| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
15 Jun 2009 : Column 43W—continued
Departmental Reviews
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will place in the Library a copy of the independent review of Star Rating carried out for her Department by ATOS Consulting. [277221]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 1 June 2009]: An independent review of the Department's prototype Star Rating model was commissioned by the Department and undertaken by Atos Consulting. I have arranged for a copy of Atos Consulting's report to be placed in the Library.
Employment Schemes: Greater Manchester
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many unemployed people aged over 50 years have been assisted back to work by her Department in (a) Denton and Reddish constituency, (b) Stockport metropolitan borough and (c) Tameside metropolitan borough in each year since 1997. [277505]
Jim Knight: Information on the number of people aged 50 and over in the specified areas who have been helped into work through all sources is not available. Information on the number of people aged 50 and over who have been helped into work though the New Deal 50 plus programme is in the table.
| New Deal 50 Plus | |||
| Location | Employment credit starts to March 2003 | Number of people gaining a job from April 2003 | Total job gains |
| Notes: 1. New Deal 50 plus was introduced in April 2000. 2. Available statistics on the New Deal 50+ programme prior to March 2003 comprised the number of people receiving the New Deal 50+ employment credit; an employment credit is paid to individuals during their first year back at work on a full-time basis. 3. Latest data are to August 2008. 4. Jobs gained from April 2006 are identified mainly from the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. Care should be taken when comparing jobs gained before and after April 2006. 5. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and therefore may not sum to total due to rounding. Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate. | |||
Future Jobs Fund
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much of the money assigned to the Future Jobs Fund in Budget 2009 is classified as (a) Jobcentre Plus and (b) employment programme spending for the purpose of his Department's three-year business plan. [278261]
Jim Knight [holding answer 8 June 2009]: In the Department's three-year plan, £1.1 billion is assigned to the Future Jobs Fund. Of this, £20 million is allocated to Jobcentre Plus and £1.08 billion is allocated to the employment programmes.
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) the East of England and (b) Suffolk claiming incapacity benefits had drug or drink dependency listed as their primary medical condition in each of the last five years. [273248]
Jonathan Shaw: Causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10(th) Revision, published by the World Health Organisation. To qualify for incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance, claimants have to undertake a medical assessment of incapacity for work which is called the Personal Capability Assessment. Therefore, the medical condition recorded on the incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claim form does not itself confer entitlement to incapacity benefits. For example, the decision for a customer claiming incapacity benefit on the grounds of alcohol and/or drug related conditions would be based on their ability to carry out the range of activities in the Personal Capability Assessment.
The available information is in the following table.
| The number of incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claimants who have alcoholism or drug abuse recorded as their main disabling condition | ||||||
| Suffolk | East of England | |||||
| As at August each year | All | Alcoholism | Drug abuse | All | Alcoholism | Drug abuse |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Data for Suffolk refer to the county of Suffolk. Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study | ||||||
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many new claims for incapacity benefit have been made in each year since 1997; and what the average time taken between the date of a first claim for incapacity benefit and the date of first payment of that benefit has been in each such year. [278046]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 8 June 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 the hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many new claims for Incapacity Benefit have been made in each year since 1997; and what the average time taken between the date of a first claim for Incapacity Benefit and the date of first payment of that benefit has been in each year since 1997. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Please find attached at Annex 1 the number of Incapacity Benefit new claims made in each year since 2003. This is the date from which records are held. We do not hold management information relating to the period between the date of claim and payment. However, Jobcentre Plus's Average Actual Clearance Time (AACT) Target measures the average number of working days taken to process a claim for Incapacity Benefit. Incapacity Benefit AACT is calculated from the date a properly completed claim form is received by Jobcentre Plus to the date a decision is made. This information is also provided at Annex 1.
| Annex A: Average actual clearance times (AACT) for incapacity benefit claims | |||
| Number of days | |||
| Incapacity benefit claims received | Incapacity benefit AACT | Target | |
Industrial Accidents
Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions since 1999 court proceedings as a consequence of a prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive relating to a work-related death were not concluded within (a) five and (b) three years following the incident. [278658]
Jonathan Shaw: The Health and Safety Executive have taken and concluded 836 prosecutions as a result of 665 work-related deaths that occurred between 1 April 1999 and 31 March 2008.
