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21 July 2009 : Column 1294W—continued
Mrs. May:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2009, Official Report, column 65W, on Jobcentre Plus, if she will place in the Library a copy of each review conducted by Jobcentre Plus Customer Service Directors of 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, taking into account the latest known information on
the expected increase in business and customer volumes. [287989]
Jim Knight [holding answer 20 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 right hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2009, Official Report, column 65W, on Jobcentre Plus, if she will place in the Library copies of the reviews conducted by Jobcentre Plus Customer Service Directors of 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, taking into account the latest known information on the expected increase in business and customer volumes. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The outputs from the review of existing service delivery arrangements conducted by Customer Services Directors were products produced purely for internal planning purposes and not in a format appropriate for lodging in the House library. When the proposals identified by the Customer Services Directors have been reviewed and approved, we will be able to provide detail of all sites where we will be implementing solutions to meet the current capacity challenge.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2009, Official Report, column 65W, on Jobcentre Plus, which Jobcentre Plus offices are operating (a) extended opening hours and (b) Saturday openings. [287990]
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, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2009 Official Report column 65W on Jobcentre Plus if she will list the Jobcentre Plus offices which are operating (a) extended opening hours and (b) Saturday openings. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The most recent list of Jobcentre Plus offices which are operating extended service hours and/or operating on Saturdays, along with details of our normal hours of business and the areas involved in the extended opening hours pilot have been placed in the Library.
Our normal hours of business vary across the different services that we provide, predominantly on the basis of customer demand. Typically Jobcentres had been open from 9am to 5pm, except Wednesdays where we opened at 10am to allow for staff training and communications-a practice not uncommon in customer-facing organisations.
We have been keeping that position under constant review since November 2008 in the light of rising workloads and taken a number of steps in response. Specifically we have:
asked existing staff to work additional hours to allow us to provide extended service hours;
ensured that all new recruits are on an 8am to 8pm contract to allow greater flexibility in our service hours;
suspended the Wednesday late opening hour; and
commenced a structured pilot of extended opening hours across our key service lines.
Steve Webb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon.
Member for Maidenhead of 13 July 2009, Official Report, columns 63-4W, on Jobcentre Plus, what the locations are of (a) the 18 buildings that have already been modified and (b) the 151 buildings her Department is planning to modify; how much has been spent on the 18 Jobcentre Plus buildings that have already been modified to increase capacity; and if she will estimate the cost of modifying 151 Jobcentre Plus buildings to increase capacity. [288483]
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 her, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2009, Official Report, column 63-4W, to list the locations of (a) the 18 buildings that have already been modified and (b) the 151 buildings her Department is planning to modify; how much has been spent on the 18 Jobcentre Plus buildings that have already been modified to increase capacity; and for an estimate of the cost of modifying 151 Jobcentre Plus buildings to increase capacity. This is something which falls with the responsibilities to me as Acting Chief Executive.
As at 30 June 2009, estates work had been undertaken and completed on 18 of our buildings at a cost of £1m, increasing our capacity to deliver additional customer service to the public. Our response to the current capacity pressure within Jobcentre Plus is progressing on a daily basis. The latest available information has been placed in the Library.
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what mechanisms are in place to monitor the accuracy of benefits and compliance advice given to Jobcentre Plus customers by Jobcentre staff; and if she will make a statement. [288757]
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 mechanisms are in place to monitor the accuracy of benefits and compliance advice given to Jobcentre Plus customers by Jobcentre staff. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
All Jobcentre Plus staff are extensively trained to provide accurate advice to customers. If customers in receipt of benefits administered by Jobcentre Plus have an enquiry about their benefit, they are asked to contact either the Benefit Enquiry Line, the Benefit Delivery Centre handling their claim or their local Jobcentre Plus office. Customers in receipt of work-focussed benefits have regular and close contact with Jobcentre Plus to ensure their benefits are, and continue to be, paid accurately and that they are aware and reminded of their responsibilities during the lifetime of their claim. For example, customers who want to claim Jobseeker's Allowance will discuss and agree with a personal adviser realistic and achievable job goals and appropriate steps to offer the best chance of finding work. The information is recorded in the Jobseeker's Agreement, which provides a record of the advice given and forms the basis of future discussions every time someone attends the Jobcentre Plus office.
As part of Jobcentre Plus' Customer Service Target, we check the accuracy of information given to customers via a Mystery Shopping programme. The Mystery Shoppers, working on behalf of Jobcentre Plus, pose a range of scenarios to our staff both in person and via telephone calls to test this knowledge. The scenarios cover a wide range of Jobcentre Plus services including benefits
advice. These checks include ensuring that the information provided on our websites is accurate and up to date.
We also have a Quality Assurance Framework in place within Jobcentres to monitor and assess the quality of service given to our customers. It sets out the standards and skills individuals are expected to demonstrate when dealing with customers and explains the procedures to follow to achieve them. The Quality Assurance Framework is supplemented by a rigorous monitoring and checking regime which scrutinises the accuracy of a sample of claims on a monthly basis.
Jobcentre Plus: Essex
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) permanent, (b) temporary and (c) agency staff were employed in (i) benefit delivery centres and (ii) customer-facing jobcentres operated by Jobcentre Plus in each constituency in Essex in (A) each year since 2001 and (B) each of the last 24 months. [286423]
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 how many (a) permanent, (b) temporary and (c) agency
staff were employed in (i) benefit delivery centres and (ii) customer-facing jobcentres operated by Jobcentre Plus in each constituency in Essex in (A) each year since 2001 and (B) each of the last 24 months. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Available information is shown in the tables attached at Annex A and B.
Information has been provided on how many staff we have employed in total in our Essex Jobcentres and Basildon Benefit Delivery Centre from December 2007 to June 2009. We have not used any agency staff in Essex between December 2007 and June 2009.
I am unable to provide the information you have requested from 2001 onwards as we do not hold it for this period. I am also unable to provide you with details for each constituency in Essex as we do not record information for these specific locations.
We have ongoing plans to recruit further staff for our Jobcentres in Southend, Rayleigh, Canvey Island, Basildon, Brentwood, Grays and Harlow and for our Benefit Delivery Centre in Basildon. In addition to the staff employed in our Jobcentres and Basildon Benefit Delivery Centre, we also employ a number of specialist staff who help support our customers within the Office of the District Manager for Jobcentre Plus in Essex.
Neil Brettell, District Manager for Essex, will be happy to talk to you further if you have any further questions. Neil can be contacted on 01245 214242, by post at Government Buildings, Beeches Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 2RT or by email at:
Neil.Brettell@jobcentreplus.gsi.gov.uk
| Annex A: n umber of staff employed in customer services directorate/Essex jobcentres from December 2007 to June 2009. | ||||
| Fixed term | Permanent | Temporary | Total | |
| Note: Figures are whole time equivalents, not actual staff in post. Source: Dataview. | ||||
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