Community Care Grants
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department plans to issue guidance to local authorities on developing local support to replace community care grants; and whether he plans to consult (a) third sector organisations, (b) local authorities and (c) national customer representative groups in developing such guidance. [68090]
Steve Webb: We are already discussing with the Local Government Association, individual local authorities and national customer representative groups which aspects of the new service they are seeking guidance on and how this can best be delivered. We are continuing to do so over the coming months, and we will be publishing our early findings in the autumn.
Air Travel
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what occasions he has flown on official business (a) by budget airline and (b) in economy class in the last 12 months. [67920]
Chris Grayling: The Secretary of State has travelled on the following flights during the last 12 months (1 June 2010 to 31 May 2011).
5 Sep 2011 : Column 99W
5 Sep 2011 : Column 100W
| Departure date | Journey (returns) | Class | Budget airline? |
It should be noted that all of the above flights are compliant with DWP's current travel policy. This specifies that:
The most cost-effective travel option in line with business needs must always be sought.
Air travel cannot be used for journeys under 300 miles.
Air travel is prohibited between Manchester/London, Newcastle/London, and Birmingham/Newcastle.
Economy class must be booked for any flight under 2½ hours.
Expenditure on air travel has fallen by 59% from 2009-10 to 2010-11, due to aggressive management of the demand for travel within the Department and a specific initiative to ensure a modal shift from air to less polluting modes of transport.
The Department has a ban on the use of first-class travel and asks staff to focus on minimising travel by using facilities such as video conferencing instead.
Consultants
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many senior civil servants in his Department at each grade had worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, Deloitte or KPMG immediately prior to taking up their appointment in each of the last four years; what consultancy agreements his Department had with those firms in each such year; and how many consultants from those firms have advised his Department in each such year. [68946]
Chris Grayling: As far as our records show, in the financial year 2009-10 we employed one senior civil servant at grade Pay Band 1 directly from PricewaterhouseCoopers; otherwise no other senior civil servants in the years in question were employed by these companies directly before taking up appointment with the DWP.
Information relating to the agreements DWP had with those firms in each such year has been placed in the Library.
DWP typically pays for consultancy projects via a fixed fee based on defined outcomes/deliverables therefore we are unable to quantify the number of consultants. The consultancy supplier is expected to provide the requisite resource in order for the project deliverables to be achieved at the expected quality within the agreed timescales. This approach ensures the provider is fully responsible for the resources required to deliver the assignment and minimises the commercial risk to DWP.
Departmental Correspondence
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many letters his Department received from hon. Members in June 2011. [68790]
Chris Grayling: The information cannot be made available in the format requested other than at disproportionate cost as letters may be received from hon. Members at any of the Department's offices.
The number of pieces of correspondence from hon. Members addressed to Ministers received in the Department in June 2011 is 1,962. Correspondence includes letters, emails and facsimiles.
The Permanent Secretary received two pieces of correspondence directly from hon. Members during June 2011.
The chief executive of Jobcentre Plus received 105 pieces of correspondence directly from hon. Members during June 2011.
The chief executive of the Pension Disability and Carers Service received 166 pieces of correspondence directly from hon. Members during June 2011.
The commissioner and chief executive of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission received three pieces of correspondence directly from hon. Members during June 2011. In addition, the Child Support Agency received 478 pieces of correspondence directly from hon. Members during June 2011.
NDPB Manpower
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people have been (a) recruited and (b) made redundant from (i) his Department and (ii) each non-departmental body for which he is responsible since May 2010; [66322]
(2) how much (a) his Department and (b) each non-departmental body for which he is responsible has spent on redundancies since May 2010. [66339]
Chris Grayling: The Government introduced a recruitment freeze across all civil service departments and their non-departmental bodies from 24 May 2010. Frontline and business critical posts and the civil service fast stream are exempt from the recruitment freeze; however, specific departmental approval is required for these exemptions.
