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6 Apr 2010 : Column 1186W—continued
Departmental Internet
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2010, Official Report, column 1023W, on departmental internet, what the cost was of the website redesign. [321921]
Jim Knight: The cost of the DWP Corporate website redesign was £216,000. The website was redesigned as part of our response to Sir David Varney's transformational government recommendations that customer-facing content should move to Directgov and employer-facing content to Business Link. We therefore redesigned the corporate site for its refined corporate audience and removed all customer-facing content, while at the same time implementing new Cabinet Office guidelines for Government websites.
Employment Schemes: Birmingham
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Birmingham have received (a) the in-work credit, (b) the return to work credit and (c) pathways to work since that scheme was introduced. [325241]
Helen Goodman: 1,480 lone parents in the Birmingham local authority area have received in-work credit since it became available there in April 2008.
15,190 individuals received provider-led pathways to work support in the Birmingham local authority area up to the end of July 2009.
1,120 individuals received the return to work credit in the Birmingham local authority area up to the end of October 2009.
Employment Schemes: Voluntary Organisations
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment she has made of the likely effects on the voluntary sector of the decision to reduce the number of prime contractors under the Work Choice Programme. [325464]
Jonathan Shaw: Smaller, specialist organisations including those from the faith-based, voluntary and third sector already play an important role in delivering support to our customers. For example, as of 1 March 2010, 29 per cent. of the Department's Welfare to Work contracts were with providers from the third sector, compared to 38 per cent. from the private sector and 33 per cent. from the public sector.
As we move to longer, larger contracts with prime contractors, it is important that we do all we can to ensure that organisations from the voluntary and third sector are engaged and made aware of the opportunities to work as sub-contractors/partners with the prime contractors. Prime contractors will be expected to ensure that DWP provision is joined up with local partnership arrangements, working with smaller, specialist providers, many of whom will be third sector or voluntary organisations dealing with disadvantaged groups in the local area.
Specifically, as part of the procurement of the Work Choice programme, DWP established a database to facilitate the networking between prospective prime contractors and delivery partners. This was published on the DWP website; updated on an ongoing basis and included the contact details of all organisations who agreed to have these details published. Additionally, two events took place in September 2009, to further facilitate networking between potential prime providers and those organisations seeking to deliver at sub-contractor level. Nearly 600 people attended these events.
DWP are taking every public and private opportunity to stress to potential prime providers that they are taking a keen interest in observing how organisations are taking forward their partnering strategies and the care with which they are engaging with third sector organisations.
Future Jobs Fund
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobs in each employment sector (a) were originally expected to be created by Future Jobs Fund funding and (b) are expected to be created as a result of successful bids for such funding. [324516]
Jim Knight: The Future Jobs Fund does not include targets for the creation of jobs in specific sectors. The Future Jobs Fund is a challenge fund and we are therefore unable to provide any detail about the volumes of jobs that might be created in each sector.
The Department and HMT agreed an aspiration of creating 10,000 'green jobs' through the Future Jobs Fund. This includes jobs in environmental sectors, renewable energy technologies, and emerging low-carbon sectors.
Of the 117,000 Future Jobs Fund jobs we've agreed to fund to date, around 17,000 have been green jobs.
Incapacity Benefit
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average processing time of incapacity benefit applications was in (a) the UK and (b) each of the smallest geographical areas for which figures are available in each quarter of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [321456]
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.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what the average processing time of incapacity benefit applications was in (a) the UK and (b) each of the smallest geographical areas for which figures are available in each quarter of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The average actual clearance time (AACT) is calculated from our benefit processing system and is a result of taking all the claim volumes processed within any given month against the total number of days each claim has taken to process. The system conducts a simple division calculation using these data sets to provide us with the AACT.
The two dates used to calculate the AACT for incapacity benefit were from the date a properly complete claim form is received by Jobcentre Plus to the date a decision is made.
I have provided the AACT data for the last five years and current performance to January 2010. For 2005/06 the data is displayed by district level and from 2006/07 onwards the data has been gathered by Benefit Delivery Centre. This is the lowest geographical area we can provide. For national level performance we have provided in month performance from April 2005 to January 2010. I have arranged to have this information placed in the House of Commons Library.
We do not record the requested data quarterly as the data is not collated in this way. However, we have provided information in monthly and yearly tables.
I hope this information is helpful.
