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21 July 2009 : Column 1314W—continued

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many customers who have made job starts under Pathways to Work have remained in employment for spells of (a) under 13 weeks, (b) between 13 and 26 weeks, (c) between 26 and 52 weeks and (d) over 53 weeks. [288512]

Jim Knight [holding answer 20 July 2009]: Official statistics on the number of participants in Pathways to Work are available up to January 2009, these are published at:

http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/i_ref_p2w.asp

Data on starts are available up to January 2009. Data on job entries are available up to October 2008. The following table shows the duration of jobs for all jobs up to October 2007. This is to allow sufficient time for a customer to have remained in work for 12 months. Official statistics use both HMRC data and Return to Work Credit data to calculate how many Pathways customers have moved into employment. Information on job end dates can only be derived for individuals who have a matching employment spell on the HMRC data. Numbers of individuals who remain in employment on this database are shown in the table.

Number of individuals with job entries in Pathways to Work areas and the employment duration of those which have an HMRC record
Duration in employment	Provider-led	Jobcentre Plus
Total job entries (up to end of October 2008)	11,200	137,110
Total job entries (up to end of October 2007)	n/a	90,070
Of which:
Are HMRC-recorded jobs	n/a	51,330
Under 13 weeks	n/a	14,400
13 to 26 weeks	n/a	7,500
26 to 52 weeks	n/a	7,260
52 weeks and over	n/a	22,170
Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. If a person has started employment more than once in the period, then their most recent employment is counted. Source: DWP Jobcentre Plus and Provider-led databases

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate her Department has made of (a) the number of customers which have started Pathways to Work and (b) the proportion of Pathways to Work customers who have made recorded job starts in each year for which figures are available. [288518]

Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 20 July 2009]: Official statistics on the number of participants in Pathways to Work are available up to January 2009, these are published at:

http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/ib_ref_p2w.asp

Data on starts to Pathways are available up to January 2009. Data on job entries are available up to October
21 July 2009 : Column 1315W
2008. As a result, the numbers who find employment within 91 days of their last contact with Pathways for the years 2008 and 2009 years are not fully complete as
21 July 2009 : Column 1316W
not all customers have had time to move into employment. Numbers of individuals who start Pathways and move into employment are shown in the following tables.

Number of individuals who started Pathways to Work and subsequently found employment in Pathfinder-led areas
	Individual Pathfinder-led starts	Number which find employment within 91 days of last contact with Pathways	Proportion of Pathfinder-led starts which entered employment within 91 days of last contact with Pathways (percentage)
October 2003 to December 2003	n/a	n/a	n/a
January 2004 to December 2004	n/a	n/a	n/a
January 2005 to December 2005	n/a	n/a	n/a
January 2006 to December 2006	n/a	n/a	n/a
January 2007 to December 2007	1,960	650	33.3

Number of individuals who started Pathways to Work and subsequently found employment in Jobcentre Plus areas
	Individual Jobcentre Plus starts	Number of which found employment within 91 days of last contact with Pathways	Proportion of Jobcentre Plus starts which entered employment within 91 days of last contact with Pathways (percentage)
October 2003 to December 2003	6,160	1,330	21.6
January 2004 to December 2004	72,920	14,490	19.9
January 2005 to December 2005	104,390	17,410	16.7
January 2006 to December 2006	209,020	35,450	17.0
January 2007 to December 2007	301,060	56,490	18.8
Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. If a person has started Pathways or employment more than once in each year, then their first spell is counted each year. 3. A person is counted only once in each year, though they may appear in several years. As a result, the total number of individuals which have participated in Pathways since its inception cannot be derived by adding the number of individuals which have participated each year. Source: DWP Jobcentre Plus and Provider-led databases

Pension Credit

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans her Department has (a) to introduce automatic payments of pension credit and (b) to automate some parts of the pension credit claim process; what estimate she has made of the number of claimants affected; and what assessment she has made of the effect of such changes on levels of pension credit take-up. [285798]

Angela Eagle: We have no current plans to introduce wholesale automatic payments of pension credit. However, for existing customers moving from a means-tested working age benefit onto pension credit we are proposing to smooth the transition between benefits using the information already held, where it is considered safe to do so.

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of (a) new and (b) re-assessed pension credit applications were processed in (i) 10 days and fewer, (ii) 11 to 15 days, (iii) 16 to 20 days, (iv) 21 to 25 days and (v) over 25 days in each of the last six quarters; and if she will make a statement. [287320]

Angela Eagle: We are unable to provide the level of detail requested. However the following table details the average actual clearance times (AACT) for pension credit, each year since 2007.

Pension credit clearance times
	2007-08	2008-09	June YTD( 1) 2009-10
Target (days)	(2)AACT 15	AACT 15	AACT 15
Total Processed	280,097	298,075	74,894
AACT (days)	15.6	15	15.7
(1 )Year to date. (2 )Actual average clearance time. Source: Pension Service Legacy System

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how long on average it took to process a claim for pension credit in each (a) region and (b) processing centre in each of the last six quarters; and if she will make a statement. [287321]

Angela Eagle: The following table gives the YTD pension credit AACT at the end of each of the last six quarters. The national figures for pension credit are under the heading 'The Pension Service'.

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21 July 2009 : Column 1318W

Pension credit claims AACT YTD by quarter
Pension credit claims AACT	March 2008 YTD	June 2008 YTD	September 2008 YTD	December 2008 YTD	March 2009 YTD	June 2009 YTD
The Pension Service	15.64	14.25	14.59	14.55	14.95	15.71
Burnley Pension Centre	13.73	11.51	10.98	11.65	12.87	20.29
Cwmbran Pension Centre	9.3	9.3	9.18	9.16	9.18	10.98
Dundee Pension Centre	13.01	11.94	11.95	13.28	15.5	18.3
Leicester Pension Centre	22.18	16.13	17.92	17.37	15.81	8.85
London Pension Centre	14.37	12.45	12.45	12.78	13.09	15.45
Motherwell Pension Centre	14.64	15.4	15.75	15.96	17.11	13.6
Seaham Pension Centre	15.86	11.59	11.65	12.7	12.96	13.49
Stockport Pension Centre	22.94	18.45	19.09	18.39	17.57	13.47
Swansea Pension Centre	14.68	17.32	17.28	15.67	15.49	17.64
Warrington Pension Centre	15.77	16.39	17.64	16.97	17.32	21.53
Source: MISP (Management Information Systems Program)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what her most recent estimate is of the number of male claimants of pension credit between 60 and 65 years old in each region of (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland. [287711]

Angela Eagle: The requested information is in the following table. In Northern Ireland, pension credit administration is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Pension credit case load: number of claimants who are male and aged 60-64
Government office region	Number of claimants
North East	13,630
North West	30,820
Yorkshire and the Humber	20,810
East Midlands	15,090
West Midlands	22,070
East of England	16,680
London	27,240
South East	21,250
South West	16,510
England	184,100
Wales	13,360
Scotland	22,730
Total	220,230
Notes: 1. The case load figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

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