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2 Nov 2009 : Column 733W—continued
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the number of people affected by a marginal withdrawal of benefit rate of more than (a) 90 per cent., (b) 70 per cent. and (c) 50 per cent. in each of the last 10 years. [296097]
Mr. Timms: I have been asked to reply.
The Government publish estimates for the numbers of people facing high marginal deduction rates (MDRs), which include tax payments as well as benefit withdrawal. These figures are published in Budget and Pre-Budget Report documents.
Figures provided in Budget 2009 showed that the estimated number of people affected by an MDR of greater than:
90 per cent. was 60,000 (down from 130,000 before Budget 1998),
70 per cent. was estimated at 305,000 (down from 740,000 before Budget 1998).
No estimate has been made for those affected by an MDR of greater than 50 per cent.
Social Security Benefits: Fife
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assistance she is making available to (a) pensioners, (b) benefit recipients and (c) other vulnerable individuals living in North East Fife constituency in meeting the costs of their fuel needs; and what steps she is taking to ensure that people who are not in receipt of a state pension or other benefit administered by her Department are aware of the help available to them. [296127]
Angela Eagle: Pensioners in North East Fife, along with other individuals who have reached age 60, will receive a winter fuel payment to help meet the cost of their winter fuel needs. Households with those aged 60-79 receive £250 while those households with someone aged 80 or over receive £400.
Cold weather payments of £25 a week are paid to those on pension credit in periods of very cold weather. Recipients of other income-related benefits may also be entitled if they have a pensioner or disability premium included in their benefit, or they have a child who is either disabled or under the age of five in the family.
Disabled people can face extra costs all year round. Benefits such as disability living allowance provide additional weekly payments and are related to the individual's circumstances.
The Scottish Government's energy assistance package provides support to pensioners by offering standard energy efficiency measures to older pensioner households, and a package of enhanced measures to pensioners who live in energy inefficient homes. It also provides free central heating systems to all pensioners who have never had one installed in their home.
The Department for Work and Pensions also works closely with other Government Departments on the "Keep Warm Keep Well" campaign, which is aimed at vulnerable households in England, Scotland and Wales and gives information on the health benefits of keeping warm in winter, and details of the grants and benefits available.
We continue to strive to ensure that people are aware of, and take up their entitlements through, initiatives such as: data matching benefits; home visits; advertising and media campaigns; a simple and straightforward claim process and working with partner organisations.
Social Security Benefits: Fraud
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much her Department spent advertising the Government's crackdown on benefit cheats (a) in total and (b) in airline magazines in 2009. [291275]
Jim Knight [holding answer 16 September 2009]: In 2008-09, the total advertising expenditure for the 'We're Closing In' Targeting Benefit Thieves campaign was £4,967,098.
Between August and October 2009, the total expenditure on 'abroad fraud' communications in airline magazines was £50,604.
The £5 million invested in the campaign represents less than 0.004 per cent. of the benefit bill. We cannot determine exactly how much fraud has been prevented as a direct result of the campaign. However, it is worth noting that in 2000-01, before we ran fraud campaigns, the proportion of money lost to benefit fraud was 2 per cent. The most recent figures for 2008-09 show that it is now 0.6 per cent.
State Retirement Pensions
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans her Department has for future increases in the level of the state pension. [296783]
Angela Eagle: We have given a commitment to increase the basic state pension by 2.5 per cent. or the level of the September Retail Prices Index, whichever is higher.
We are committed to introduce earnings uprating of the basic state pension in 2012-13, subject to affordability and the fiscal position, or in any event by the end of the next Parliament at the latest.
The Government would inform Parliament of proposed benefit levels and tax thresholds for 2010-11 at the pre-Budget report.
Training
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 12 October 2009, Official Report, column 63W, on Jobcentre Plus: training, in which training modules or topics new recruits are trained after they have started in post; and if she will make a statement. [293597]
Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is the responsibility of 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 in which training modules or topics new recruits are trained after they have started in post. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
There is a comprehensive portfolio of induction/foundation events and specific skills and technical learning that new recruits receive before they take up their positions. This includes the 60 hours of induction/foundation learning that all new recruits receive and subsequent job specific learning; for example, all Personal Advisers will receive 130 hours of training, with Disability Benefit Advisers (DEA) receiving a further 59 hours of learning specific to the DEA role.
Once in post all Jobcentre Plus staff are subject to the Department for Work and Pensions People Performance process. As part of this process all Jobcentre Plus staff will have a minimum of four performance reviews with their line manager during the year. As part of these discussions performance will be evaluated against objectives and the relevant competency framework. A key outcome from these discussions is the agreement of a development plan for every member of staff. These will detail the agreed learning needs, identified solutions and timescales for further review. The process is designed to encourage and support the continuous development of every individual and to ensure that their knowledge and skills are continuously evaluated against current and future business needs.
Any further specific learning that someone receives (beyond their induction and initial job specific training) is dependent upon their job role, their progress, any role change and future business change.