The number of people recruited since May 2010 is shown in the following table. These figures include recruitment authorised under exemptions to the freeze and where legally binding job offers had been made prior to the freeze commencing.
| Recruitment | ||||
|
|
Permanent | Fixed-term appointment | Temporary (1) | Total |
5 Sep 2011 : Column 101W
5 Sep 2011 : Column 102W
| (1 )Temporary staff are staff on the departmental payroll who have been hired on short-term casual contracts. (2) The following non-departmental bodies do not employ staff: Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board Equality 2025 Industrial Injuries Advisory Council Social Security Advisory Committee (3) Numbers less than five or totals resulting from component numbers less than five are represented by *. (4) The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority was wound up on the 5 July 2010 and its functions transferred to its successor body—NEST Corporation. | ||||
Since May 2010 there have been a number of group and individual early release schemes as set out as follows. Early releases were subject to governance processes designed to ensure that they support business objectives and represent value for money.
|
|
Number of people leaving under early release schemes | Cost (£ million) |
1,069 people and £49.7 million of the figures above relate to a recent early release scheme where figures are still to be reconciled for accounting purposes. This may lead to some slight amendments to the figures.
| Non-departmental public bodies | Number of people leaving under early releases schemes | Cost (£ million) |
The following non-departmental bodies each had less than five early releases. In order to protect individual personal information the costs have been totalled.
|
|
Number of people leaving under early releases schemes | Cost (£) |
| (1 )Indicates brace | ||
Procurement
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many procurement contracts his Department has awarded to small businesses since May 2010. [67225]
Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions' IT system and procurement contract repository are not currently configured to report on the proportion of procurement contracts that the Department awards to small businesses. However, we are in the process of delivering this capability and expect completion by the end of the 2011-12 financial year.
During the period 1 May 2010 to 30 June 2011, the Department spent a total of £726.5 million with known small business suppliers. This represents 14.2% of our commercial spending in the period.
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department have been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since the website's inception. [67226]
Chris Grayling: Since its inception and to 30 June 2011, the Department for Work and Pensions has published 28 invitations to tender documents and 24 contract award documents on the Contracts Finder website. We are currently undertaking a review to ensure we have published 100% of our reportable contracts on the site. This review should be completed by the 1 October 2011.
Redundancy
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many employees of (a) Jobcentre Plus and (b) his Department have been made redundant in each month since May 2010; and how many such redundancies were (i) voluntary and (ii) compulsory; [68968]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of redundancy notices that will be issued to employees of (a) Jobcentre Plus and (b) his Department between July 2011 and December 2012. [68969]
Chris Grayling: Since May 2010 a total of 1,563 members of staff have left the Department and its agencies under early release schemes. 506 of these have been from Jobcentre Plus.
All early releases have been on a voluntary basis, there have been no compulsory redundancies. Releases were all subject to governance processes designed to
5 Sep 2011 : Column 103W
ensure that they supported business objectives and represented value for money.
Over the period, the Department and its agencies have collectively run three voluntary early release schemes. The following table shows the months in which the resulting releases took place:
| Month of leaving | Jobcentre Plus | DWP and other agencies | DWP total |
Each scheme had a common leaving date as shown; however, a small number of staff had later leaving dates for business reasons.
Figures relating to the June early release scheme are still to be reconciled for accounting purposes. This may lead to some slight amendments to the figures. The Department plans to realise substantial efficiency savings over the period of the spending review 2011-12 to 2014-15 through measures which will deliver both savings and improved customer service, as well as focussing its resources on key reforms of the welfare system. These plans may lead to offers of voluntary exit, voluntary redundancy or, if absolutely necessary, the use of compulsory redundancy at some time in the future.
Work force planning is currently in hand and it is not feasible to provide firm estimates on numbers or timescales at this stage. In some areas plans are more advanced and where this is the case indications are that we may need to manage up to 1,850 early releases over the next two financial years. This figure is subject to ongoing review and may change.
Telephone Services
Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much funding he has allocated to each telephone helpline operated by his Department in 2011-12; and what the purpose is of each such helpline. [68548]
Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) operates several telephone helplines and service lines. These are spread across the different businesses within DWP. It has not been possible to provide a detailed breakdown of funding for each service line, as many DWP people are multi-skilled, either across several service lines and helplines or they perform both telephony and processing duties. All of our external telephone numbers are available on:
www.direct.gov.uk
The information provided is by business.
