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5 Jan 2010 : Column 110W—continued
Departmental Internet
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what redesigns of websites operated by (a) her Department and (b) its agencies have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) date of completion of each such redesign was. [306157]
Jim Knight: Since 27 June 2007 the following websites operated by this Department or its Agencies have been redesigned:
| Completion | Website | Cost (£000) |
Departmental Theft
Grant Shapps:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials of (a) her Department and (b) its agencies have (i) been reprimanded, (ii) had their contract of employment terminated and (iii) been prosecuted for theft of
departmental property in each of the last three years; and what items were stolen in each case. [300967]
Jim Knight: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) records the numbers of staff disciplined for theft under the general heading of fraud, theft and loss of DWP funds. To extract more detailed information from individual records under this category could be done only at disproportionate cost.
The number of people disciplined for fraud, theft and loss to DWP funds in each of the last three years is as follows:
| Business | |||||
| Child Support Agency | Corporate Shared Services | Jobcentre Plus | Pensions, Disability and Carers Service | DWP total | |
Information on how many officials have been prosecuted for theft of departmental property in each of the last three years, and what items were stolen in each case, is not available in the exact format requested; such information as is available is set out in the following table which shows the number of staff convicted in the last three years for theft of cash, consumables or instruments of payment that were subsequently cashed.
| Items stolen | Number of staff convicted | |
Departmental Translation Services
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by her Department on providing translation services for its customers in each of the last 12 years. [304380]
Jim Knight: The DWP provides a range of language translation services for customers across Great Britain (as Northern Ireland is excluded), namely:
1. Face to Face
2. Telephone.
3. Translating by a range of services which includes the translation of departmental information leaflets and other documents that are provided to customers in a range of ethnic languages, audio and Braille, as well as all publications for Welsh speaking customers living in Wales.
4. We are also able to offer an ad hoc service to convert documents into Easy Read format.
The contractual arrangements for the services have been developed over a number of years and as a result spend has not been applicable for some of these services in each of the last five years or data have not been able to be gathered for spend during some years. Disproportionate cost would be incurred in trying to identify such spend.
We are also unable to provide data prior to 2003-04 as data were not held centrally prior to then.
The range of services also includes the translation of departmental information leaflets that are provided to customers into a range of ethnic languages, as well as all publications for Welsh-speaking customers.
NDPB's have access to our frameworks but we do not hold centrally any data relating to their specific spend, if any, via these services. To ascertain this would incur disproportionate cost.
The information requested is given in the following table:
| £ | ||||||
| Type of translation service | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
| (1) Not available without incurring disproportionate cost as data not held centrally or are combined within other category data and not possible to separate. (2) This figure includes all translation spend for the International Pensions Centre (IPC) which previously was not held centrally-total £381,370.59 for 2008-09. | ||||||
Employment and Support Allowance
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what her Department's policy is on referring to an independent advocate those persons in need of support when applying for employment and support allowance. [304773]
Jim Knight: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave to the hon. Member for Torbay (Mr. Sanders) on 2 November 2009, Official Report, column 724W.
Employment and Support Allowance: Medical Examinations
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many appeals against an original outcome of a work capability assessment have been upheld to date. [305267]
Jonathan Shaw: The most recent data published on appeal outcomes following a Work Capability Assessment was published in October 2009 and is provided as follows:
| Work Capability Assessment appeals heard on 'Fit for Work' decisions-data to end of August 2009 | |
| Number | |
| Notes: 1. Includes clerical assessments, we can infer that an appeal that links to a clerical assessment was very likely to be against a 'fit for work' decision. 2. Due to the time it takes for appeals to be submitted to Tribunal Service and heard, a very limited volume of appeals heard data are held currently. Volumes will increase in the coming months as more appeals are processed giving a more robust picture of appeal volumes and outcomes. | |
Employment Schemes: Tourettes Syndrome
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what provision is made in the training of disability employment advisers to enable them to recognise and support people with Tourette syndrome seeking employment; and if she will make a statement. [306533]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 15 December 2009]: 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.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning what provision is made in the training of disability employment advisers to enable them to recognise and support people with Tourette syndrome seeking employment. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) are not specifically trained to recognise customers with Tourette Syndrome, however they are equipped to identify and either deal with or signpost customers to specialist help to address a diverse range of circumstances. Jobcentre Plus policy is to develop its people with the skills required to support a range of customers and to respect their individual needs.
The learning programme for Jobcentre Plus DEAs focuses on customers requiring more extensive support regarding their personal circumstances and the challenges they may have in their ability to look for and move into sustainable employment.
Equality 2025
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have had with representatives of Equality 2025; and if she will make a statement. [302790]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 30 November 2009]: Equality 2025 is an advisory non-departmental public body established in response to a recommendation in the 2005 report by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit "Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People". It is sponsored by (but is not part of) the Office for Disability Issues, part of the Department for Work and Pensions.
I meet with the chair and deputy chair of Equality 2025 on a quarterly basis; the most recent meeting took place on 30 November. In addition, the chair and some members of Equality 2025 recently accompanied me to a number of events around the country. I also attended, and spoke at, Equality 2025's Annual Public Meeting in October 2009.
Meetings take place between Equality 2025 members and officials within the Office for Disability Issues and the Department for Work and Pensions on a range of matters, such as the UN Convention on Disability Rights, the Independent Living Strategy, the Hate Crime Strategy, the Equality Bill, and communication strategies. Equality 2025 members are also members of the ad hoc advisory groups supporting the Independent Living Strategy and Right to Control project.
As a cross-government group, Equality 2025 also meets with Ministers and officials beyond DWP. The chair has a standing invitation to the Life Chances ministerial group which I chair and is attended by Ministers from each 'Life Chances' department. The group meets quarterly. Equality 2025 members also have bi-lateral discussions with officials across Government in support of the Equality 2025 Workplan and in response to requests for advice from Government Departments.
More formally, the Minister for Disability and I have recently been reviewing the work of Equality 2025 and its achievements over the last three years. With the agreement of Equality 2025, we are now taking the opportunity to further develop its strategic role as an 'expert group' and to streamline its size. Instead of running regional engagement events to find out disabled people's views, the group will build strong links with key disability organisations, umbrella groups and others across the United Kingdom. This will enable them to acquire a more representative picture of disabled people's views.
Future Jobs Fund
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made towards the target of 10,000 Future Jobs Fund jobs being green jobs. [304395]
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