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21 July 2009 : Column 1300W—continued
Jobcentre Plus: Finance
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much funding Jobcentre Plus has been given to deal with the increased numbers of unemployed people in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement. [288587]
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 reply to your question asking how much funding Jobcentre Plus has been given to deal with the increased numbers of unemployed people in the last 12 months. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The funding announced in both the November 2008 pre-budget report and Budget 2009, means that Jobcentre Plus budgets have increased by approximately £2,032m over 2009/10 and 2010/11 compared with original plans. The remainder of the funding to the Department will go towards other areas which are affected by the recession, such as employment programmes and funding to local authorities for the administration of Housing Benefit.
Jobcentre Plus: Greater London
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) benefit delivery centres and (b) customer-facing jobcentres were operated by Jobcentre Plus in each London borough in each of the last 24 months. [275518]
Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive, 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) benefit delivery centres and; (b) customer-facing jobcentres were operated by Jobcentre Plus in each London borough in each of the last 24 months. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Tables showing the number of offices in which benefits were processed, and the number of Jobcentres, in each London Borough from July 2007 to June 2009 have been placed in the Library.
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) 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 London borough in (A) each year since 2002 and (B) each of the last 24 months; [276546]
(2) when she plans to answer Question 276546, on Jobcentre Plus, tabled on 15 May 2009. [285055]
Jim Knight [holding answer 20 May 2009]: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive, 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 London borough in (A) each year since 2002 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.
Tables giving an estimate of Benefit Delivery Centre and Jobcentre staffing in each London Borough from December 2007 to April 2009 have been placed in the Library as Annexes 1 to 17.
Jobcentre Plus in London did not employ any agency staff during the period in question.
Jobcentre Plus: Interviews
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance her Department has issued to Jobcentre Plus on the duration of jobseekers' interviews; whether jobseeker interviews are required to be on a one-to-one basis; how frequently jobseekers may be required to sign on; what recent guidance her Department has issued to Jobcentre Plus on caseload management; and if she will place in the Library a copy of this guidance. [271621]
Jim Knight: Jobcentre Plus operations are built around the need to provide the support that people need to help them find work as soon as possible.
The average length of the initial interview is 40 minutes, but the actual time taken will vary depending upon individual customer needs. Everyone making a claim for jobseeker's allowance (JSA) has this one-to-one interview with a personal adviser to assess their circumstances, discuss and set in place a jobseeker's agreement and make sure they have information about and access to the help they need. The interview may be shorter if, for example, some of the information is already held.
Following the initial interview, jobseekers are normally then asked to attend the local office fortnightly for a
jobsearch review. The average time allocation for these contacts is 7.5 minutes, but the actual time taken will vary depending upon customer needs. For those people who do not find work quickly, a review is undertaken at or around 13 weeks. The average length of this review is 20 minutes, but the method of delivery and duration of contact will vary, depending upon individual needs. Further interviews take place if the claim lasts longer and interviews taking place at key points such as six months would be of a longer duration.
Detailed guidance has been issued to Jobcentre Plus staff, particularly in view of the introduction of new services in April. Copies have been placed in the Library.
Jobcentre Plus: Manpower
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the proportion of Jobcentre Plus staff engaged in (a) administering benefits and (b) helping jobseekers find employment. [285594]
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 has been made of the proportion of Jobcentre Plus staff engaged in (a) administrating benefits and (b) helping job seekers find employment. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
As at May 2009, Jobcentre Plus deployed around 31,300 full-time equivalents in activity relating to benefit processing and around 25,900 full-time equivalents in activity which helps job seekers find employment. These staff make up 43 per cent and 36 per cent respectively of the total Jobcentre Plus staffing. However, there are also over 5,200 full-time equivalents (a further seven per cent of total staffing) undertaking activity as contact centre agents. This activity covers a mix of benefit processing and job broking services.
In addition, there are 8,026 carrying out operational business management and support roles and 1,780 are in supporting functions in National Directorates such as Finance, Planning and HR but we do not attribute them specifically to either benefit processing or job broking.
We are continuously reviewing the levels of staffing within Jobcentre Plus to ensure that we maintain a service to our customers as workloads change.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what her most recent estimate is of (a) the number of Jobcentre Plus staff required for the delivery of the jobseeker's regime under the Flexible New Deal and (b) the number of Jobcentre Plus staff recruited to deliver the regime in 2009-10. [286743]
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 for Work and Pensions has asked me to respond to your question asking what her most recent estimate is of (a) the number of Jobcentre Plus staff required for the delivery of the jobseeker's regime under the Flexible New Deal and (b) the number of additional Jobcentre Plus staff recruited for this
purpose. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive.