Jobcentre Plus Contact Centre Directorate (CCD) operates 20 service lines:
First Contact—where members of the public contact us to make a new claim to benefit;
Crisis Loans (for living expenses)—where claimants contact us to apply for a crisis loan;
Employer Direct—where employers contact us to place a vacancy;
5 Sep 2011 : Column 104W
National Insurance Number (NINO) Allocation—where people without a NINO can apply for one;
National Benefit Fraud Hotline—where members of the public report claimants for suspected benefit fraud;
Tax Evasion Hotline—is operated by Jobcentre Plus on behalf of HMRC, members of the public report people for suspected tax evasion;
Local Authority Fraud—is operated by Jobcentre Plus on behalf of local authorities, members of the public report people for suspected housing benefit or council tax benefit fraud;
Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) Benefit Inquiry Line—JSA claimants can report a change of circumstances or make an inquiry about their claim;
Income Support (IS) Benefit Inquiry Line—IS claimants can report a change of circumstances or make an inquiry about their claim;
Incapacity Benefit (IB) Inquiry Line—IB claimants can report a change of circumstances or make an inquiry about their claim;
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Inquiry Line—ESA claimants can report a change of circumstances or make an inquiry about their claim;
Maternity Allowance—where members of the public contact us to make a new claim to maternity allowance;
Overseas Vacancy Team—where employers contact us to place a vacancy outside of the UK;
International Jobsearch Advice—is for members of the public who want information about working and living abroad;
Jobseeker Direct—members of the public can call to look for jobs or obtain more information about a particular vacancy they have found;
Self Service Helpdesk—technical support for customers who are having difficulty making an application to benefit online;
UK Borders Agency Immigration Inquiry Bureau—Jobcentre Plus are currently running a proof of concept exercise in partnership with UKBA taking some of their calls dealing with inquiries from immigration and emigration;
E-Business Operational Support Team—technical support for employers who are having difficulty placing a vacancy online; and
Small and Medium Business Recruitment Helpline—offers advice and support to small and medium-sized businesses and guides them through the recruitment process.
The overall budget for this year is £212.3 million and this is broken down into £197.8 million for staff costs and £14.5 million for non-staff costs. CCD agents are multi-skilled, which means that they answer calls across multiple service lines. This means that they are unable to provide a breakdown of funding per service line. CCD agents do not undertake any duties other than telephony.
Shared Services are split into three areas: Purchase to Pay and Payment Resolution Service, Employee Services and Debt Management.
Purchase to Pay and Payment Resolution Service operates three service lines and helplines:
Purchase to Pay Helpline—is for suppliers relating to queries around payments for goods and services. It also receives calls from Jobcentre Plus advisers and claimants seeking clarification on payments made to support people back to work. This line is operated by approximately 13 staff and costs £290,000 per annum.
Bank Liaison Section—is an internal helpline and receives calls from Pension Centre or Jobcentre Plus staff requesting that the Bank Liaison Section recalls a payment from a bank account. This line is operated by approximately five staff and costs £110,000 per annum.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 105W
Third party payments helpline—is a helpline for third party creditors, for example utilities companies and local authorities, querying payments made to them following deductions made from benefits. This line is operated by approximately 2.5 staff and costs £55,000 per annum.
The Purchase to Pay and Payment Resolution Service estimated non staff annual costs are £128,508. This means that overall this service will cost £583,508 this operational year.
Employee Services operates three internal service lines and helplines for DWP employees to raise HR and payroll queries:
Simple queries are answered at the first point of contact and funding of £1.510 million has been provided for this year.
More complex queries are handled by specialist caseworkers and funding of £169,000 has been provided for this year.
An external recruitment helpline is operated for candidates applying for externally advertised posts. Due to the civil service recruitment freeze no funding has been provided for this activity for 2011-12.
Employee Services estimated non-staff annual costs are £299,520. This means that overall this service will cost £1,978,520 this operational year.
Debt Management does not operate any helplines but has three service lines:
Debt Recovery—is for customers to make enquiries about new or ongoing debt cases;
Debt Payment—debt customers are able to make direct payments through debit card transactions; and
Recovery from Estates—is for inquiries regarding debt recovery from a deceased customer's estate.
Debt Management's overall budget for this year is £6,902,967 and this is broken down into £6,121,755 for staff costs and £781,212 for non-staff costs.
Pension Disability and Carers Service (PDCS)
PDCS operates 16 helplines and service lines:
State Pension New Claims—where members of the public contact us to claim their state pension;
Pension Credit New Claims—for customers who have an inquiry relating to pension credit. This includes checking entitlement, making a new claim or progressing a claim which they have already started;
State Pension Changes—for customers who are in receipt of their state pension and wish to inform PDCS of a change of circumstances;
Pension Credit Changes—for customers who are in receipt of their pension credit and wish to inform PDCS of a change of circumstances;
Bereavement Service—for customers who are calling to report bereavement, this provides advice and support on how to cease benefits;
Future Pension Centre—for members of the public at working age who want a pension forecast;
National Pension Centre—or customers who are in receipt of state pension and are above a certain age who wish to make a query about their claim or report a change of circumstances;
International Pension Centre—for customers who are living abroad and are in receipt of state pension;
Tell Us Once service—is undertaking a phased roll-out approach and allows customers who live within certain local authorities to give details of bereavement and this will notify all other affected authorities of the bereavement;
Winter Fuel—for customers who have a query relating to winter fuel. This service is only available within the months of November to March;
Pension Tracing Service—for customers who have lost details of a pension scheme which they were previously contributing to;
5 Sep 2011 : Column 106W
Method of Payment Reform service—for customers who receive their state pension or pension credit via cheque or giro cheque and need to change their payment method to direct payment to a bank account; and
Overseas Healthcare Team—for customers making inquiries about health care abroad. This is includes applying for, renewing and make changes to a European Health Insurance Card. It is also an advice line for customers who are travelling abroad as well as a helpline for NHS and insurance workers.
