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2 Nov 2009 : Column 724W—continued
Employment Schemes
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how employers who are willing to provide Work Trials are identified; and what provision is made for external supervision of participants on such trials. [293590]
Jim Knight: Employers willing to provide Work Trials are identified through various channels. For example:
personal contact made by Jobcentre Plus staff as part of routine marketing, vacancy submission and vacancy follow-up activity;
national promotion, including via Backing Young Britain and the Jobcentre Plus and Directgov websites; and
Jobcentre Plus customers promoting themselves as willing to undertake a Work Trial when applying for vacancies.
Before an employer can participate in the Work Trial programme they must enter into a formal agreement with Jobcentre Plus, that covers the terms and conditions of the programme. The agreement has a requirement for the employer to provide each Work Trial participant with a named contact who will supervise their progress.
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work trial placements in each work sector have been available in each of the last 24 months. [293593]
Jim Knight: The information requested is not available.
Employment Schemes: Expenditure
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what her most recent estimate is of the average cost to her Department of a Work Trial placement. [293589]
Jim Knight: In the first half of 2009-10 a total of £605,782 was spent on reimbursing expenses incurred by those undertaking a Work Trial. Over the same period of time 20,609 people started on Work Trials giving an approximate unit cost per person of £29.
Employment Schemes: Luton
Margaret Moran:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many young people she estimates will be involved in the Community Task
Force programme in Luton in the next 12 months. [292722]
Jim Knight: Luton will be part of phase 2 roll-out of the community task force, procurement for which will begin later this year. Estimates of numbers of participants for the phase 2 contract areas are not yet available.
Prior to phase 2 roll-out the work experience element of the young persons guarantee will be delivered through the existing new deal options.
Employment Support Allowance
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps her Department is taking to ensure that autistic people are able to access a third party advocate during employment support allowance applications. [295220]
Jonathan Shaw: The process designed by Jobcentre Plus for claiming employment and support allowance encourages and fully supports the use of a third party advocate or customer representatives where someone with autism requires assistance with their claim.
Most claims for employment and support allowance are made by phone and initial scripted questions are used to establish whether or not the caller is claiming benefit on behalf of the customer and has their consent. Where customers are likely to have difficulty claiming by phone, claims can be made by post or by face to face interview and with the assistance of relatives, friends or other representatives. Where someone is unable to manage their own affairs Jobcentre Plus can appoint a suitable person to make the claim.
Employment: Mentally Ill
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (Sir Micheal Spicer), Official Report, column 834W, on the Ethnic Employment Taskforce, whether her Department has commissioned any research in order to measure progress towards eliminating discrimination in employment against people who suffer or have suffered from mental ill-health; and if she will make a statement. [292026]
Jim Knight: In July 2009, The Office for Disability Issues commissioned the Institute for Employment Studies to undertake research examining organisations' responses to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the impact of the amendments made to the Act in 2005. This research is investigating how easy employers feel it is to employ people with a range of mental health conditions. The research is due to be completed by March 2010 and we will be comparing the findings with similar research undertaken in 2006 and 2003 to explore changes over time.
Future Jobs Fund
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate her Department has made of the number of people resident in unemployment hot spots and claiming employment support allowance, income support or incapacity benefit who will participate in the Future Jobs Fund in the next 12 months. [291038]
Jim Knight [holding answer 14 September 2009]: The Future Jobs Fund will fund up to 50,000 jobs for people who have been out of work long-term in unemployment hotspots. These jobs will be open to people on a range of benefits, and it is not possible to say in advance how many will be taken by people claiming employment and support allowance, income support or incapacity benefit. However, we will monitor progress closely during live running and in the evaluation.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many jobs she expects to be created under the Future Jobs Fund in (a) Luton, (b) Bedfordshire and (c) the East of England in the next 12 months; and what types of job she expects to be created; [292719]
(2) how much funding her Department has allocated to date to (a) Luton, (b) Bedfordshire and (c) the East of England under the Future Jobs Fund; and how much funding she expects to allocate in the next 12 months. [292720]
Jim Knight: Three bidding rounds have been completed to date and information can only be provided on the jobs awarded under those rounds. It is not possible to estimate how many additional jobs may be awarded under future bidding rounds in the first 12 months of the project.
Under the first two bidding rounds, 111 jobs will be created in Luton, 137 jobs will be created in Bedfordshire and 1,375 jobs will be created in East of England. These jobs will be created between October 2009 and April 2010.
There were no successful bids for the East of England in the third bidding round which was announced on 14 October 2009.
