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11 Nov 2009 : Column 571W—continued
Pensioners: Poverty
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of pensioners have been living in absolute poverty in (a) the North East and (b) the UK in each year since 2006. [298351]
Angela Eagle: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave on 26 October 2009, Official Report, columns 166-67W.
The answer was published in Hansard at:
Self-employed: Government Assistance
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what additional funding has been allocated to the provision of self-employment support under the six month offer; [291649]
(2) what (a) grants and (b) other capital funding will be available to jobseekers taking up the offer of self-employment support under the Six Month Offer. [291650]
Jim Knight: Under the Six Month Offer, there are two elements to the help on offer to people who want to move into self-employment or start a business. To provide financial support during the early weeks of trading, customers can claim a self-employment credit paid at a rate of £50 a week for up to 16 weeks. This is payable once the customer ceases claiming jobseeker's allowance and takes up self-employment.
We are also giving additional funds to Business Link Providers in England, Flexible Support for Business in Wales, and Training for Work in Scotland to provide intensive self-employment and business start-up support and advice for those who need it before they leave benefit. This help can extend into the first weeks of trading, if required.
The Six Month Offer does not provide capital grants to help with initial business start-up costs. However, as with any other person setting up a new business, those eligible for the Six Month Offer will be able to apply for the relevant grants that are available in each country. For example, in England, decisions about what business support is available in each region is decided by the regional development agencies. The full range of publicly funded support in England can be found in the Solutions for Business portfolio on the Business Link website.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have received self- employment credit in each month since April 2009. [297355]
Jim Knight: The information requested on the number of people who have received the self-employment credit is shown in the following table. The latest figures available are for July 2009.
| 2009 | Number of people receiving self-employment credit |
| Notes: 1. Figures above 10 are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Months are calendar months. Source: DWP research at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/6month_offer.asp | |
Social Security Benefits
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate her Department has made of the average unit cost of (a) job broking and (b) benefit processing for (i) incapacity benefit, (ii) employment and support allowance and (c) jobseeker's allowance in each year since 2004-05. [290724]
Jim Knight [holding answer 9 September 2009]: 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 respond to your question asking what estimate her Department has made of the average unit cost of (a) job broking and (b) benefit processing for (i) incapacity benefit, (ii) employment and support allowance and (c) jobseeker's allowance in each year since 2004-05. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
It is not possible to provide an average unit cost for job broking as not all job broking costs have a measurable volume. The requested benefit processing unit costs for (i) incapacity benefit (IB) is in the table below. ESA started in October 2008 and therefore the data for ESA in 2008-9 is not included as the data is not available for the full year.
| £ | |||||
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
For jobseeker's allowance, the benefit processing unit costs in each year were:
| £ | |||||
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| Source: DWP/Jobcentre Plus Finance. | |||||
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received (a) jobseeker's allowance, (b) income support and (c) incapacity benefit in (i) England and (ii) North East Cambridgeshire in each of the last 15 years; and if she will make a statement. [291001]
Helen Goodman [holding answer 14 September 2009]: The available information is in the following tables.
| Jobseeker's allowance claimants | ||
| England | North East Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency | |
| Notes: 1. Data are un-rounded. 2. Data are published at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk 3. Jobseeker's allowance was introduced from October 1996. Source: 100 per cent. count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus Computer Systems. | ||
| Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claimants | ||
| England | North East Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency | |
| Notes: 1. Incapacity benefit replaced sickness benefit and invalidity benefit from April 1995. 2. Figures for February 1996 to February 1999 are based on 5 per cent. data and have been uprated in line with 100 per cent. WPLS totals. 3. Data for 1996 to 1999 have been rounded to the nearest 100. 4. February 2000 to February 2009 are based on 100 per cent. WPLS data. 5. Data for 2000 to 2009 have been rounded to the nearest 10. 6. These data do not include claimants of employment and support allowance introduced from October 2008. 7. Data from 2000 are published at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk 8. Includes incapacity benefit credits only cases. Source: DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample data. DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent. WPLS. | ||
| Income support claimants | ||
| England | North East Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency | |
| Notes: 1. From October 1996 jobseeker's allowance replaced income support for unemployed people, therefore for consistency income support figures prior to this date have not been included. 2. Figures for February 1997 to February 1999 are based on 5 per cent. data and have been uprated in line with 100 per cent. WPLS totals. 3. Data for 1997 to 1999 have been rounded to the nearest 100. 4. February 2000 to February 2009 are based on 100 per cent. WPLS data. 5. Data for 2000 to 2009 have been rounded to the nearest 10. 6. Due to the introduction of pension credit in October 2003, it is standard practice to exclude minimum income guarantee claimants in all figures produced. 7. Data from 2000 are published at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk Source: DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample data. DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent. WPLS. | ||
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