PDCS budgets are calculated by Pension Centre rather than by function and staff perform both telephony and processing duties, which means that it is not possible to provide a breakdown by service line or by how much funding is given to their telephony services. PDCS have an overall budget of £155 million for this operational year.
Carers allowance—for customers who have caring responsibilities for a disabled person and deals with all inquiries, including new claims. This service line has a budget of £3.5 million for this operational year and includes staff and non-staff costs.
Disability Living Allowance/Attendance Allowance Helpline—deals with all inquiries, including new claims, for disability living allowance and attendance allowance. This service line has a budget of £8.7 million for this operational year and includes staff and non-staff costs.
Benefit Enquiry Line (BEL)—is a helpline for people with disabilities, their carers and representatives, offering confidential advice and general information on all benefits and how to claim them. This service line has a budget of £1.1 million for this operational year and includes staff and non-staff costs.
Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC)
CMEC operates a national helpline which is for clients and stakeholders to ask case specific or general inquiries. The budget is £6.25 million and covers the cost of people employed by the helpline, plus expenses. It does not include overhead items such as IT or accommodation as these budgets are controlled centrally.
Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals
Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the average length of time employment and support allowance claimants wait for their appeal to be heard. [68119]
Chris Grayling: At the end of May 2011, there was an average total of 32.6 weeks between an appeal being submitted to the Department of Work and Pensions and a final decision being made by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).
The average time between the Department receiving the appeal and it being passed to HMCTS was 8.1 weeks. During this time, the Department looks at the case again to ensure it is fully satisfied its original decision was correct.
The average time between HMCTS receiving an appeal from the Department for Work and Pensions and the appeal being heard was 24.5 weeks. During this period, HMCTS contacts the appellant to ensure that they have an opportunity to submit any additional evidence they believe will support their appeal.
It is important to ensure that all parties have time to fully consider the facts of the case and provide any further evidence they believe may be relevant.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 107W
Employment and Support Allowance: Bexley
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average length of time is for which employment and support allowance applicants in Bexleyheath and Crayford have waited for (a) a medical assessment and (b) an appeal hearing in the last 12 months. [67452]
Chris Grayling: Information on the Work Capability Assessment and appeals process is not available at parliamentary constituency level. The information requested is therefore presented for (a) the Bexley local authority area, and (b) appeals administered by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service office serving the Bexleyheath and Crayford area.
In the last 12-month period for which figures are available (September 2000 to August 2010), for new claims to employment and support allowance in Bexley, the average time between the claim start date and the date Jobcentre Plus provided the decision on the initial Work Capability Assessment (WCA) was 113 days, or 16 weeks.
ESA appeals are submitted to Jobcentre Plus and are then passed to Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). Within the Bexleyheath and Crayford area, appeals are dealt with by the HMCTS administrative office in Sutton and are heard by a Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) tribunal in Bexleyheath.
In the last 12-month period for which figures are available (June 2010 to May 2011) the average time between Jobcentre Plus receiving the appeal and it being passed to the HMCTS administrative office Sutton was 9.9 weeks. During this time, Jobcentre Plus staff look at the case again to ensure they are fully satisfied the original decision was correct. In the same period, the average time between HMCTS receiving an appeal from the Jobcentre Plus and the appeal being heard at the SSCS tribunal in Bexleyheath was 19.1 weeks. During this period, HMCTS contacts the appellant to ensure that they have an opportunity to submit any additional evidence they believe will support their appeal.