The types of jobs that will be created in East of England region under the first two bidding rounds are as follows:
A variety of jobs working in museums;
Energy/recycling officers; grounds and facilities maintenance and gardening;
A free handyman service for vulnerable people;
Social enterprise hotel for people with special needs and disabilities;
Assistant Ranger to work alongside Countryside Ranger to enable the country park to have more volunteers of all abilities;
Excavators to assist on archaeological excavations and finds processing in Suffolk;
A variety of jobs in children's services, environmental services, transportation and housing;
Adult Social Care, Green/Environmental jobs/Support Workers children/youth); and
Market Intelligence Researcher, Administrator, Sales and Business Developer, Youth and Community Development Trainee, Landscaping Assistant, Administration and Community Assistant, Sustainability Assistant, Health Projects Assistant, Children Services Assistant, Woodland Operatives, Customer Relationship Assistant, Trainee Finance Officer, Marketing Assistant, Finance Assistant, Human Resources Assistant, Mentor/Mediator Assistant, Business Development Assistant, Recruitment Assistant.
It is also not possible to provide details of the funding allocated to Luton or Bedfordshire. Due to the make-up of the awards in those areas, to reveal information on the number of jobs awarded together with the amount of funding awarded could enable a calculation to be
made which would reveal commercially sensitive information about the bids involved.
Across East of England region, £6,475,415 has been granted in the first two bidding rounds. It is not possible to estimate how much funding may be committed under future bidding rounds in the first 12 months of the project.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will estimate the average cost of a job created under the Future Jobs Fund to date. [292721]
Jim Knight: As the number of jobs being created and costs vary between bids, the average unit cost per job will change with each funding round. The estimated average cost is expected to be between £6,300-£6,500 per job over the life of the fund.
Incapacity Benefit
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children under the age of 16 lived in households where one or more individuals were in receipt of incapacity benefit in each (a) region and (b) constituency in each of the last five years. [293579]
Jonathan Shaw: The available information has been placed in the Library.
Incapacity Benefit: Norwich
Chloe Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of (a) incapacity benefit participated in work-related programmes in each year since 1997 and (b) employment and support allowance have participated in work-related programmes since the scheme began in Norwich North constituency. [296357]
Jonathan Shaw: The information requested is not available.
Incapacity Benefit: Tamworth
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of the working age population resident in Tamworth constituency received incapacity benefit in the latest period for which figures are available. [296821]
Jonathan Shaw: At February 2009, 5.2 per cent. of the working age population in Tamworth constituency were claiming incapacity benefit.
Notes:
1. Percentage is rounded to one decimal place and includes incapacity benefit credits only claims.
2. Working age is classified as 16-59 for women and 16-64 for men.
3. The methodology used to produce the parliamentary constituency population estimates differs to the methodology used to produce the local authority mid-year estimates, and is subject to further review. In view of this ongoing work, these parliamentary constituency estimates are published as 'experimental statistics' and are under evaluation.
4. Incapacity benefit was replaced in October 2008 (for new claimants only) by employment and support allowance.
Source s :
1. Department for Work Pensions Information Directorate 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.
2. ONS Mid-term experimental population estimates for 2007.
Jobcentre Plus
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether Jobcentre Plus offices have designated maximum workload capacities. [291217]
Jim Knight [holding answer on 16 September 2009]: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is the responsibility of the Acting Chief Executive, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the right hon. Member with the information requested.
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many Jobcentre Plus offices there are in each region; [291603]
(2) how many Jobcentre Plus offices closed in each region in each of the last five years. [291604]
Jim Knight: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the former Minister of State and the letter from the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves, to the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening) on 21 April 2009, Official Report, column 650-52W.
In light of the current economic conditions and welfare reform changes planned for the next two to three years, a decision was taken late in 2008 to suspend the planned closure of 25 Jobcentres. Three small offices in London, where closure had been previously announced, subsequently closed in March and April 2009. No Jobcentres have closed since April 2009.
Jobcentre Plus: Birmingham
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) permanent, (b) temporary and (c) agency staff have been employed in (i) benefit delivery centres and (ii) customer-facing jobcentres operated by Jobcentre Plus in Birmingham, Sparkbrook & Small Heath constituency in each year since 2004. [291439]
Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is the responsibility of the Acting Chief Executive, 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 a) permanent b) temporary and c) agency staff have been employed in i) Benefit Delivery Centres and ii) customer-facing Jobcentres operated by Jobcentre Plus in Birmingham, Sparkbrook & Small Heath constituency in each year since 2004. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Information below national level for the period prior to 2006/07 is not available. The table below sets out data for each of the years 2006/07, 2007/08 and 2008/09, broken down by permanent, fixed-term appointment and temporary staff. We do not employ agency staff. In addition, in the period since March, Sparkhill Jobcentre has seen further staffing increases in line with the increases across Jobcentre Plus more generally to deal with rising unemployment levels.
| Staff employed by the Benefit Delivery Centre and Jobcentre Plus in Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency | ||
| Ravenhurst Benefit Delivery Centre | Sparkhill Jobcentre Plus | |
| Notes: 1. Headcount figures are quoted in full time equivalents using the Office for National Statistics definitions for counting headcount and details the position at March for each of the last three years. 2. The figures have been rounded to whole numbers. Source: The data provided is taken from Dataview, an electronic extract drawn from payroll. | ||
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