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15 July 2009 : Column 432W—continued
New Deal Schemes
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people completed a new deal programme in each of the last three years; and what the cost of new deal programmes was in each of those years. [280241]
Jim Knight: The following table gives the available data on the number of people who left the New Deal programmes in the last three years. The figures cover only New Deal for Young People, New Deal 25-Plus and New Deal for Partners. They include people leaving from the Jobcentre Plus and the provider-delivered elements of the programme.
| Total leavers from the above stated programmes | |
| Notes: Time Series-year of leaving. The calendar year of leaving New Deal. Latest data are to November 2008. 1. The totals for each year exclude those customers on New Deal for Lone Parents, Disabled People and New Deal 50 Plus due to the unavailability of the data. 2. The measure used for New Deal for Partners is Leavers (individuals) as spells are not available for this New Deal. They may or may not have completed. For all other programmes the figures shown are for those who have completed. 3. Since June 2008, New Deal for Disabled People has ceased to operate as a national programme. Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. | |
The following table shows the costs of the contracted out element only for the three years 200-07 to 2008-09. It is not possible to split out the costs for the Jobcentre Plus element from normal Jobcentre Plus running costs.
| £ million | |||
| Programme | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
| Notes: 1. New Deal for Disabled People reductions in 2008-09 are due to the introduction of provider-led pathways in 60 per cent. of the country. 2. New Deal for Lone Parents reduction in 2008-09 are due to costs for In Work Credit being transferred from the DEL (Programme) account to Annually Managed Expenditure (AME). 3. Expenditure figures exclude administration costs as they cannot be identified since 2002-03, when ring fences were removed with agreement from HM Treasury. 4. The figures for 2008-09 are indicative pending scrutiny and sign-off by NAO. 5. The source of the above data is the DWP financial systems. Figures agree with those published in the departmental report. | |||
Poverty
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of people were (a) classified as living in poverty, (b) claiming jobseeker's allowance and (c) claiming employment and support allowance in each local authority area in each year since 2000. [285861]
Jim Knight [holding answer 13 July 2009]: Poverty statistics, published in the Households Below Average Income series, only allow a breakdown of the overall number and proportion of people in relative poverty at Country and Government Office Region levels or for Inner or Outer London. This means information for each local authority area is not available.
The number of JSA claimants in each local authority since 2000 is given in the document that has been placed in the Library.
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) replaced incapacity benefit for new claims from 27 October 2008. The latest quarterly data available is November 2008, which means that a full quarter's data are not available at present. Provisional headline figures are shown in the following table. Information for each local authority area is not yet available.
| Provisional working age claimants of ESA November 2008 | |
| ESA (T housand) | |
| Notes: 1. Figure relating to ESA has been thoroughly quality assured to National Statistics Standard, however it should be noted that this is a new benefit using a new data source which may not have reached steady state in terms of operational processing and retrospection. Hence ESA figures for November 2008 are provisional. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred. Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. | |
Social Security Benefits: Overpayments
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many overpayments of each type of benefit were made to claimants in each year since 1997. [267319]
Helen Goodman: The Department's strategy for measuring fraud and error focuses on providing estimates of the monetary value of fraud and error and does not provide estimates of the number of payments over or underpaid over a particular time period so this is not available.
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the amount of overpayments of each type of benefit was in each year since 1997. [267438]
Helen Goodman: The Department's strategy for measuring fraud and error focuses on providing estimates of the monetary value of fraud and error. Estimates of the value and the percentage of expenditure for benefits that have been measured since 1997 have been placed in the Library. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 11 May 2009, Official Report, columns 571-73W.
Unemployment
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to page 37 of Building Britain's Future (1) what criteria will be used to designate the areas of high unemployment in which 50,000 new jobs will be provided; [284957]
(2) what level of recruitment subsidies will be provided to support access to jobs by adults who have been unemployed for six months; who will administer such subsidies; and for how long such subsidies will be paid. [284958]
Jim Knight: Those areas we have defined as areas of high unemployment are those where the rate of claimant unemployment is at least 1.5 percentage points above the national average.
The recruitment subsidy is worth £1,000. Subsidised jobs have to be for a minimum of 16 hours a week and expected to last for at least six months. In England, the recruitment subsidy could also be combined with access to Train to Gain support, which is typically worth £1,500.
The recruitment subsidy is administered by Jobcentre Plus.
Unemployment: Oxfordshire
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions who in Oxfordshire will be responsible for ensuring that from 2010 every person under 25 years who has been unemployed for a year will be able to take up a guaranteed job, work experience or a training place. [284962]
Jim Knight: We expect that local authorities, partnerships and organisations will work together to create job opportunities for the young people in their area. Jobcentre Plus advisers will be responsible for ensuring that customers are given access to the full range of offers.