635 prosecutions were concluded within three years of the incident date of the work-related death.
176 prosecutions were not concluded within three years of the incident date of the work-related death.
25 prosecutions were not concluded within five years of the incident date of the work-related death.
A further 78 prosecutions following work-related deaths were taken and concluded in the period from 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2008, but these prosecution records do not identify the dates of the fatal incidents concerned. The time taken to complete these prosecutions can therefore not be readily determined.
Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work-related deaths since 1999 have resulted in prosecutions by the Health and Safety Executive. [278659]
Jonathan Shaw: The Health and Safety Executive have taken prosecutions as a result of 665 work-related deaths that occurred between 1 April 1999 and 31 March 2008.
The above number of deaths, which have resulted in a prosecution, is likely to increase because investigation and enforcement activity on some more recent deaths has not yet concluded.
A further 78 prosecutions following work related deaths were taken and concluded in the period from 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2008, but these prosecution records do not identify the dates of the fatal incidents concerned. Some of these may therefore have occurred before the 1 April 1999.
Jobcentre Plus
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if she will place in the Library a copy of the Jobcentre Plus National Workload Projection update from Quarter (a) one and (b) two 2009; [276440]
(2) if she will place in the Library a copy of each Jobcentre Plus National Workload Projection update used as assumptions for the Budget 2009. [276442]
Jim Knight [holding answer 19 May 2009]: Available information has been placed in the Library.
Only the quarter one 2009 national workload projection update is available.
The Jobcentre Plus National Workload Projection update used as assumptions for the Budget 2009 is informing the flexible new deal bids and is commercially sensitive.
Jobcentre Plus: Civil Proceedings
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2009, Official Report, column 1302W, on Jobcentre Plus: civil proceedings, how many times legal action has been taken against (a) Jobcentre Plus and (b) individual Jobcentre staff in each region since 2002; on what basis such action was taken in respect of each case in which legal proceedings have been concluded; and what estimate she has made of the cost to her Department of such action. [269291]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Jobcentre Plus: Manpower
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what her most recent estimate is of the number of permanent Jobcentre Plus staff who (a) are classified as without a permanent post and (b) have been classified as without a permanent post for more than 12 months. [271958]
Jim Knight: 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 right hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking for a recent estimate of the number of permanent Jobcentre Plus staff who a) are classified as without a permanent post and b) have been classified as without a permanent post for more than 12 months. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
In Jobcentre Plus, anyone who is formally recognised as not having a sustainable posting is classified as surplus. This provides such individuals with priority status when seeking a permanent post in Jobcentre Plus or elsewhere in Whitehall. As at April 2009, there were 155 surplus staff in Jobcentre Plus. Of that number, 81 people have been surplus for more than 12 months.
Naturally, in a large customer service organisation structural change is often required in order to meet changing customer needs. Of the 155 cases we are reporting, 125 are Band As. The Band A position was subject to structural change in parts of the Jobcentre Plus operation during 2007/08 and resulted in 550 Band As being declared surplus. We have been successful in reducing that number to the current level. Surplus staff are actively engaged in delivering a range of Jobcentre Plus projects and duties while seeking a new permanent position.
Line managers are responsible for supporting individuals who are declared surplus. We manage such impacts of workforce reductions on our people, through a framework agreed with our Trade Unions and these are operated within a set of Cabinet Office protocols that apply across the Civil Service. These require us to take all reasonable steps to minimise compulsory redundancies. To date no members of staff have been made redundant against their will.
Jobseeker’s Allowance
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the percentage change in the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance in each local authority area in England and Wales was over the last 12 months. [275233]
Jim Knight: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |