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12 Jun 2009 : Column 1036W—continued
| Monthly totals since virtual telephony platform complete July 2008 | ||||
| Calls offered | Calls answered | Calls not answered | Average speed of answer | |
Jobcentre Plus: Vacancies
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) full-time, (b) part-time, (c) permanent and (d) temporary vacancies were (i) registered by employers with Jobcentre Plus and (ii) subsequently filled in each (A) region and (B) Jobcentre Plus district in (1) in each year since 2002 and (2) each of the last 24 months. [264265]
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) part-time and (b) full-time job vacancies for (i) temporary and (ii) permanent positions were advertised through Jobcentre Plus in (A) each year since 1997 and (B) each month in the last two years. [271693]
Jim Knight: Information on the number of permanent and temporary vacancies notified to Jobcentre Plus is not available. Information on the number of full-time and part-time vacancies notified with Jobcentre Plus is available from April 2004 and has been placed in the Library.
Information on the number of vacancies registered with Jobcentre Plus and subsequently filled in each region and Jobcentre Plus district in each year since 2002 and each of the last 24 months is not available.
Jobseeker's Allowance
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the percentage change in the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance in (a) Wellingborough constituency and (b) the UK was in the last 12 months. [273798]
Mr. McNulty: The latest information available is shown in the following table.
| Percentage change for jobseeker’s allowance claimants: Wellingborough parliamentary constituency and the UK, March 2008 and March 2009 | ||
| Wellingborough parliamentary constituency | United Kingdom | |
| Notes: 1. Percentage change is calculated between March 2008 and March 2009. 2: The claimant count data are published at https://www.nomisweb.co.uk 3. Figures include clerically held cases. Source: 100 per cent. count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus Computer Systems | ||
New Deal Schemes
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people over 25 years old have not been referred to the New Deal 25 plus or Employment Zones upon reaching 18 months as a claimant as a result of (a) capacity and (b) budgetary constraints; [271692]
(2) how many people aged 18 to 24 years old upon reaching six months of a Jobseeker's Allowance claim have not been referred to the New Deal for Young People or Employment Zones as a result of (a) capacity and (b) budgetary constraints. [271720]
Jim Knight: The information requested is not available as it is not collected on Department for Work and Pensions' databases.
However, Jobcentre Plus performance in delivering New Deal and Employment Zone referral interviews is measured as part of an Interventions Delivery Target. The latest performance figures (up to November 2008) show that 91.8 per cent. checked, JSA-related adviser interviews, which include the initial New Deal/Employment
Zone referral interview, were undertaken within the required timescale. This is against a target of 90 per cent. Therefore there is no reason to believe customers are not being referred to New Deal and Employment Zones at the appropriate time.
Social Security Benefits
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 5 May 2009, Official Report, columns 62-63W, on social security benefits, when she plans to place the information on benefit rates in the Library; and for what reason the information has not yet been placed there. [275663]
Jonathan Shaw: It was intended that the information on benefit rates would be deposited in the Library on 5 May 2009 but in fact it was not deposited until a week later, on 12 May 2009. The delay was due to an administrative oversight, for which I apologise.
Social Security Benefits: Fraud
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the budget for her Department's ‘We're closing in’ campaign is; and how much her Department has spent on the element of the campaign conducted in Alicante. [277048]
Jim Knight: In 2008-09, expenditure for the ‘We're closing in’ campaign was £5.8 million. Out of this amount, we spent £46,000 on communications in Spain which were designed to raise awareness of the new hotline in Alicante.
Social Security Benefits: Personal Records
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for how long her Department retains records of claimants who have ceased claiming each benefit; and on how many occasions a local authority has requested information on a benefit claimant for which his Department no longer holds records since 1997. [275110]
Jim Knight: The Department has a comprehensive document and data retention policy that is detailed in the Benefits Document and Data Retention Guide (Benefits DDRG). A copy of the Benefits DDRG has been placed in the Library.
In general, documents are retained for 14 months from the date a claim ceases. There are exceptions to this across all benefits, details of which can be found in the DDRG. One specific exception is where there is a housing benefit or council tax benefit interest, in which case records will be kept for six years.