The Department for Work and Pensions regularly publishes official statistics on employment and support allowance and the WCA. The latest report was published in April 2011 and can be found on the internet at the following link:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/esa_wca/index.php?page=esa_wca_arc
Employment Schemes
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has issued guidance to Work programme prime providers to ensure the use of local, specialist and black, asian and ethnic minority providers in their sub-contracts and supply chain. [68707]
Chris Grayling:
The Department for Work and Pensions cannot discriminate in favour of any particular organisation or group. Also, we did not specify the types of organisations that should be engaged in the Work programme supply chain as these are commercial decisions for prime providers. We did, however, ask organisations invited to tender for
5 Sep 2011 : Column 108W
Work programme contracts to tell us how they would fully meet the diverse needs of all participants including those from black, Asian and ethnic minority groups.
Employment Services
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) status and (b) purpose is of the Transforming Labour Market Services Programme; and if he will make a statement. [68122]
Chris Grayling: The information requested is as follows.
(a) The Transforming Labour Market Services Project is currently in the final stages of a commercial process to select a supplier and will announce the selection in September. Providing the Project receives the necessary approvals, the new service is expected to go live in spring 2012.
(b) Transforming Labour Market Services is one of the cornerstone projects of the Department for Work and Pensions digitalisation and business transformation agenda and will deliver a web-based vacancy taking, filling and automated job matching service.
It is an important foundation for universal credit, encouraging jobseekers and business to use and become comfortable with online channels in their transactions with the Department. It will also make an important contribution to the Department's efficiency savings.
It will create an improved and integrated service where employers can directly manage their job vacancies online, jobseekers can manage their job seeking profile online, and both can receive automated matches based on their requirements.
Foreign Workers
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what companies holding contracts with his Department have submitted proposals to offshore work in the last 12 months. [68605]
Chris Grayling: The Department requires that contracted suppliers consult with the Department where it is proposed to store or process any of the Department's information outside of the UK. Details of the individual suppliers that have consulted with the Department with regard to such proposals are commercially sensitive. Separately, the Department is exploring how future offshoring can be minimised and whether jobs currently offshored could potentially be moved back to the UK.
Housing Benefit
Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will make it his policy to review regularly the relationship between housing benefit and actual rents and change the calculations of housing support where there is a divergence; [68233]
(2) by what process housing benefit will be uprated under universal credit; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that housing benefit rates take account of trends in rental costs. [68232]
Steve Webb:
In the private rented sector, we have begun and will continue to make reforms to the local housing allowance approach. We have already announced our intention to limit increases in housing support in
5 Sep 2011 : Column 109W
line with the consumer prices index (CPI) from April 2013 and this will ensure that we continue to exert downward pressure on rents.
We have commissioned independent, external research to evaluate the impact of the reforms to housing benefit announced in the June 2010 Budget and the spending review. The review will be comprehensive and thorough and will be presented to both Houses together with a ministerial statement. We intend to make final findings available in 2013 with initial findings available during 2012.
We are committed to making savings from the measure to uprate LHA by CPI until 2014-15, but if it then becomes apparent that local housing allowance rates and local market rents are out of step they can then be reconsidered.
Support for housing costs is also an important element of universal credit and we want to incorporate the features of the local housing allowance where it is appropriate. Ministers are, however, still considering the detailed design features of how housing costs will be included within the overall universal credit framework.
Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department expects to publish its consultation document on exempt accommodation rules; and if he will make a statement. [68447]
Steve Webb: We published the consultation document, “Housing Benefit Reform—Supported Accommodation” on 19 July 2011 and this can be found on the DWP website at:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/2011/supported-housing.shtml
This was announced by written ministerial statement on 19 July 2011, Official Report, columns 115-16WS. The consultation period runs until 9 October 2011.
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether charities providing private housing for vulnerable adults will be able to receive an individual's housing benefit directly into their bank account under his proposed changes to the benefit system; and if he will make a statement; [68939]
(2) what responsibilities elderly people in supported housing are to have for (a) managing their housing benefit and (b) ensuring that their rent is paid appropriately under his proposed changes to the benefit system; [68940]
(3) whether individuals who are to be given charge of their housing benefit payments are to be provided with any financial education or assistance with their personal finances. [68941]
Steve Webb: There are advantages in paying the housing component to individuals, rather than the current system of payments direct to landlords. This would encourage people to manage their own budget in the same way as other households. Additionally, we do not want to take away responsibilities for rent payment that tenants have handled perfectly well perhaps all their working lives.
However, we also recognise the importance of stable rental income for social landlords to support the delivery of new homes. We are developing universal credit in a
5 Sep 2011 : Column 110W
way that protects their financial position, and we plan to retain a facility for direct payments to social landlords, including charities.
We recognise that, in encouraging more people to manage their own budgets, there may well be a need for additional financial education and support. We are considering precisely what additional support services might be required in the run-up to universal credit.
