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7 Dec 2009 : Column 172W—continued

Jobcentre Plus

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of days were lost through sickness absence of Jobcentre Plus staff in each (a) region and (b) country of the UK in each of the last three years; what the rate of (i) early retirement and (ii) resignation on grounds of stress and ill health was amongst Jobcentre Plus staff in each (A) region and (B) country of the UK in each of the last three years; and what the rate of staff turnover was in Jobcentre Plus in each (1) region and (2) country of the UK in (y) 2007-08 and (z) 2008-09. [302246]

Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Darra Singh:

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what percentage of days were lost through sickness absence of Jobcentre Plus staff in each a) region and b) country of the UK in each of the last three years; what the rate of a) early retirement and b) resignation on grounds of stress and ill health was amongst Jobcentre Plus staff in each a) region and b) country of the UK in each of the last three years; and what the rate of staff turnover was in Jobcentre Plus in each a) region and b) country of the UK in i) 2007/08 and ii) 2008/09. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.

The table in the following annex provides details by region/country of the percentage of days lost as a result of sick absence in Jobcentre Plus. This sets out the position for 2008/09 and the latest point we have information for, i.e. the 12 month period from November 2008 to October 2009. Unfortunately, we do not hold any earlier information covering working days available and working days lost for each region/country to calculate percentage absence rates. Jobcentre Plus reports its attendance management performance in terms of average working days lost and those are the details we retain to monitor progress.

We do not have details of resignations that arose due to stress or ill health. However, we do maintain details of numbers of ill health retirements. These are contained in the following annex for each of the last three years. The figures comprise all ill health retirement cases that arose in Jobcentre Plus during the period in question.

Details of staff turnover for 2007/08 and 2008/09 are set out in the table in the annex.

Annex

Percentage rate of sick absence in jobcentre plus
	Percentage absence rate
Region/country	12 months to March 2009	12 months to October 2009
East Midlands	3.9	4.0
East of England	4.0	3.7
London	4.5	4.0
North East	4.1	3.8
North West	4.4	4.1
Scotland	4.0	3.6
South East	4.2	3.9
South West	4.0	3.8
Wales	4.3	4.0
West Midlands	4.2	4.0
Yorkshire and Humber	3.5	3.3
Note: Sickness absence levels are reported on an average working days lost basis. Source: BOXI Management Information Portal

7 Dec 2009 : Column 173W

Ill health retirements in jobcentre plus
Region/country	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09
East Midlands	7	3	6
East of England	6	4	6
London	13	4	5
North East	11	12	15
North West	14	11	13
Scotland	7	6	4
South East	12	3	7
South West	3	5	11
Wales	5	3	7
West Midlands	15	9	13
Yorkshire and Humber	14	3	3
Note: Data relate to the 12 month period to March for each of the years. Source: Dataview, extracted from Resource Management

7 Dec 2009 : Column 174W

Percentage rate of staff turnover in jobcentre plus
Region/country	2007-08	2008-09
East Midlands	5.3	5.7
East of England	4.2	4.6
London	3.3	3.6
North East	4.3	4.2
North West	4.9	4.6
Scotland	4.8	4.9
South East	4.3	4.1
South West	6.9	7.1
Wales	4.9	4.7
West Midlands	4.9	4.9
Yorkshire and Humber	4.7	5.0
Note: Data relate to the 12 month period to March for each of the years. Source: Dataview, extracted from Resource Management

Jobcentre Plus: Manpower

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many additional staff have been recruited by Jobcentre Plus from outside her Department in each region in each of the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement. [301719]

Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Darra Singh:

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many additional staff have been recruited by Jobcentre Plus from outside her Department in each region in each of the last 12 months. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.

The table at Annex 1 provides details by region/country of the number of external recruits to Jobcentre Plus in the 12 month period October 2008 to September 2009.

Annex 1: People recruited by Jobcentre Plus October 2008 to September 2009
	2008			2009
Region/country	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Total
East Midlands	54	70	28	171	63	88	85	108	220	268	219	159	1,533
East of England	26	40	32	70	40	94	93	163	324	343	228	135	1,588
London	8	97	43	74	40	85	143	193	231	307	381	264	1,866
North East	23	15	41	37	28	38	127	95	237	196	117	122	1,076
North West	45	127	79	136	126	191	85	158	276	490	321	321	2,355
Scotland	93	66	67	109	113	131	168	218	332	329	188	68	1,882
South East	37	45	85	142	73	25	186	297	207	324	215	94	1,730
South West	30	81	58	105	36	65	75	132	206	252	228	64	1,332
Wales	38	60	47	134	66	99	56	41	100	232	140	54	1,067
West Midlands	28	57	82	69	57	175	95	213	293	318	227	242	1,856
Yorkshire and the Humber	51	53	58	93	65	132	121	80	296	465	186	222	1,822
Total	433	711	620	1,140	707	1,123	1,234	1,698	2,722	3,524	2,450	1,745	18,107
Source: Department for Work and Pensions Resource Management System

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