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22 Jun 2009 : Column 681W—continued
Foreign Workers
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 11 May 2009, Official Report, column 570W, on foreign workers, how many national insurance numbers were issued to adult (a) non-UK EU nationals and (b) non-EU nationals in each quarter between January 2004 and September 2007. [281115]
Jim Knight: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 3 November 2008, Official Report, column 5W.
Future Jobs Fund
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when she plans to answer question 277276, on the Future Jobs Fund, tabled on 20 May 2009. [280677]
Jim Knight: The hon. Member's question was answered on 16 June 2009, Official Report, column 163W.
Future Jobs Fund: Culture
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Future Jobs Fund in relation to jobs in culture and the creative industries. [280658]
Jim Knight [holding answer 18 June 2009]: The Future Jobs Fund is an important new initiative announced in the Budget 2009 worth £1 billion to create 150,000 new jobs both for young people and individuals living in unemployment hotspots. We are inviting bids from a wide range of organisations and partnerships including those from the culture and creative industries to create valuable jobs that bring real benefits to individuals and their communities.
The fund will be allocated following a competitive bidding process that opened on 13 May 2009. Initial bids from organisations and partnerships wanting to create jobs from October onwards should be submitted by 30 June 2009. After this date, bids will be assessed on a rolling basis with funding allocated around eight weeks before jobs are due to commence. We are unable to make any formal assessment at this stage given that we are yet to allocate any funding to potential employers.
It is important that we help young people and those struggling to find work to move into jobs in growth sectors to prepare them to be a part of the economic recovery. The culture and creative industries will be vital to the United Kingdom's economic recovery and
so we are keen that they play an important role in delivering jobs through the Future Jobs Fund. Officials from both the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have been working closely with representative bodies from these sectors to help them put together a strong bid to the fund.
Olympic Games 2012
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many full-time equivalent members of staff in (a) her Department and (b) its associated public bodies are working on projects relating to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games; how many of them are working on (i) project management, (ii) legacy planning, (iii) project oversight and (iv) financial oversight; and what plans she has for future staffing levels in each case. [279815]
Jim Knight: The information is as follows:
| DWP | |
| Work area | FTE |
DWP has recruited 0.6 FTE to support legacy planning and project oversight and has no plans to increase staffing levels in this area for the year 2009-10.
| Jobcentre Plus | |
| Work a rea | FTE |
Current work-force plans for Jobcentre Plus extend to March 2010 over which period there is no increase expected.
| Health and Safety Executive | |
| Work area | FTE |
Inspection of the Olympic construction activities will be undertaken as an integral part of Construction Division’s workload.
The Office for Disability Issues has on a number of occasions provided advice and expertise to Ministers, other Government Departments and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games on disability issues relating to London 2012. It is not however, possible to quantify this in terms of staff numbers.
Pensioners: Economic Situation
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assistance her Department is providing to pensioners adversely affected by the economic downturn. [280171]
Angela Eagle: The Government are continuing to support pensioners appropriately through the economic downturn. A £60 payment went to pensioners in early 2009, which took the total value of the Christmas bonus this year to £70.
An additional payment alongside the winter fuel payment for winters 2008-09 and 2009-10 of £50 for households with someone aged 60 to 79 and £100 for those with someone aged 80 or over. This means the winter fuel payments will be £250 and £400 respectively which provides a significant contribution towards an older person's winter fuel bill.
From April 2009 the pensioners on the lowest incomes saw the biggest increase to the pension credit standard minimum guarantee since it was introduced, taking the standard minimum guarantee to £130 a week for single people and £198.45 for couples.
In order to help those pensioners who receive income from savings and who may have been affected by lower interest rates, the Government will be increasing the threshold in pension credit (and housing and council tax benefit for those who have attained the qualifying age for pension credit) from £6,000 to £10,000 from November 2009, so that pensioners can have up to £10,000 without it affecting their benefits.
The Government have committed to maintain the standard interest rate used to calculate support for mortgage interest at 6.08 per cent. for a further six months until the end of December 2009, to provide continued support for homeowners on pension credit who receive help with their mortgage.
The Government are also launching a tax back awareness campaign in autumn 2009 contacting all those in receipt of pension credit to encourage them to claim back tax they may have overpaid on their savings income and, where possible, register to receive interest on their savings tax-free in future.
Social Security Benefits: Disabled
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were claiming (a) incapacity benefit and (b) disability living allowance when their primary health problem or condition was alcohol-related in each of the last 10 years; and how many such claimants were (i) under 18 years and (ii) over state pension age in each of those years. [269050]
Jonathan Shaw: Causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th 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 related conditions would be based on their ability to carry out the range of activities in the personal capability assessment.
The information for disability living allowance is not collated centrally.
The available information for incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance is in the table.
| Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claimants, by gender and age, with alcohol related disabling condition in each of the last 10 years | |||
| All alcohol related | Aged under 18 | Over pension age | |
| Notes: 1. Case load figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Data are at August in each year. 3. State pension age is defined as age 60 or over for women and age 65 or over for men. 4. For the purposes of incapacity benefit only one diagnosis is recorded but an individual may have other conditions that contribute to their overall level of functional impairment. Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. | |||
Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 1 June 2009, Official Report, column 104W, on social security benefits: medical examinations, how many doctors were complained against under the heading of claimants’ experiences. [278704]
Jonathan Shaw: Of the 60 complaints received under the heading “claimants’ experiences”, 41 involved Health Care Professionals. The term Health Care Professional covers both registered doctors and registered nurses who conduct medical examinations on behalf of the Department.
Vibration White Finger
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many coal miners have retired on medical advice having contracted vibration white finger in the last 30 years. [279042]
Jonathan Shaw: The requested information is not available.
Woolworths: Redundancy
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many former Woolworths employees have been placed into new employment by Jobcentre Plus in each constituency; [279100]
(2) how many former Woolworths employees are claiming jobseeker's allowance in each parliamentary constituency. [279101]
Jim Knight [holding answer 11 June 2009]: The information requested is not available. Details of previous employers are not collated centrally.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when she plans to answer question 275954, tabled by the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire on 15 May 2009, on 0845 telephone numbers. [278036]
Jim Knight [holding answer 4 June 2009]: The hon. Member’s question was answered on 15 June 2009, Official Report, column 49W.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Apprentices
Mr. Vara:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people
began apprenticeships under the apprenticeship programme for 16-to-18 year olds in (a) North West Cambridgeshire, (b) Cambridgeshire, (c) the East of England and (d) England in each year since the scheme was introduced. [275922]
Mr. Simon: The table shows the number of 16 to 18-year-olds starting an apprenticeship in North West Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency, Cambridgeshire local authority, the East of England region and England for 2003/04 onwards, the earliest year for which we have comparable data.
| Apprenticeship starts for 16 to 18-year-olds | |||||
| 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | |
| Notes: 1. Area is based on home postcode of learner. 2. Figures for parliamentary constituency have been rounded to the nearest 10. All other figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred. Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding. 3. Figures for England include those learners with missing postcodes, and home postcodes outside of England. Source: WBL ILR | |||||
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