Housing Benefit: Greater London
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average level of payment was under the housing benefit transitional payments scheme for each London borough in the latest period for which figures are available. [69079]
Steve Webb: To support the 2011 housing benefit reforms we are providing an additional £10 million of discretionary housing payments (DHPs) during 2011-12 which has been allocated based on the Department's estimates of the total gross reduction in housing benefit entitlement in each local authority.
We have also provided a further £4 million of transition funding during 2011-12 to support implementation initiatives. At the beginning of May we invited local authorities to bid for a proportion of the £4 million transition fund available during 2011-12. We received 67 bids, most of which were joint bids between local authorities. Individual bids were marked against set criteria including value for money, innovation and how well they support the transition stages of change.
A total of 10 bids were successful, of which four were covering London boroughs and are listed as follows.
All local authorities were advised of their individual allocation of DHP funding during 2011-12 on 2 February 2011
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/s2-2011.pdf
Allocations of DHP funding and transition funding for future years will be decided later this year.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 111W
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of recipients of housing benefit in each London borough whose rent level is greater than their entitlement to local housing allowance; and if he will make a statement. [69085]
Steve Webb: The requested information is not available at local authority level. However, the Department has made available on its website statistics on the number of housing benefit claimants assessed under local housing allowance rules, who are experiencing a shortfall between their housing benefit and contractual rent, by Government office region. The table shows that, as at March 2010, in London 38%, which at the time was equivalent to 61,000 claimants, were experiencing a shortfall.
This information was included in the ad hoc analysis publication titled “LHA Regional Analysis”, which was published on the DWP statistics website on 13 May 2011.
http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/
Local housing allowance rules changed on 1 April 2011. Customers who were receiving housing benefit according to local housing allowance rules at the time these changes were introduced are receiving up to nine months transitional protection from the date their claim is reviewed by the local authority, allowing them more time to adjust to the changes.
Industrial Health and Safety
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how the Health and Safety Executive defines low-risk business environments. [68010]
Chris Grayling: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has developed guidance and example risk assessments primarily aimed at lower-risk businesses. HSE has been guided by the definition of risk as a concept embodying a combination of likelihood and consequence. Therefore, low-risk activities are those where incidents have a low likelihood of occurring and consequences are minor.
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2011, Official Report, column 37W, on industrial health and safety, what the cost will be to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) of the implementation of the recommendations of Common Safety that it leads on in each year to 2014-15; and what percentage of the HSE's budget such cost represents in each such year. [68231]
Chris Grayling: The majority of the recommendations falling to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) from Common Sense Common Safety have already been delivered. Those that remain will be delivered within existing HSE resources, in line with the HSE delivery plan, and within the HSE 2010 spending review settlement.
Katy Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2011, Official Report, column 34W, on industrial accidents, whether he anticipates a reduction in the overall
5 Sep 2011 : Column 112W
number of proactive workplace inspections as a result of changes to the Health and Safety Executive's budget. [68236]
Chris Grayling: No. The reduction in the number of proactive workplace inspections is a matter of policy. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 July 2011, Official Report, column 32W.
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2011, Official Report, column 34W, on industrial accidents, what criteria the Government use to monitor the effectiveness of (a) proactive workplace inspections and (b) incident inspections conducted by the Health and Safety Executive. [68237]
Chris Grayling: The Government do not use criteria for monitoring the effectiveness of HSE specifically in relation to proactive workplace inspections and incident follow-up inspections on the number of industrial accidents because there is no reliable way of distinguishing their impact from other influences in the health and safety system.