National Insurance: Gurkhas
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many National Insurance numbers her Department has issued to Gurkha veterans settling in the United Kingdom since August 2009; [325688]
(2) how long on average it has taken to issue a National Insurance number to a Gurkha veteran settling in the United Kingdom since August 2009. [325689]
Helen Goodman: The information is not available.
New Deal for Young People
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of (a) early and (b) normal entrants to the new deal for young people left in order to take up employment in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [318469]
Jim Knight: The jobseeker support regime delivered by Jobcentre Plus has been very successful and the new deal programmes have helped some 2.25 million people into work since they were introduced in 1998. This includes 915,650 jobseekers who have been helped into work by the new deal for young people.
None the less, the labour market has changed significantly over the last decade and the programme needs to evolve to ensure it is ready for the challenges of the next 10 years. This is why we are introducing the refreshed jobseekers regime and the flexible new deal which will offer a four-stage programme of support, with increasing levels of customer responsibility at each stage.
The introduction of the flexible new deal will support the Government's aim of helping more people secure sustained employment through tailored, flexible help and support, particularly for people who experience repeated cycles of unemployment.
Implementation of the new jobseekers regime and the flexible new deal began in April 2009 as part of a phased approach across the country. This programme will be available to jobseekers in most areas of the country by October 2010.
The recording of destinations of new deal participants in 2009 has been affected by the transition to the refreshed jobseeker's allowance and flexible new deal.
The information requested is shown in the following tables:
| Leavers from the new deal for young people (early entrants) | ||
| Destinations from 2004 up to August 2009 (latest data available) | ||
| Calendar year | Number to employment | Proportion of entrants (percentage) |
| Leavers from the new deal for young people (other than early entrants) | ||
| Destinations from 2004 up to Augu st 2009 (latest data available)- number | ||
| Calendar year | Number to employment | Proportion of entrants (percentage) |
| (1) The 2009 figures are to August 2009 only, the last month for which figures are available. Notes: 1. Definitions and conventions: Case load figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Percentages are rounded to one decimal point. 2. Those not recorded as leaving the new deal programmes to take up employment include those leaving to benefits, people who have gone abroad, people who have taken up jobs without notifying the jobcentre, or those who have left and not notified Jobcentre Plus of their destination. 3. The employment category includes leavers for whom information indicated that they had both a job start and a new benefit claim within two weeks of leaving new deal. Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate | ||
New Deal Schemes: Birmingham
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much funding in total has been received under new deal programmes for (a) young people, (b) 25+, (c) 50+, (d) lone parents, (e) partners and (f) disabled people in Birmingham; and how many people in Birmingham have received assistance from each such scheme. [321575]
Jim Knight: The most recent data can be found in the following table.
| Programme funding and new deal starters in Birmingham and Solihull district | ||
| Programme | 2008-09 Outturn (£ million) | 2008-09 Starts |
| Notes 1. Figures may not sum due to rounding 2. The figures only reflect provision costs and spend on in work training grants there is no estimation of the costs of Jobcentre Plus adviser time which is substantial for some programmes. 3. New deal for young people and new deal for 25 plus figures for funding include new deal for the self employed and new deal for musicians. 4. New deal for 50 plus spend and starts are incorporated in the new deal for 25 plus figures. 5. Funding for the new deal for disabled people is not available below national level. This figure is published in the Departmental Report 2009, which is available in the Library. 6. Because of the small numbers involved, we do not have reliable data for the starts and spend for the new deal for partners in this district. National data are published in the Departmental Report 2009, which is available in the Library. 7. Starts figures are rounded to the nearest 50. 8. Latest data on starters are from the introduction of the new deal programmes to August 2009. 9. New deal for disabled people starters (individuals) data are not available; Job Broker Registrations (individuals) has been used instead. 10. Spells (period of time spent on the programme) are not available for new deal for 50 plus and new deeal for partners so individual level data are used instead. Spells data are used for new deal for young people, new deal for 25 plus and new deal for lone parents. Source : Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate. | ||
The jobseeker support regime delivered by Jobcentre Plus has been very successful and the new deal programme has helped more than 2.25 million people into work since it was introduced in 1998.
Social Security Benefits: Disabled
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of people are in receipt of the (a) (i) care and (ii) mobility component of disability living allowance and (b) attendance allowance in the (A) south-west and (B) UK. [325466]
Jonathan Shaw: The information is in the tables.
| Disability living allowance : cases in payment - care award type by south-west Government office region | |||||
| Higher rate | Middle rate | Lower rate | Nil rate | Total | |
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