| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
13 July 2009 : Column 62W—continued
Financial Assistance Scheme
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been paid out under the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) to members of qualifying pension schemes; and how many and what proportion of such members have received payments from the FAS. [283544]
Angela Eagle: As of 19 June 2009 the FAS Operational Unit (FASOU) has assessed 666 schemes for payment and from these 12,126 people are now receiving payments. We have paid out more than £60,000,000.
All members who have notified the FASOU and are eligible for the FAS are receiving payments. We have assessed a further 692 members who will be paid when they return their personal details and a further 3581 members who will be paid when they reach their normal retirement age.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints her Department has received about the Financial Assistance Scheme since December 2007. [283580]
Angela Eagle: Since December 2007, the financial assistance scheme operational unit has received eight customer complaints.
Health and Safety Executive: Communication Service Providers
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many requests for communications data were made by the Health and Safety Executive to communication service providers (CSPs) under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003, (e) 2004, (f) 2005, (g) 2006, (h) 2007 and (i) 2008; and how many of these requests resulted in the requested communications data being disclosed by the relevant CSP. [284869]
Jim Knight: Before 2004, HSE sought information from communication service providers (CSPs) through use of powers under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA). These were not recorded centrally.
Since 2004, HSE has sought information through the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). HSE has made no requests for communications data from CSPs under HSWA, since 2004.
The number of requests under RIPA are as follows:
| Number of requests | ||
| M ade by HSE to CSPs | R esulting in communi cations data being provided | |
Housing Benefit
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance her Department provides to local authorities on the publication of housing benefit localities; and if she will make a statement. [285215]
Helen Goodman: Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMAs) are determined by rent officers according to legislation set out in the Rent Officers Order. Once a determination of new boundaries has been made following a review of a BRMA, rent officers must inform the local authority of the new boundaries not more than one month in advance of the BRMA taking effect. Local housing allowance rates for each BRMA will be published by the Valuation Office Agency on the LHA Direct website.
Jobcentre Plus
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which jobcentres have (a) acquired new office space, (b) extended existing office space and (c) converted existing office space to meet the work demands of higher benefit caseloads in the last 12 months. [283590]
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 questions asking which jobcentres have (a) acquired new office space, (b) extended existing office space and (c) converted existing office space to meet the work demands of higher benefit caseloads in the last 12 months. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Jobcentre Plus Customer Service Directors were asked to review their existing service delivery arrangements in meeting the challenge of the current economic climate and taking into account the planned welfare reform changes for the next two to three years. This review took into account the latest known information on the expected increase in business and customer volumes.
This exercise has identified that around 50 per cent. of Jobcentre Plus offices currently face capacity pressures. These pressures will be met through a range of solutions and we are unable to provide the data to fully respond to your questions (a, b and c) until all of these solutions have been implemented.
In the light of the increased customer demand we have embarked on a programme to convert or extend our existing buildings where necessary. In addition we aim to make our services more accessible to customers by providing a range of support through outreach, often delivering advisory and other support on partners' premises. We are supplementing these measures by operating extended opening hours in some locations where the need for this is
identified locally. This includes some offices opening to the public on Saturday. We will only acquire new space where all other measures are insufficient.
To date estates work has been undertaken on 18 of our buildings to increase our capacity to serve the public and these works are now complete. Detailed estates planning is under way on a further 151 of our buildings. We are finalising our plans to meet the capacity challenge in the remainder of our offices.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the number of working days lost of staff of Jobcentre Plus in (a) each month since January 2008 and (b) each year since 1997. [285805]
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 estimate she has made of (a) the number of working days lost for staff of Jobcentre Plus in each month since January 2008 and (b) the average number of such working days lost in each year since 1997. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Available information is shown in the following tables.
| Average working days lost by month | |
| Number | |
| So urce: The monthly information provided has been drawn from the Ml Portal for the period January 2008 to October 2008 and from BOXI for the subsequent period from November 2008 to May 2009 (the latest information available). | |
| Average working days lost by year | |
| Number | |
| Sources: 2003 to 2006-07 - the Cabinet Office's annual report 'Analysis of sick absence in the Civil Service'; 2007-08 and 2008-09 - DWP's HR computer systems. | |
I am unable to provide annual information from 1997 as Jobcentre Plus was only formed in April 2002. The annual information provided for the first three years (2003 to 2005) relates to each calendar year reported in the Cabinet Office's Annual Report 'Analysis of sick absence in the Civil Service'. For 2006-07, the reporting period changed from calendar year to our operational year (April to March).
Jobcentre Plus: Access
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment her Department has made of levels of accessibility of Jobcentre Plus offices for elderly and disabled people; and if she will make a statement. [285148]
Jim Knight [holding answer 8 July 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 what recent assessment her Department has made of levels of accessibility of Jobcentre Plus offices for elderly and disabled people. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Jobcentre Plus offices are designed to include accessibility measures for the elderly and disabled people in accordance with statutory requirements and Building Regulations. These measures are reviewed annually by the Department's external facilities provider, Telereal Trillium, as part of the annual building assessment which they are responsible for carrying out under the private finance initiative negotiated in 1998. The annual assessments may be carried out sooner if there is a major reconfiguration of a building, to check that our statutory and regulatory responsibilities are fully met.
Our departmental policy on provision of services requires us to ensure that both offices and processes do not discriminate against any of our customers. If any of our customers do have any real difficulty with accessing services in an office, we are always able to offer other options to meet their needs, for example home visits or call back arrangements.
Jobcentre Plus: Consultants
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much Jobcentre Plus spent on consultants in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08. [279382]
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 for Work and Pensions has asked me to respond to your question asking how much Jobcentre Plus spent on consultants in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Jobcentre Plus spent £6m on consultancy costs in 2006/07 and £11m in 2007/08.
Source:
Departmental Financial Systems
Jobcentre Plus: Disabled
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what her Department's policy is on the provision of accessible seating for elderly and disabled people in Jobcentre Plus offices. [284248]
Jim Knight [holding answer 3 July 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 what her Department's policy is on the provision of accessible seating for elderly and disabled people in Jobcentre Plus offices. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The Disability Discrimination Act requires all providers of public services to ensure that services to customers can be accessed by all, whether that is in regard to the physical office environments or by other means. Our departmental policy on provision of services requires us to ensure that both offices and processes do not discriminate against any of our customers-this includes the range of seating components in use in our public offices.
All our components are designed and risk assessed with the full business process in mind, for example taking account of waiting times at any particular stage and considering comfort alongside safety. There is also a range of chairs, which are available for our customers should any individual have a particular problem for example, waiting seating with high or low backs and a height adjustable chair can be offered if necessary. If any of our customers have any real difficulty with accessing services in an office, however, we are always able to offer other options to meet the need, for example home visits or call back arrangements.
Disability access audits were also introduced during the rollout of Jobcentre Plus, to ensure that where physically possible, our offices provided suitable access for all groups, including customers with mobility and sensory impairments.
Jobcentre Plus: Drugs
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment her Department plans to make of the effectiveness of drug co-ordinators in Jobcentre Plus. [284846]
Jim Knight: Evaluation examining the effectiveness of drug co-ordinators will take place next year. It will examine key aspects of the drug co-ordinator role in order to identify best practice and areas for improvement, and explore ways in which co-ordinators engage in wider partnership working. The research will explore the perceptions and experiences of a range of stakeholders, including service users.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |