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20 Apr 2009 : Column 120W—continued
Our support for Woolworths’ staff began with deployment of our Rapid Response Service, which meant for example that staff in almost all of Woolworths' stores were offered support before they closed. We issued over 8,000 packs to enable people to make claims for benefit, and in many instances provided on-site advice on benefits. Our advice and support on jobsearch has also been available to Woolworths' employees, both in the run up to store closure and afterwards.
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobcentres there were in (a) rural and (b) urban areas in England in each year since 1997. [264573]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is not available. Jobcentres are not categorised as constituting part of an urban conurbation or being sited within a rural location.
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will assess the merits of reopening Jobcentre Plus branches in market towns more than 15 miles from the nearest branch. [267585]
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. and learned Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking if he will consider the merits of reopening Jobcentre Plus branches in market towns more than 15 miles from the nearest branch. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Jobcentre Plus Customer Service Directors constantly review their service delivery plans to ensure optimum provision of service for all customers, for every Jobcentre Plus District. This is especially important in the context of the current economic conditions and welfare reform changes planned for the next two to three years.
In addition to our network of modernised Jobcentres we make our services accessible to customers by providing a range of support through outreach, often delivering advisory and other support on partners’ premises. That is important in locations where maintaining a Jobcentre could not be justified. Typically such services can be delivered in partnership with Children’s Centres or on Local Authority premises or in conjunction with one of our Welfare to Work Providers.
The great majority of our services (in common with most large, modern organisations) are now also delivered through the telephone and internet. For example, to give customers more convenient access, we have around half a million vacancies on-line at any time (our website receives close to one million job searches every working day), and new claims to benefit are predominantly taken by telephone with some taken on-line.
For these reasons, we have no plans to reopen Jobcentre Plus offices in the way you suggest, but will continue to explore realistic ways of delivering services that meet the needs of our customers.
Jobcentre Plus: Closures
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Jobcentre Plus offices (a) have closed in the last 12 months and (b) are scheduled for closure; what the reason for closure is in each case; and if he will make a statement. [266592]
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 Jobcentre Plus offices (a) have closed in the last 12 months and (b) are scheduled for closure; what the reason for closure is in each case. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
54 Jobcentre Plus offices were closed during 2008 that were previously open to the public. During the summer of 2008 every Jobcentre Plus district was asked to begin a review of their service delivery plans, taking account of current economic conditions and future changes. That initial review led to a decision, announced before Christmas, to suspend the planned closure of 25 Jobcentres. A further three small sites in London were closed during March 2009. These had been announced last summer prior to the decision to suspend future closures. No further Jobcentre closures are planned at the present time.
The great majority of our services (in common with most large, modern organisations) are now delivered through the telephone
and internet. For example, to give customers more convenient access, we have around half a million vacancies on-line at any time (our website receives close to one million job searches every working day), and new claims to benefit are predominantly taken by telephone with some taken on-line. This has brought our customer facing services together in a more coherent and integrated network and I believe Jobcentre Plus is well-placed to respond to the full range of economic conditions.
I have asked the Customer Service Directors in our Regions to keep their plans under review so that we continue to respond effectively to customer demand.
Jobcentre Plus: Compensation
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many compensation payments, and of what total value, were paid to Jobcentre Plus customers in the form of (a) payments to restore customers to their original financial position and (b) consolatory payments (i) in each year from 2002 to 2009 and (ii) in each of the last 24 months, broken down by (A) region and (B) Jobcentre Plus district. [264271]
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.
Letter from Mel Groves to Justine Greening
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many compensation payments, and of what total value, were paid to Jobcentre Plus customers in the form of (a) payments to restore customers to their original financial position and (b) consolatory payments (i) in each year from 2002 to 2009 and (ii) in each of the last 24 months, broken down by (A) region and (B) Jobcentre Plus district. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Payments to restore customers to their original financial position are shown in the first table below. This information is not available before 2003. Details of consolatory payments made by Jobcentre Plus are shown in the second table. These payments are known as Special Payments. In both cases, the information requested is not available broken down by month, region or Jobcentre Plus district and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
| Payments to restore customers to their original financial position | ||
| Number of payments authorised | Net amount authorised (£) | |
| Special Payments (consolatory payments) | ||
| Number of payments authorised | Net amount authorised (£) | |
| Source: Returns from Regional Jobcentre Plus special payments teams. | ||
Jobcentre Plus: Cumbria
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many registered unemployed people in (a) Cumbria and (b) Copeland constituency Jobcentre Plus has assisted in finding work in each of the last five years. [263797]
Mr. McNulty: The information is not available.
