Debt Management operate one 0845 telephone number. The average call duration of which, for December 2009, was as follows:
| Service line | Number | Average call duration |
Digital Technology: Finance
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what funding her Department has provided for the Lighthouse Project on digital inclusion to date. [315597]
Helen Goodman: The Lighthouse Project was a charitable organisation located in Halesowen and Wednesbury in the west midlands offering drop-in advice and a wide range of support services to the local community. Jobcentre Plus has not been involved in any of their funding.
Employment and Support Allowance
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what training (a) Jobcentre Plus staff and (b) medical staff in her Department have received in relation to the administration of special rules for employment and support allowance for people with cancer. [314731]
Jim Knight [holding answer 1 February 2010]: 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 asking what training (a) Jobcentre Plus staff and (b) medical staff in her Department have received in relation to the administration of special rules for Employment and Support Allowance for people with cancer. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
As part of the training for administering Employment and Support Allowance, Jobcentre Plus staff access three specific training events delivered in a classroom environment amounting to six hours of learning. The events provide an overview of ‘Support Group’ customers whose health conditions, including those with cancer, mean it is unreasonable to require them to engage in work related activities, and customers who satisfy ‘Special Rules’ conditions whereby they are not expected to live for more than six months. The training provides staff with an understanding of the Work Capability Assessment process and how customers falling into these categories are identified. The training also provides trainees with an understanding of the actions they are expected to take, and how the rules and conditionality affect customers with cancer.
Additionally, all healthcare professionals working for Atos Healthcare who carry out special rules checks for Employment and Support Allowance receive training in both the medical and administrative aspects of the referrals. Administrative components of the training include the use of relevant computer systems, dealing promptly with the referrals and obtaining further medical
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evidence if required, usually by telephoning clinicians involved in the customer’s medical treatment. The medical aspects of the training cover areas such as the application of the healthcare professional’s medical knowledge in relation to the relevant benefit entitlement criteria.
I hope this information is helpful.
Employment Schemes: Graduates
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many graduates exclusively resident in (a) Test Valley borough, (b) Southampton City and (c) the ceremonial county of Hampshire have taken up (i) graduate internship, (ii) a non-graduate internship, (iii) work and (iv) training since the young person’s guarantee came into effect; and how many are claiming jobseekers' allowance under the guarantee. [313878]
Helen Goodman: The information requested is not currently available.
The young person’s guarantee came into effect on 25 January.
Employment Schemes: Wales
Mr. Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what steps her Department is taking to assist jobseeker's allowance claimants resident in Wales to move into employment; [314551]
(2) what assistance under which initiatives her Department provides to help young jobless people in Wales to return to employment. [314553]
Jim Knight: The Government are taking decisive steps in Wales, and across the UK, to reduce unemployment and is committed to helping people return to work. It is for this reason that we have made available up to £5 billion, since November 2008, to offer substantial new support to jobseekers to help them find work at all stages of their claim.
We have quadrupled funding to the rapid response service which provides support to employees under threat of redundancy, helping to prevent them falling into long-term unemployment. We have also significantly increased funding to maintain and increase the existing support that is available to newly unemployed claimants through Jobcentre Plus and its external partners.
As well as help with jobsearch skills and access to basic skills training, newly unemployed people now have day-one access to Local Employment Partnership vacancies, help to meet the expenses involved in finding work and, for some, work trials.
In April 2009, we strengthened this support by introducing group jobsearch sessions specifically targeted at newly unemployed people, as well as specialist back to work support for newly unemployed professionals and executives, delivered through recruitment agencies. We also introduced a substantial package of support, the six month offer, for those people who were still claiming jobseeker’s allowance after six months. This offer provides unemployed people with access to recruitment subsidies, self-employment help, volunteering opportunities and work-focused training.
The Government have also targeted significant new resource on young people in recognition of the particular challenges young people face during a recession. Young
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people in Wales will now benefit from the young person’s guarantee, launched by the Prime Minister on 25 January. This guarantees an offer of a job, training or work experience to all 18-24 year olds who have been claiming JSA for six months.
The future jobs fund, part of the young person’s guarantee, has already created around 9700 jobs across Wales.
In addition, people who have been claiming jobseeker’s allowance for 12 months or longer have access to the new flexible new deal which offers tailored, flexible help and support, particularly for those people who experience repeated cycles of unemployment.
Furthermore, we are providing additional support for people who need extra help in the deprived areas in Wales through the City Strategy Pathfinders of Rhyl and Heads of the Valleys, two additional partnerships (Swansea Bay and Mon Menai), and Jobcentre Plus districts with deprived wards not covered by these specific initiatives. The Department for Work and Pensions is contributing approximately £12.4 million to these initiatives from its deprived areas fund (DAF) during 2009-11.
Employment Schemes: Young People
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether her Department provides funding to assist teenage parents not in education, employment or training to gain access to (a) education, (b) employment and (c) training. [316531]
Helen Goodman [holding answer 8 February 2010]: Teenage parents have access to a wide range of pre and post employment support. This includes the new deal for lone parents and new deal for partners. Both programmes offer eligible parents, aged 16 years and over, access to a specialist personal adviser and a package of support, including training, tailored to the circumstances of the individual.
Everyone making a claim to jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) has an initial interview with a personal adviser to discuss their employment goals and how they will go about achieving those goals. In addition to the support available to all new JSA customers, those aged between 18 and 24 have access to extra adviser support and programmes, such as mentoring and work experience, designed specifically for this age group; those who have less than six months post-education work experience also have immediate access to the work trial programme. All 18-year-old new claimants have the opportunity to attend a ‘group jobsearch session’ which offers wide ranging advice on job-hunting and provides information on the services offered by Connexions/Careers Service in relation to education and training.