Latest figures are for May 2009 and show there are 857 staff working on the Flexible New Deal.
The Jobseeker's Regime and Flexible New Deal programme was developed so that it could be delivered on a cost-neutral basis, that is at no additional cost over and above the cost of delivering the existing New Deal for people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance.
We are continuously reviewing the levels of staffing within Jobcentre Plus to ensure that we can provide an appropriate level of service to our customers as workloads constantly change. This means that numbers of staff on front line activities may be switched to meet workload demands.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the number of Jobcentre Plus staff required to deliver fortnightly jobsearch reviews as part of jobseeker's allowance; and how many of the additional (a) 6,000 staff announced in the Pre-Budget Report and (b) 10,000 staff announced in Budget 2009 will undertake fortnightly jobsearch reviews. [286744]
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 for Work and Pensions has asked me to respond to your question asking what estimate she has made of the number of Jobcentre Plus staff necessary to deliver fortnightly job search reviews as part of Jobseeker's Allowance; and how many of the additional (a) 6,000 staff announced in the Pre-Budget Report and (b) 10,000 staff announced in Budget 2009 will undertake fortnightly job search reviews. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive.
As at May 2009, Jobcentre Plus deployed around 31,300 full-time equivalents in activity relating to benefit processing and around 25,900 full-time equivalents in activity which helps job seekers find employment. Following the announcements made in the Pre-budget report and this year's Budget our latest estimates are that Jobcentre Plus will have approximately 6,000 staff delivering fortnightly job search reviews. However, there are also over 5,200 full-time equivalents undertaking activity as contact centre agents. This activity covers a mix of benefit processing and job broking services.
We are continuously reviewing the levels of staffing within Jobcentre Plus to ensure that we can provide an appropriate level of service to our customers as workloads constantly change. This means that numbers of staff on front line activities may be switched to meet workload demands.
Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff Jobcentre Plus have recruited to deal with the effects of the economic downturn. [288449]
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 my hon. Friend with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many staff Jobcentre Plus has recruited to deal with the effects of the economic downturn. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
For the period from November 2008 to June 2009, Jobcentre Plus had recruited around 9,500 full-time equivalents to deal with the increased workloads resulting from the economic downturn. People who have been recruited are employed on a range of customer facing roles, covering benefit processing and job broking services.
Further recruitment is currently ongoing. We are continually reviewing the levels of staffing within Jobcentre Plus to ensure that services to our customers are maintained as workloads change.
Jobcentre Plus: Pay
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent on (a) Jobcentre Plus staff bonuses for staff in each district and (b) Pension Service staff bonuses in each month of (i) 2009-10 to date, (ii) 2008-09 and (iii) 2007-08. [286641]
Jim Knight: The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Jobcentre Plus: Tamworth
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many vacancies were advertised in the Tamworth Jobcentre in 2008; and for how long on average each such job was advertised. [283848]
Jim Knight: The available information is in the following table.
| Number of vacancies advertised in Tamworth Jobcentre | |||
| 2008 | Notified vacancies | Live unfilled vacancies | Median duration (days) |
| Notes: 1. Interpretation of these data needs to take account of changes in recent years to Jobcentre Plus procedures for taking and handling vacancies. These figures are not fully comparable over time and may not indicate developments in the labour market. A more detailed explanation is available on the nomis website at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/Default.asp 2. The stocks of unfilled vacancies reflect more accurately job opportunities available via Jobcentre Plus. In the case of unfilled vacancies, use of the figures on live vacancies is recommended (i.e. excluding suspended vacancies), and this is the default option. Live vacancies may still include some vacancies which have already been filled or are otherwise no longer open to recruits, due to natural lags in procedures for following up vacancies with employers. 3. Data are unrounded. 4. Comprehensive estimates of all job vacancies (not just those notified to Jobcentre Plus) are available from the monthly ONS vacancy survey since April 2001, based on a sample of some 6,000 enterprises. However, the ONS survey is currently designed to provide national estimates only. 5. Median duration is measured in days and is the median time between notification and closure of vacancies. Source: Jobcentre Plus Labour Market System. | |||
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