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2 July 2009 : Column 422W—continued
Work and Pensions
Council Tax Benefits
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the average age of council tax benefit applicants in the last 12 months. [283457]
Helen Goodman: The information is not available in the format requested. The Department for Work and Pensions holds claimant information rather than applicant information.
The most recent available information is that the average age of claimants of council tax benefit in May 2004 was 58.
Source:
This figure is derived from the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System annual 1 per cent. sample taken in May 2004.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which of her Department’s agencies have submitted bids for efficiency savings to be used for pay improvements in 2009 pay offers. [283031]
Jim Knight: Neither DWP nor any of its agencies have submitted bids for efficiency savings to be used for pay improvements in 2009 pay offers.
Departmental Procurement
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress her Department has made in opening its procurement process to small and medium-sized enterprises. [282505]
Jim Knight: DWP commercial and procurement teams use the Sustainable Procurement Risk Assessment Methodology (SPRAM) as part of their activities and the use of small and medium-sized enterprises is covered within this procedure.
The Department benefits from a diverse market and choice of supply. The Department fully supports and follows procurement rules which are based on the concepts of transparency and non discrimination.
DWP is committed to “competitive neutrality” among its suppliers and to public sector best practice and acts in accordance with OGC standards. Where contract opportunities are to be competed they are appropriately advertised to the market and fair competition is used to select the most suitable solution and value for money obtained for the tax payer.
Where practical, requirements are packaged to make them more attractive to smaller suppliers. This can include dividing requirements into lots, allowing regional rather than national provision or, where this is not practical, by encouraging primary contractors to use smaller and medium-sized enterprises as sub contractors.
In 2007-08 we had 31 SME suppliers in our top 200 (15.5 per cent.) who attracted a spend of £158.5 million (4.7 per cent.).
In 2008-09 we had 72 SME suppliers in our top 200 (36.0 per cent.) who attracted a spend of £251.5 million (7.0 per cent.).
Therefore in 2008-09 the number of SME suppliers in our top 200 increased by 41 (132 per cent.) and their spend increased by £93 million (58.6 per cent.).
Employment Services
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the caseload under Jobcentre Plus Support contracts in the next 12 months. [271707]
Jim Knight: There are no direct caseload figures for the Jobcentre Plus support contract.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many commercial employment providers have signed up to participate in the delivery of help for newly unemployed and executive Jobcentre Plus customers. [271708]
Jim Knight: As part of the Government's response to the economic downturn the DWP has put in place extra support for newly unemployed customers, including a service for professionals and executives.
This new service was introduced nationally from 6 April 2009, and currently a database of 316 suitable providers has been developed from which individual customers can select the organisation best able to meet their needs.
Jobcentre Plus: Telephone Services
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether free telephones are available for the use of Jobcentre Plus customers in (a) Ormskirk jobcentre, (b) Southport jobcentre and (c) each jobcentre in Liverpool. [283604]
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 hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking whether free telephones are available for the use of Jobcentre Plus customers in Ormskirk Jobcentre, Southport Jobcentre and each jobcentre in Liverpool. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Jobcentre Plus is constantly reviewing services to ensure that we provide the best possible standard of service to our customers. An increasing amount of face-to-face customer contact is on an appointment basis and information on job vacancies is readily available by telephone and the Internet. This enables staff in our offices to focus on those customers in greatest need of support to return to work.
All Jobcentre Plus offices, including those in Ormskirk, Southport and Liverpool, have customer access phones which are available for our customers to use free of charge. They are available primarily for customers who do not have alternative means of contact, who do not have a telephone at home or a mobile phone.
Jobseeker’s Allowance
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate her Department has made of the average distance between the home of a jobseeker’s allowance claimant and the nearest Jobcentre Plus office; and if she will make a statement. [272701]
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 hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what recent estimate his Department has made of the average distance between the home of a jobseeker’s allowance claimant and the nearest Jobcentre Plus office; and if he will make a statement. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Jobcentre Plus has a large network of offices with a wide and constantly changing customer base. These factors preclude an accurate assessment being made in relation to an average distance between the home of a jobseeker’s allowance claimant and the nearest Jobcentre Plus office.
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 aim to 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 particularly 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 more than 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.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will make it her policy to remove restrictions on access to work-related training for jobseeker's allowance claimants. [282605]
Jim Knight: We recognise that for some people lack of skills can hamper their entry into work and we actively support jobseekers in gaining the necessary skills.
Jobseekers can take part in part-time training at any point in their claim as long as it is for less than 16 hours per week, and may also undertake two weeks of full-time training within a 12-month period. In both cases, customers remain on jobseeker's allowance. This training could be with a range of learning providers, including further education colleges and provision arranged through the devolved Administrations' vocational training programmes.
Jobseeker's allowance customers must be available for and actively seeking work as their main activity and must be prepared to take up the offer of a job at short notice. However, within certain parameters, customers can undertake full-time training if this is needed in order to gain the necessary skills to enter employment. Customers undertaking full-time training are transferred to a training allowance, to which the 16-hour study rule does not apply.
Financial support for other full-time students is the responsibility of the education sector.
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