Jobcentre Plus: Closures
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the public purse arising from the closure of Jobcentre Plus branches at (a) London Heathrow, (b) London Denmark Street, (c) London Harrow Station Road, (d) Camberwell, (e) Bluewater Recruitment Centre, (f) Chelmsford Beeches Road, (g) Edinburgh City, (h) Dundee Gellatly Street, (i) Aberdeen Chapel Street, (j) Glasgow Shawlands, (k) Glasgow City, (l) Glasgow Hillington, (m) Aylesbury Heron House, (n) Manchester Airport, (o) Manchester Trafford Centre, (p) Old Swan Merseyside, (q) Halifax Horton Street, (r) Leicester Highfields, (s) Caradog House, Cardiff, (t) Banff and (u) Girvan; [68917]
(2) when he expects Jobcentre Plus's review of the jobcentre estate to be concluded; how many branches of Jobcentre Plus have been announced for closure as part of that review to date; what services are available from each branch announced for closure; and on what date each branch will close; [68970]
(3) which organisations Jobcentre Plus have encouraged to co-locate with its branches at (a) London Heathrow, (b) London Denmark Street, (c) London Harrow Station Road, (d) Camberwell, (e) Bluewater Recruitment Centre, (f) Chelmsford Beeches Road, (g) Edinburgh City, (h) Dundee Gellatly Street, (i) Aberdeen Chapel Street, (j) Glasgow Shawlands, (k) Glasgow City, (l) Glasgow Hillington, (m) Aylesbury Heron House, (n) Manchester Airport, (o) Manchester Trafford Centre, (p) Old Swan Merseyside, (q) Halifax Horton Street, (r) Leicester Highfields, (s) Caradog House, Cardiff, (t) Banff and (u) Girvan. [68971]
Chris Grayling: The estimated savings to the public purse of the 20 Jobcentre buildings identified for potential closure is £32.1 million over eight years (to 2017-18) at net present value (NPV).
Jobcentre Plus is endeavouring to become a leaner, more flexible and productive organisation that delivers more of its services over the telephone and internet. As it implements more digital services and as unemployment
5 Sep 2011 : Column 113W
falls, Jobcentre Plus will be able to free up more capacity in its estate. Face-to-face contact in Jobcentres will reduce as more services can be accessed online and through the simplification of the benefit system.
While Jobcentre Plus does not anticipate announcing any further closures this year, it will continuously review its estate so that efficiency savings and value for money for the taxpayer can be achieved. Jobcentre Plus will also be working alongside its partners to explore every opportunity that might further reduce estates costs and constantly monitoring its workloads and the impact of universal credit to assess the potential for further rationalisation.
Since the estates review commenced (post 2010 spending review), Jobcentre Plus has announced the closure or consultation on the closure of 44 offices.
On 13 May it was announced that 22 Benefit and Contact Centres would close. Benefit Centres at Arbroath, Ayr, Broadstairs, Cannock, Castleford, Chester, Exeter, Halifax, Huyton, Lincoln, Luton, Mansfield, Sutton in Ashfield, Totton and Yeovil will close by May 2012. Contact Centres at Caerphilly, Clydebank, Grimsby (Europarc), Liverpool and Preston will close by May 2012. A further two Benefit Centres at Carlisle and Hartlepool will close during 2012-13.
On 8 July Jobcentre Plus announced consultation on the closure of Banff and Girvan Jobcentres and the intention to move all staff and services into the premises of partner organisations in the respective towns.
On 19 July Jobcentre Plus announced that it had identified 20 Jobcentre buildings which it believes it can close without reducing service standards and has embarked on a six-week consultation period before taking a final decision. The services that each provides is as follows:
London Heathrow Jobshop is an employer-only facility and the same facilities for employers can be provided at a nearby Jobcentre in Hounslow.
London Denmark Street Jobcentre is an employer-only facility and the same facilities can be offered from nearby Jobcentres in Central London.
London Harrow Station Road Jobcentre provides the full Jobcentre service but there is an alternative Jobcentre within one mile (Harrow Kings House).
London Camberwell Jobcentre provides the full Jobcentre service but there are alternative Jobcentres within two miles at Peckham, Brixton and Kennington.
The Bluewater Recruitment Centre is an employer-only facility and the same facilities can be offered from nearby Jobcentres in Kent.
Chelmsford Beeches Road is an annex to the main Jobcentre in the town and customers are only seen here by appointment.
Edinburgh City provides the full Jobcentre service but there is an alternative Jobcentre within two miles (High Riggs).
Dundee Gellatly Street provides the full Jobcentre service but there is an alternative Jobcentre within one mile (Wellgate, Dundee).
Aberdeen Chapel Street provides the full Jobcentre service but there is an alternative Jobcentre within ½ mile at Edbury House, Aberdeen.
Glasgow Shawlands is an employer-only facility and the same facilities can be offered from nearby Jobcentres in Glasgow.
Glasgow City provides the full Jobcentre service but there is an alternative Jobcentre within two miles (Partick).
5 Sep 2011 : Column 114W
Glasgow Hillington is an employer-only facility and the same facilities can be offered from nearby Jobcentres in Glasgow.
Aylesbury Heron House provides the full Jobcentre service but there is an alternative Jobcentre within ½ mile at Sunley House, Aylesbury.
Manchester airport Jobshop is an employer-only facility and the same facilities can be offered from nearby Jobcentres in Manchester city centre.