Unemployment: Young People
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the Draft Legislative Programme 2009, Cm 7564, page 37, what steps will be taken from 2010 against a person aged under 25 years who has been unemployed for a year and who fails to take up a job, work experience or a training place. [284960]
Jim Knight: From April 2010, we will require all young people aged 18 to 25 approaching the 12-month point of their claim to jobseeker's allowance to take up one of the offers included in the Young Person's Guarantee: a subsidised job, training or a place on the Community Task Force.
We know that most jobseeker's allowance customers want to get back to work, and we expect the Young Person's Guarantee to help thousands of young people into jobs. Where a customer refuses to take up the job or provision they are referred to without good reason, the existing jobseeker's allowance conditionality rules will apply and they may be subject to a benefit sanction.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the Draft Legislative Programme 2009, Cm 7564, page 37, what her definition is of a guaranteed job which a person aged under 25 who has been unemployed for a year will be required to take up. [284963]
Jim Knight: The Budget spoke of a guaranteed offer, one element of which is a job. The jobs consist of 150,000 new jobs created through the Future Jobs Fund and additionally up to 100,000 existing jobs in key employment sectors. These will be offered alongside work-focused training or meaningful activity via a community task force.
Young Persons' Guarantee
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the cost to her Department of implementing the change in the Young Persons' Guarantee from a voluntary to a mandatory programme. [285143]
Jim Knight: In his 2009 Budget statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £1.1 billion for the delivery of the young persons guarantee and future jobs fund. Work is ongoing to determine the specific costs of each initiative under mandation, but we are confident they will be delivered from within the funding.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate her Department has made of (a) the number of young people aged 18 to 24 years who will reach 12 months claiming jobseeker's allowance, (b) the number of young people aged 18 to 24 years who will receive assistance from the Young Persons' Guarantee and (c) how much the Young Persons' Guarantee will cost to deliver in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12. [285146]
Jim Knight: We do not forecast unemployment figures; however we will guarantee an offer for all 18 to 24-year-olds approaching 12 months on jobseeker's allowance.
The young person's guarantee is funded until 2010-11. £250 million has been allocated for 2009-10 and £843 million for 2010-11.
Justice
Debt Collection
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 24 April 2009, Official Report, column 958W, on debt collection, what assessment HM Courts Service made of the risk of persons in debt incurring further debts by charging bailiff payments to credit cards. [286075]
Bridget Prentice: The inclusion of credit card facilities extends the range of options available for payment. Payment routes available elsewhere were considered-there is precedent for the acceptance of credit and debit cards in other areas of public services. In addition, payment by credit card is already well established in many magistrates courts and all fixed penalty offices. Bailiffs operate under well-defined behaviour standards and there are no incentives to favour credit cards over the other current methods of repayment. There are a range of routes available to any debtor who genuinely cannot afford to pay. HM Courts Service is currently evaluating the scheme of taking payments by credit and debit cards. I am awaiting the results of the evaluation.
Departmental Electronic Equipment
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) photocopiers, (b) scanning devices and (c) fax machines, excluding multi-function devices, there are in his Department; how many there were in his Department and its predecessor in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [286169]
Mr. Wills: As part of the Department's efforts to reduce its impact on the environment and comply with the Greening Government ICT strategy published in July 2008, a programme is underway across the MOJ headquarters to replace photocopiers and printers with multi-functional devices, which optimise the green benefits for printing and photocopying services.
The following information has been obtained from central records covering MOJ headquarters, Her Majesty's Courts Service, Tribunals Service and Office of the Public Guardian:
193 document scanners
373 barcode scanners
202 document scanners
378 barcode scanners.
For the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), information is as follows:
2,309 fax machines; 476 scanners;
2,404 fax machines; 447 scanners;
439 scanners.
(1) Fax machines purchased in April 2009 have been removed from the contract and the figure is therefore unavailable. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The other detailed information requested is not collected centrally and could only be obtained through a separate data gathering exercise which would incur disproportionate costs.
Driving under Influence: Convictions
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many (a) men and (b) women under the age of 18 were (i) proceeded against, (ii) found guilty and (iii) sentenced to immediate custody for offences of drink driving in each year since 1997; [285786]
(2) how many (a) men and (b) women have been (i) proceeded against, (ii) found guilty of and (iii) sentenced to immediate custody for a drink-driving offence in each year since 1997. [285999]
Claire Ward: Available information held on prosecutions and resultant convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or taking drugs in England and Wales from 1997 to 2007 (latest available) are shown in the tables.
The data provided covers both drink and drugs offences combined, as they cannot reliably be distinguished separately.
Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
| Table 1: Proceedings at magistrates courts, findings of guilt at all courts, sentenced to immediate custody, by gender, for persons under the age of 18 years for 'driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs', England and Wales 1997 to 2007( 1,2) | ||||||
| Number of offences | ||||||
| Offence type: driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs | ||||||
| Under 18 years | ||||||
| Male | Female | |||||
| Proceeded against | Findings of guilt | Immediate custody | Proceeded against | Findings of guilt | Immediate custody | |
| (1) It is known that for some police force areas the reporting of court proceedings, in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform-Evidence and Analysis unit, Ministry of Justice | ||||||
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