To support learning needs, Jobcentre Plus staff have access to over 1070 job-specific learning modules in total. In addition, they have access to the Department for Work and Pensions Leadership and Management journey events. These provide staff with generic leadership and management skills and in some cases access to accreditation. Our staff are encouraged to use a wide range of learning solutions in addition to products such as coaching; for example, Jobcentre staff are encouraged to visit local providers to ensure they are able to confidently talk to our customers about the range of support that we are able to offer to them. All business changes are reviewed to identify the learning that staff will require to deliver them successfully, update learning products accordingly and develop new learning products where required.
Justice
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to implement the efficiency recommendations of the Operational Efficiency Programme relating to his Department; and what training is available to (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department in respect of the delivery of value for money savings. [296005]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice has active programmes on all of the OEP areas, though these are at different levels of development. Many of these initiatives aim to realise economies of scale from the functions the MOJ inherited on its creation. For example:
We are now in the final stages of bringing the three main ICT organisations together to form a single ICT function.
The MOJ has agreed an estates strategy to rationalise the estate it inherited on its creation and deliver significant financial, sustainability and effectiveness gains.
A detailed strategy for the MOJ procurement function called Procurement Success has been developed and signed off by our Corporate Management Board.
A new programme of activity designed to achieve the MOJ wide shared service vision for finance and human resources transactional services is currently under consideration.
The Department is also participating in HM Treasury led back office benchmarking exercises and engaging with Government heads of profession in implementing other recommendations.
Value for money features in several of the Department's internal financial training guides for Ministers and staff alike. "Money for Ministers"-An Introduction to Finance in the Ministry of Justice for Ministers-for example, is aimed at helping Ministers through the finance framework MOJ operates to achieve value for money, staying within the fiscal rules, and efficient, effective service delivery, and it offers contacts for further help and/or one-to-one tuition.
For staff, a monthly programme of workshops "Improving Financial Management in MOJ" has a specific section on looking at value for money and how to achieve it. Staff are able to get access to an e-learning module on the Department's intranet and developed by the National School for Government called "Finance Skills For All" which covers topics such as why value for money is a better measure in the public sector then profitability. More generally, the Department has embarked on a programme of bottom up change (LEAN), supported
by training, aimed at reducing or eliminating waste within a business system or process of an organisation, so that staff can use their time efficiently, concentrating on the work that adds value to their business.
Discrimination: Age
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many complaints of age discrimination were made to the Employment Tribunal Service in January to October 2009; [296846]
(2) how many complaints of discrimination on the grounds of alcohol-related problems were made to the Employment Tribunal Service in the period January to October 2009; [296822]
(3) how many complaints of discrimination on the grounds of drug addiction were made to the Employment Tribunal Service in the period January to October 2009; [296823]
(4) how many complaints of discrimination on the grounds of mental health problems were made to the Employment Tribunal Service in the period January to October 2009. [296850]
Bridget Prentice: The Employment Tribunal accepted 4,271 age discrimination claims in the period January to September 2009. Data for October 2009 are not yet available.
There were 5,566 disability discrimination claims accepted by the Employment Tribunal in the period January to September 2009.
Claims for an impairment arising from drug or alcohol addiction related issues may be included within the Disability Discrimination category but they are not broken down separately. Claims for mental health related issues are included within the Disability Discrimination category but are not broken down separately.
Henry VIII Clauses: Legislation
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Henry VIII powers have been enacted in primary legislation in the present Session of Parliament. [295599]
Mr. Wills: The Government do not routinely collect or hold information about the number of Henry VIII provisions. An exercise is being conducted in order to answer this question which will take some time. The required information is being collated and I hope to write to the hon. Member by the end of November. A copy will be placed in the House Library.
Judicial Appointments Commission
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) originally estimated cost and (b) actual cost was of the research recently commissioned by the Judicial Appointments Commission from the British Market Research Bureau on barriers to application to the judiciary. [296098]
Mr. Straw: The cost of the research, which was competitively tendered, was £83,556 and the original estimate was £89,300. Both figures are inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.
The JAC has a statutory duty to have regard to the need to increase diversity in the range of persons available for selection for judicial appointment.
The main research aims were to:
Investigate perceived barriers which may be preventing applications
How removal of barriers would increase applications
How barriers affected different groups.
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of applications to the Judicial Appointments Commission were from (a) male, (b) female and (c) black and minority ethnic candidates in each of the last three years. [296101]
Mr. Straw: The figures in the table relate to applications to the Judicial Appointments Commission for vacancies for the High Court and below.
| Applications | ||
| Percentage | Number | |
The year 2006-07 is regarded as a transitional period as far as the published data are concerned because during that period the former Department for Constitutional Affairs completed a number of exercises that were launched before the JAC was created in April 2006.
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what mechanisms are used (a) for him to be informed about and (b) to monitor the work of the Judicial Appointments Commission. [296113]
Mr. Straw: The mechanisms used to inform and monitor the work of the Judicial Appointments Commission are set out in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and the Framework Document that determines the relationship between the Ministry of Justice and the Judicial Appointments Commission. They include:
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