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16 Sep 2009 : Column 2289W—continued
Wales
M4: Newport Gwent
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with Welsh Assembly Government Ministers on the M4 relief road. [291213]
Mr. Hain: I have regular meetings with the First Minister to discuss a range of issues relating to Wales, including transport matters.
Women and Equality
Polly Toynbee
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what payments (a) the Government Equalities Office and (b) the Equality and Human Rights Commission have made to Ms Polly Toynbee; and for what purposes. [291000]
Maria Eagle: The Government Equalities Office and the Equality and Human Rights Commission have made no payments to Polly Toynbee.
Work and Pensions
Children: Maintenance
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in respect of how many child maintenance cases her Department has overridden payment schedules agreed in court in each of the last five years. [282543]
Helen Goodman: I have consulted with the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission who are now responsible for child maintenance. They have confirmed that the information requested is not available.
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how long on average the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission takes to recalculate from the point of notification child maintenance liabilities for non-resident parents who return to work after a period of unemployment under the (a) old and (b) new scheme. [291132]
Helen Goodman [holding answer 14 September 2009]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for South-West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) on 14 July 2009, Official Report, column 282W.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much housing benefit has been paid to people born outside the UK in each year since 1994. [291208]
Helen Goodman: The information is not available.
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit: Hemsworth
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Hemsworth constituency have benefited from changes to industrial injuries disablement benefit since 1997. [288788]
Jonathan Shaw: The information is not available at a constituency level.
Jobcentre Plus: Chelmsford
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many job vacancies were notified to Chelmsford Jobcentre Plus in each of the last six months for which figures are available. [290994]
Jim Knight [holding answer 14 September 2009]: The information requested is in the following table.
| Notified and live unfilled vacancies in West Chelmsford in the last six months | |||
| Date | West Chelmsford parliamentary constituency | Chelmsford local authority | Chelmsford Jobcentre Plus |
| Notes: 1. Data are unrounded and will include overlaps between the areas provided for this answer. 2. Changes to Jobcentre Plus vacancy handling procedures have led to a major discontinuity in the vacancy statistics pre and post May 2006. Consequently, care should be taken in interpreting time-series data. 3. These are not whole economy figures. Coverage relates just to vacancies notified to Jobcentre Plus and as such represent a market share of vacancies throughout the whole economy. This proportion varies overtime, according to the occupation of the vacancy and industry of the employer, and by local area. 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. 4. Notified vacancies. Monthly data on the inflow of newly notified vacancies to Jobcentre Plus. 5. The stocks of live 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. 6. To provide a geographic breakdown, in most cases the postcode of the vacancy is used to allocate the vacancy to a local area. Where this is missing or invalid, the employers' postcode or the postcode of the local Jobcentre Plus office is used. 7. These figures are published at: www.nomisweb.co.uk Source: Jobcentre Plus Labour Market System | |||
Jobseeker's Allowance: Young People
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged (a) 16 and (b) 17 years were in receipt of jobseeker's allowance in each of the last 10 years. [291003]
Jim Knight [holding answer 14 September 2009]: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Number of jobseeker's allowance claimants aged 16 and 17 in Great Britain in each of the last 10 years | ||
| As at July each year: | Aged 16 | Aged 17 |
| Notes: 1. Data is rounded to the nearest five. 2. Data is published at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk Source: 100 per cent. count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus computer systems. | ||
Minimum Wage: Young People
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment she has made of the merits of providing the adult national minimum wage rate to 18 year olds. [290987]
Mr. McFadden [holding answer 14 September 2009]: I have been asked to reply.
The effects of the NMW on younger workers need to be considered carefully to avoid damaging incentives between education and work and ensure the employment prospects of younger workers are not adversely affected.
We know that young workers experience substantially worse unemployment and employment rates than adults. Both are more sensitive to the economic cycle. That is why the Low Pay Commission recommended a separate youth rate from the outset in 1999 and continues to believe there is a case for retaining them. Government and the LPC are concerned that removing the youth rates could adversely affect employment levels for this group. Earlier this year, the LPC recommended that 21-year-olds be entitled to the adult minimum wage. We have accepted this recommendation but, given the current economic conditions, stated that this change will be implemented from October 2010.
Pension Credit: Morecambe
Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency were in receipt of pensions credit on the latest date for which figures are available. [287996]
Angela Eagle: As at November 2008, there were 5,240 households in receipt of pension credit in Morecambe and Lunesdale parliamentary constituency.
Notes:
1. The number of households in receipt are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.
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