Information on how many occasions a local authority has requested information on a benefit claimant for which the Department no longer holds records since 1997 is not available.
Unemployment
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps are being taken to reduce unemployment levels amongst low-skilled people. [275880]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 15 May 2009]: The UK Government have made a commitment to develop and deliver a fully Integrated Employment and Skills (IES) system in England by 2010-11. This new integrated service will bring together and reform existing employment and skills services to better help jobseekers get the right balance of job search and training to help them into sustained employment and to progress in their career and, in particular, to help those with basic and employability skills to engage with the labour market and get, keep and progress in a job.
Under the auspices of this service:
Claimants will receive personalised support from a Jobcentre Plus adviser who will work with customers to identify the steps appropriate to enable a swift return to work, including referral to careers advice or skills training where appropriate.
Jobcentre Plus Personal Advisers are 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. The introduction of the Flexible New Deal will establish a new, individually-tailored approach for all job seekers, whatever their age, skills or barriers to work.
The Employability Skills Programme (ESP) enables people in England to train full-time from day one of a jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claim where there are both basic and employability skills needs.
Local Employment Partnerships (LEPs) ensure that disadvantaged customers get the preparation and training that enables them to meet employers' needs with the expectation that, in return, employers with vacancies give them a fair shot at getting a job.
We are working jointly with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Learning and Skills Council to ensure that when people move into work they continue learning through apprenticeships or Train to Gain. This will enable them to remain in work and continue to progress.
In addition, in response to the current economic downturn, the Government have announced that:
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.
From April 2009 LEPs have been made available to all claimants from day one of unemployment.
On 6 April we launched a significant package of help for jobseekers, including those with lower level skills, who find themselves out of work for six months or more. This support includes, amongst other things, access to 75,000 new work-focused training opportunities to help customers significantly increase their skills in order to enter work. The training, delivered on a part-time or full-time basis, will support people in progressing towards a full qualification.
We have removed barriers to full-time training making it easier for long-term unemployed people to get access to new skills in order to compete for the local jobs on offer. The Government have put the funding arrangements in place to enable jobseekers at the six-month point in their claim to move to a training allowance in order to benefit from full-time intensive training of up to eight weeks, designed to meet employers' needs.
The Budget 2009 announced a guaranteed offer of a job, work-focused training, or meaningful activity to all 18 to 24-year-olds as they approach the 12-month stage of their claim to jobseekers allowance (JSA).
Vocational Training
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent steps his Department has taken to assist unemployed people aged over 55 into work. [272485]
Jim Knight: The Government already provide back-to-work support for those wishing to re-enter the labour market, including those aged 50 and over, through Jobcentre Plus, local employer partnerships, the new deal and pathways to work. We intend to extend this as detailed in the Welfare Reform Bill.
However, in response to the current economic downturn the Government have already committed £0.5 billion of additional support to help prevent people out of work from becoming long-term unemployed.
We have doubled the resources available to the Rapid Response Service. The service offers support across the country for those people facing redundancy with immediate help and advice, including skills assessments and retraining, to ensure that people get back to work as soon as possible.
Since April, financial incentives of up to £2,500 have been available to employers that recruit and train people who have been unemployed for six months or longer.
We have also introduced extra funding for training places to help unemployed people learn new skills to maximise their chances of getting jobs from the 455,000 unfilled vacancies in the three months to April 2009. In addition there are opportunities to volunteer, to help people back into work habits, and help to start a business, with advice on creating a business plan plus funding for the first months of trading.
A major factor in the employment of older people is employer behaviour. In addition to providing generic good practice guidance to employers, the UK’s Age Positive initiative is working in partnership with business leaders to develop sector-based models of flexible retirement to support the increased employment and retention of older workers and the removal of fixed retirement ages.
Our plans for the future include providing guidance to older workers on their options for working longer, encouraging employers to increase flexible work and phased retirement opportunities, a review of the Default Retirement Age in 2011—if it is found to be no longer needed it will be removed—monitoring the impact of the economic downturn to identify which groups are being most affected and targeting further help where it is most needed.
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