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14 May 2009 : Column 908W—continued
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Departmental Manpower
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff of the (a) Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and (b) Child Support Agency have been transferred to his Department in the last 12 months; and to which areas of his Department such staff have been transferred. [274415]
Kitty Ussher [holding answer 11 May 2009]: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about child maintenance, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as child maintenance is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff of the (a) Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and (b) Child Support Agency have been transferred to his Department in the last year; and to which areas of his Department such staff have been transferred. [274415]
In January of this year and in consultation with Jobcentre Plus the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission brought forward a reorganisation of its people and estates to enable the transfer of staff and estate to Jobcentre Plus. It is currently planned around 630 people and 8 sites will be transferred to Jobcentre Plus by the end of June 2009. This transfer of people and estates contributed to the Department’s plans to increase Jobcentre Plus staffing to maintain service to the increasing numbers of clients coming to Jobcentre Plus as a result of the economic downturn.
The Commission’s business plan, published on 7 May 2009 anticipates reducing resources over 2009/10 to reflect the changes in legislation, and efficiencies in how we administer the current statutory maintenance scheme. This planned transfer of staff in effect brings forward the reduction in headcount and facilitates a strategically desirable reduction in the number of small ‘satellite’ offices the Commission needs to manage. The Commission will continue to recruit as necessary into its major sites to maintain staffing levels.
I can confirm that to date the Commission had transferred a total of 475 people and five sites to Jobcentre Plus with around 155 people and the remaining 3 sites due to be transferred by the end of June 2009. I can confirm that in the preceding months from April 2008 to November 2008 when the Commission took responsibility for the Agency, there were no compulsory transfers of people to the Department or its agencies.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on hospitality and entertainment in each of the last five years. [273887]
Jonathan Shaw: All expenditure on entertainment (also known within the Department as hospitality) is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Managing Public Money and the Treasury Handbook on Regularity and Propriety.
The information requested is shown in the following table.
| £ | |
| Note: The figures for 2008-09 are not yet available. Source: General Ledger | |
Departmental Training
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on IT training for its staff in each of the last five years. [274223]
Jonathan Shaw: The Department does not hold records on the information requested centrally; individual business units retain records locally and as such this information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Employment and Support Allowance: Lone Parents
Mr. Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of transferring all lone parents whose children are under seven years from income support to employment and support allowance would be in 2009-10. [270357]
Kitty Ussher [holding answer 23 April 2009]: There are approximately 460,000 lone parents on income support with a youngest child under the age of seven. Assuming that this remains constant:
the additional cost of paying all lone parents with a child under seven the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) work-related activity component (£25.50 per week) is estimated to be £610 million per annum;
the additional cost of paying all lone parents with a child under seven the ESA support component (£30.85 per week) is estimated to be £740 million per annum.
As this is not Government policy these costs assume that:
there is no assessment phase for lone parents, and the components will be paid for lone parents at the start of their claim;
the conditionality regime for lone parents on ESA would be the same as under income support for lone parents.
Note s :
1. Costs are rounded to the nearest £5 million, and reflect only the extra cost of paying the additional amount of benefit.
2. Costs depend upon caseloads. The average number of lone parents on income support over the last year was 460,000, but higher numbers would mean higher costs, and vice versa.
Food
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an estimate of the (a) monetary value and (b) quantity of waste food disposed of from his Department’s premises in the last 12 months. [273437]
Jonathan Shaw: In the 2008-09 financial year, the total food waste disposed of by the Department’s suppliers was 39,755 kg. This covers both waste from the preparation of food, waste from service counters and customer plate waste.
The monetary value of this is not held centrally and collating it would incur disproportionate cost.
Health Hazards: Retail Trade
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to assess the implications for optical health of the positioning at child's eye height of class 1 laser scanners in shops and supermarkets; and if he will make a statement. [273369]
Jonathan Shaw: The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 already requires those responsible for shops and supermarkets to make such assessments and to ensure that any risks identified to employees and the public (including children) are properly controlled. Class 1 laser devices are in the safest class under the UK safety standard BS EN 60825-1:2007 - "Safety of Laser Products; Part 1: Equipment Classification and Requirements"
Jobcentre Plus
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many branches of Jobcentre Plus there are in (a) England and (b) the East Midlands; and how many of these are in (i) urban, (ii) semi-rural and (iii) rural areas. [269998]
Mr. McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked the acting chief executive to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question on how many branches of Jobcentre Plus there are in (a) England and (b) the East Midlands; and how many of these are in (i) urban, (ii) semi-rural and (iii) rural areas. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
There are 579 Jobcentre Plus offices open to the public in England of which 53 are within the East Midlands region. We do not separately categorise Jobcentre Plus offices open to the public by urban, semi-rural or rural areas but our public facing network is designed to provide reasonable access to our services throughout England.
