the National Treatment Agency (NTA) which has been put in place to support the National Drugs Strategy “Drugs-Protecting Families and Communities”. As part of this, the DH has put £9 million into funding the posts from 2009-2011.
As responsibility for health is a devolved matter in Scotland and Wales, the DH can only fund Drug Co-ordinators in England, however, we will continue to work with officials in Scotland and Wales to try to ensure customers in these countries will have similar provision in the future.
We are currently recruiting to fill 63 Drug Co-ordinator posts at Band D (HEO) level. We will have at least one Drug Co-ordinator in place within each of our districts in England and they will be further supported by one of nine Strategic Lead posts (filled at Band F/Grade 7) which will be based within their region.
The decision to put in place district-based Drug Co-ordinators was based on research carried out by Glasgow University in 2006. The research provided information about the number of known problem drug users in specific geographical areas.
We already have eight Drug Co-ordinators in post, and expect that a further 52 will be in place by the end of March, with the remaining three posts being filled during April. We expect that well before October, all of the posts will have been filled and we will have a dedicated Drug Co-ordinator in post within every Jobcentre Plus district in England.
Whilst the Drug Co-ordinator posts are based at district level, part of their job is to ensure that customer-facing advisers within their district are aware of the help and support that we will be able to offer customers.
This means that a customer attending any Jobcentre Plus office in England who declares they are a problem drug user, will be offered a referral to a discussion with a treatment provider.
I have attached a Drug Co-ordinator Job Description at Annex 1, and a copy of this will be placed in the Library.
Jobcentre Plus: Telephone Services
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) staff and (b) full-time equivalent staff are employed to answer calls to Jobcentre Plus helplines; and if he will make a statement. [245449]
Mr. McNulty: 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 staff and full-time equivalent staff are employed to answer calls to Jobcentre Plus helplines. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
As at 30 November 2008 the number of staff employed to answer calls in Contact Centre Directorate was 5,756, and the Full Time Equivalent was 5,210.
Mortgages: Government Assistance
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households his Department estimates will obtain Government support for unemployed homeowners to pay interest charges on their mortgages. [261648]
Kitty Ussher: We are currently revising our projections for jobseeker’s allowance, and within this the number of claimant unemployed who are receiving support for mortgage interest, and updated projections will be published following the Budget.
In November 2008, 5,000 jobseeker’s allowance claimants received support for mortgage interest, but we would expect this figure to rise in response to increasing unemployment and recent policy changes making support for mortgage interest available from three months into the claim.
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of recent changes to the support for mortgage interest element of benefits; and how many households he estimates will benefit from the extension of this element of benefits to homeowners who have been unemployed for 13 weeks or more. [261651]
Kitty Ussher: At this time we do not have data to provide actual figures on the number of people who are being helped under the new support for mortgage interest rules.
It should be noted that since these changes were brought in on the 5 January, the impact on new claims would not show up until the end of the 13 week waiting period in early April 2009; although the extension of the reforms to cover those who have already served a waiting period over 13 weeks, and the six-month freeze of the standard interest rate, will mean that customers have started benefiting already.
We are currently revising our caseload and expenditure projections for jobseeker’s allowance, and within this the number of claimant unemployed who are receiving support for mortgage interest. Updated projections will be published following the Budget.
In November 2008, 5,000 jobseeker’s allowance claimants received support for mortgage interest, but we would expect this figure to rise in response to increasing unemployment and recent policy changes making support for mortgage interest available from three months into the claim.
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