Jobcentre Plus: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the level of sickness absence attributable to work-related stress among staff in jobcentres in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) Hertfordshire in the latest period for which figures are available; and what assessment he has made of the effect of such levels of absence on the delivery of jobcentre services. [265805]
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 questions asking what estimate he has made of the level of sickness absence attributable to work-related stress among staff in jobcentres in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) Hertfordshire in the latest period for which figures are available; and what assessment he has made of the effect of such levels of absence on the delivery of jobcentre services. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Jobcentre Plus do not collect absence data specific to work related stress, as the causes of stress are complex and difficult to attribute to a single cause. We do, however, collect detailed data on the causes of sickness absence, including absences attributed to mental health problems, and through close monitoring are able to identify problem areas.
Jobcentre Plus is very aware of the negative impact of sickness absence on customer service and is committed to improving performance in this area. Indeed, our strategies are delivering considerable success, with the latest data confirming the improving trend we have seen over the last 12 months. We remain committed to securing further improvements.
Stress management and prevention are fundamental aspects of this approach, and we have a number of tools to support managers and staff achieve these objectives. These include risk assessment policies, developed by our psychologists, in consultation with the Health and Safety Executive, to identify working practices that might create pressure and to address stress experienced by individual employees regardless of the cause. These are supplemented by comprehensive lifestyle guidance for all staff on how to reduce personal stress levels.
Stress prevention is integral to wellbeing products available to all staff. For example, our people have 24-hour access to professional stress counsellors and to debt/legal advice free of charge. We also help managers to support their staff by providing them with access to medical advice provided by occupational health doctors and nurses.
In addition, we are embarking upon a major health and wellbeing programme across all of our sites. The programme provides staff with a wealth of information and guidance to support healthier lifestyles, gives them access to a confidential on-line health and wellbeing assessment and delivers targeted solutions to support the individual. The programme also provides managers at our Jobcentres with comprehensive information about the potential health risks to their staff, ensuring specific preventative action is taken to address the issues.
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many personal advisers were employed in job centres in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) Hertfordshire in each of the last five years. [265808]
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 Personal Advisers were employed in Jobcentres in Hemel Hempstead and Hertfordshire in each of the last five years. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The information is in the following table.
| Number of personal advisers in Jobcentres in Hemel Hempstead and Hertfordshire (full time equivalents) | ||
| Years | Hemel Hempstead Jobcentre | All Jobcentres in Hertfordshire including Hemel Hempstead |
| Source: Jobcentre Plus Activity Based Management System | ||
At the beginning of 2005-06 Jobcentre Plus implemented a more robust system that is designed to enable more accurate adviser activity reporting. At that time, as part of our Welfare to Work strategy, Jobcentre Plus expanded the Personal Adviser role to include specialist advisers for specific client groups, for example lone parents and customers aged over 50. This change was to improve the help it provides to customers who face additional barriers in returning to employment.
Jobcentre Plus: Manpower
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many personal advisers working in Jobcentre Plus are graded at (a) executive officer and (b) higher executive officer level; and what the pay scales for each of those grades is. [262004]
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 personal advisers working in Jobcentre Plus are graded at (a) executive officer and (b) higher executive officer; and what the pay scales for those grades are. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Personal Advisers in Jobcentre Plus are all graded at Band C which is equivalent to Executive Officer level. There are currently over 9,700 Personal Adviser full time equivalents in Jobcentre Plus. Personal Advisers are managed by Advisory Services Managers who are graded at Band D, which is equivalent to Higher Executive Officer level and there are currently over 900 full time equivalent people in this role.
The pay scales for Personal Advisers are those for EO/Band C and are as follows:
| Pay scales for personal advisers | ||||
| £ | ||||
| National | Inner London | Outer London | Specified locations | |
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