Jobseeker’s Allowance
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will estimate the annual cost to his Department of allowing jobseeker's allowance claimants to train full-time for 13 weeks at the beginning of their claim period; and if he will make a statement; [255665]
(2) if he will estimate the annual cost to his Department of allowing jobseeker's allowance claimants under 24 to train full-time for (a) 13 and (b) 26 weeks at the beginning of their claim period; and if he will make a statement. [255666]
Mr. McNulty:
Even in the current economic climate, we would expect most customers to move into work relatively quickly without the need to re-train in new
skills. Our policies will continue to help them to do that to avoid the costs, both to individuals and to Government, of delaying a return to work and keeping people on benefits for longer than necessary. There is therefore no current basis on which to make estimates of the costs of extending the training opportunities described to customers from the start of a claim.
Jobseeker's allowance (JSA) recipients can train for up to 16 hours per week alongside active job search.
They may also undertake up to two weeks of full-time training in any 12-month period, without jeopardising their benefit entitlements. Additionally, from 6 April anyone who has been unemployed more than six months can study full time for up to eight weeks on a job related training course approved by an employment adviser (operationally we do this by transferring the customer to a training allowance).
People from disadvantaged groups, or those for whom lack of basic skills is a barrier to employment, are eligible for training support from day one of unemployment. Jobcentre Plus Personal Advisers are also able to agree early access to the job-search and training support offered by the New Deal for people whose circumstances may make it particularly hard to find work.
In addition, the Government announced last autumn that additional funding of £158 million has been made available through the European Social Fund for the Learning and Skills Council's Train to Gain programme for people who are newly unemployed or facing redundancy to undertake training linked to opportunities in the local labour market for up to two weeks full time and up to eight weeks part time.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Minister of State for Pensions plans to reply to the email of 13 March from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire on the winter fuel allowance and a constituent. [274637]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 12 May 2009]: I replied to the hon. Member on 12 May 2009.
Pension Credit
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households receive pension credit; and what the average weekly amount paid in pension credit to such households is. [272298]
Ms Rosie Winterton: As at August 2008, there were 2,723,530 households in receipt of pension credit, with an average weekly award of £52.80.
Notes:
1. The number of households in receipt are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.
Pension Credit: Essex
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pension credit recipients live in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point constituency. [273208]
Ms Rosie Winterton: As at August 2008, there were 55,680 households in receipt of pension credit in Essex and 4,190 households in receipt in Castle Point.
Notes:
1. The number of households in receipt are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.
Pensioners
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent changes there have been to the financial support provided by his Department to those aged over 65 years. [273662]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Government are spending £13 billion more on pensioners this year than if we had continued the policies of the previous Government.
Between 1997-98 and 2008-09 pensioners benefited from above-inflation increases in the basic state pension, with pensioners better off by 7 per cent. in real terms than if the basic state pension had been increased only by prices over the same period. From 6 April 2009, the basic state pension increased by 5 per cent.—this is the highest percentage increase since 2001.
From 6 April 2009 the pension credit standard minimum guarantee increased to £130 a week for single customers and £198.45 a week for couples—this above-earnings increase was the highest since pension credit was introduced in 2003.
In 2007-08, winter fuel payments were paid to over 12 million people and have helped over 8.8 million households. Winter fuel payments are worth £200 for those aged between 60 and 79 and £300 for those aged 80 and over. For winter 2008-09, the Chancellor announced an additional payment of £50 for those aged between 60 and 79 and £100 for those aged 80 and over resulting in payments per household of £250 and £400 respectively. This increase will be repeated for winter 2009-10.
The Government have also announced that the capital threshold for pension credit (and housing benefit and council tax benefit for those who have attained the qualifying age for pension credit) will be increased from £6,000 to £10,000, bringing it into line with the threshold for those living permanently in care homes. This change will take effect from November 2009 and will allow these customers to retain up to £10,000 of capital before it affects their benefit. This change represents a generous increase in the capital thresholds for pension credit recipients and a significant simplification to the benefit. Half a million pensioners stand to gain from this change, with an average weekly gain across all benefits of £4.
The Government have also committed to maintain the standard interest rate applied in the support for mortgage interest scheme at 6.08 per cent. for a further
six months until the end of December 2009; this will help those on pension credit who receive help with their mortgage.
The higher amounts of income tax personal allowances for those aged over 65 are substantially higher than the personal allowance for those aged under 65. For the tax year starting on 6 April 2009, the personal allowance for people aged 65 to 74 has been increased to £9,490 and the personal allowance for people aged 75 and over has been increased to £9,640. For the tax year starting on 6 April 2011, pensioners aged 75 and over will not pay tax on incomes under £10,000.
Council tax benefit makes an important contribution to the financial security of around 2.6 million pensioner households. The Government have already simplified the claims process to make income-related benefits easier to claim. Since November 2008, pensioners can claim housing benefit and council tax benefit with pension credit, entirely over the phone without having to fill in and sign a claim form.
In addition, we are writing to over 200,000 pension credit recipients in May to encourage them to contact their local council to check if they are entitled to council tax benefit or housing benefit.
Last winter the Government also increased the Christmas bonus to £70 for all those who meet the eligibility criteria with £10 being paid before Christmas and the remainder in the new year.
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