All 18-year-old jobseekers who have been outside education, employment or training for a continuous period of 26 weeks prior to making their claim, will be automatically mandated to the supported stage of the flexible new deal or the new deal for young people, where they receive more intensive adviser support and access to a wider range of employment measures. Some other 18 (and 19) year olds, those considered to be at greatest disadvantage in the labour market, have voluntary access to this more intensive support.
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All 18 to 24-year-olds entering stage three of the flexible new deal process or the new deal gateway, are eligible for the young person’s guarantee; an offer of a job, training or work experience. Individuals can be fast-tracked to early access to this provision.
A small number of 16 and 17-year-olds are also able to claim JSA, mainly those in ‘severe hardship’. These customers will see a specialist adviser in Jobcentre Plus and the vast majority of them must, as a condition of their claim, register for work and training with Connexions/Careers Service who are best placed to provide advice and guidance to this age group.
Future Jobs Fund
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will take steps to widen the Future Jobs Fund to include private sector employers. [315990]
Jim Knight: Private sector employers can already submit applications to the Future Jobs Fund either directly or as part of a wider partnership. In order to receive funding bidders must demonstrate that they meet all of the funding criteria. One of the criteria is that the jobs have a clear benefit to the community. Our current Jobs Fund Guidance, including that on community benefit, is available on the DWP website -
http://campaigns.dwp.gov.uk/campaigns/futurejobsfund/index.asp
Jobcentre Plus
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether it is her Department's policy that Benefit Delivery Centres accept faxed copied of documents relating to benefit claims; and whether she plans to revise the system for processing benefit claims by Benefit Delivery Centres. [314935]
Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive, 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 asking whether Benefit Delivery Centres accept faxed copied of documents relating to benefit claims. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Jobcentre Plus needs evidence to support new and repeat claims to benefit and any change of circumstances. Our preferred channel for submitting this evidence is for the customer to directly post this to the Benefit Delivery Centre (BDC).
We take a risk based approach when verifying the evidence that has been provided. For example, to verify a person's identity, the original documents are required. However, for supporting information that is considered to be less high risk then copies, faxed or otherwise, may be accepted.
If a customer does not want to post their evidence to the BDC, or if the customer has been identified as vulnerable, an appointment can be made to hand their evidence in at a Jobcentre. This allows the customer to attend the Jobcentre where their documents will be verified and notified to the BDC.
I hope this information is helpful.
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Jobcentre Plus: Resignations
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of Jobcentre Plus staff have left the organisation in each of the last five years; and whether her Department has conducted an analysis of which sectors such staff moved to. [314936]
Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive, 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 asking how many and what percentage of Jobcentre Plus staff have left the organisation in each of the last five years; and whether the Department has conducted an analysis of which sectors they moved to. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The following table provides the numbers of staff who have left the organisation in each of the years and displays this as a percentage of the average number of people in the organisation in each of the years. These numbers show people leaving the Department for Work and Pensions from Jobcentre Plus for reasons like retirement, resignation, dismissal and end of contract. It does not include people who join another part of the Department or staff transferring to another Government Department.
We are unable to provide details for the full five year period. Our records go back to April 2006. The latest published data we have is to September 2009. Neither the Department nor Jobcentre Plus analyses where people move to, subsequent to their leaving.
|
| April 2006 to March 2007 | April 2007 to March 2008 | April 2008 to March 2009 | April 2009 to September 2009 |
I hope this information is helpful.
Maternity Benefits: Hemsworth
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women resident in Hemsworth have received the Sure Start maternity grant since its introduction. [316635]
Helen Goodman: The information is not available by parliamentary constituency.
Social Security Benefits: Armed Forces
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how the spouse of a serving member of the armed forces is treated for the purposes of claiming jobseeker's allowance in circumstances where that person has left a previous employment owing to the relocation of the serving member of the armed forces. [316488]
Jim Knight:
Spouses of service personnel who leave their employment to follow their partner will have just cause for doing so, provided they do not leave earlier than is reasonably necessary in order to arrange the
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move. This means that they will not be precluded from receiving jobseekers allowance on the grounds of voluntary unemployment.
Leaving employment in order to move home is specifically covered in the decision makers guide.
A copy of the guide is available in the Library and is available on the Department for Work and Pensions’ website at:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides/decision-makers-guide/
Each case is considered on an individual basis with regard to the relevant legislation and the information provided by the person claiming jobseekers allowance.
Social Security Benefits: Fraud
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what her latest estimate is of the monetary value of fraud connected with each social security benefit in the latest period for which information is available. [316402]
Helen Goodman [holding answer 8 February 2010]: The available information is in the table:
| Estimated overpayments due to fraud in 2008-09 | |
|
| £ |
| (1) All incapacity benefit figures are taken from the 2008-09 incapacity benefit continuous measurement exercise. (2) "Interdependencies" is an estimate of the knock-on effects of disability living allowance overpayments on caring and disability premiums on income-related benefits, which depend on the rate of disability living allowance in payment. (3) The rate of fraud and error on unreviewed benefits has been estimated. Where suitable proxies exist, percentage-of-expenditure results from reviewed benefits that are similar are used. Where such proxies are not available the average of all measured benefits has been used. (4) The estimate of fraud and error in council tax benefit is based on the results of measurement of housing benefit, adjusted to account for the greater proportion of pensioners in receipt of council tax benefit. (5) Columns may not sum to totals due to rounding. Note:Customer fraud in income support also resulted in approximately £10 million of underpayments, which is not included, or netted off in this table. Sources: 1. Published National Statistics. 2. Fraud and Error in the Benefit System: April 2008 to March 2009. | |