Manchester Trafford Centre Jobshop is an employer-only facility and the same facilities can be offered from nearby Jobcentres in Manchester city centre.
Old Swan, Liverpool provides a full Jobcentre service but there is an alternative Jobcentre within two miles at West Derby.
Halifax Horton Street provides a full Jobcentre service but there is an alternative Jobcentre within one mile (Halifax Crossfield).
Leicester Highfields provides a full Jobcentre service but there are alternative Jobcentres within two miles at Charles Street and Wellington Street.
Caradog House, Cardiff provides a full Jobcentre service but there is an alternative Jobcentre within one mile (Charles Street, Cardiff).
Birmingham airport Jobshop is an employer-only facility and the same facilities can be provided at nearby Jobcentres.
Prior to the announcement on 19 July, confidentiality prevented Jobcentre Plus from progressing beyond high- level discussions with potential co-location partners at the sites. Now that the announcement has been made, Jobcentre Plus is able to embark upon a six-week consultation exercise with all of our customers, partners and key stakeholders and the subject of co-location will be an integral element of the exercise. Jobcentre Plus district managers have written to stakeholders to instigate and encourage participation in the consultation exercise.
If it is concluded following consultation that the closures should go ahead, typically they will close in 12 months unless a lease break enables earlier exit.
Jobcentre Plus: Complaints
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints have been made in relation to services provided by Jobcentre Plus (a) by each claimant category and (b) in relation to each service since 1997. [68262]
Chris Grayling: Jobcentre Plus was formed in April 2002, from the Benefits Agency and the Employment Service. I cannot provide the information relating to each claimant category and each service because we do not record in that way. Information is only available since 2004-05 in the following table:
| Complaints received by Jobcentre Plus | |
|
|
Number |
The rise in complaints is consistent with the rise in the volume of claimants Jobcentre Plus was dealing with.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 115W
Jobcentre Plus: Pay
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what incentives and bonus payments are available for personal advisers in Jobcentre Plus centres; how those incentives and payments are structured; and if he will make a statement. [68124]
Chris Grayling: The employee rewards scheme that Jobcentre Plus operates for its personal advisers are the same as those that run throughout the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which Jobcentre Plus is a part of.
They comprise of an end-of-year non-consolidated performance pay and an in-year special awards.
DWP employees below the senior civil service are eligible for an annual individual non-consolidated performance payment if they attain a rating of Wholly Exceptional or Consistently Good under the People Performance system. The actual payment awarded is determined by the employee's pay band and the performance level achieved.
Individuals may also be awarded a Special Award either as cash or retail vouchers. These are one-off recognition awards, payable at any time during the performance year, to recognise exceptional achievements beyond what would normally be expected.
Jobcentre Plus: Standards
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what metrics are used to assess the performance of personal advisers in Jobcentre Plus; what the latest figures are for performance against those metrics in each region; and if he will make a statement. [68126]
Chris Grayling: Individual Adviser Performance is assessed via our Performance Management Framework which consists of a series of agreed objectives and competencies. Within these objectives there is an expectation that advisers will spend 70% of their available time interacting with claimants and undertake a series of appropriate actions to support them to move closer to and into work. These metrics are managed at jobcentre level and are not aggregated to district or group level.
Jobcentre Plus is currently developing a new productivity measure (Average Adviser Contact Minutes per day) to support the delivery of a more personalised service that will identify barriers and find ways to support claimants back to work within the guidance framework of our Service Delivery Model. This new measure is due to be published in early September.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to answer the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 12 May 2011 regarding Ms S Prior. [68910]
Chris Grayling: A reply was sent to the right hon. Member on 25 May 2011.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 116W
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to answer the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 31 May 2011 regarding Mrs M Saleem. [68911]
Chris Grayling: A reply was sent to the right hon. Member on 14 June 2011.
Mortgages: Government Assistance
Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to Support for Mortgage Interest on the Home Ownership for People with Long-term Disabilities model; and if he will make a statement. [68448]
Steve Webb: We published an equality impact assessment to accompany the regulations which introduced the change to the standard interest rate. It can be found at:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/support-for-mortgage-interest.pdf
Information on the numbers of people in the HOLD scheme receiving support for mortgage interest is not available and no specific assessment has been made of the effect of the changes on the HOLD model. The Department for Communities and Local Government is responsible for the policy for the HOLD scheme.
Support for mortgage interest is intended to provide a reasonable level of help for homeowners and has never been intended to cover all of a person's housing liabilities or to meet mortgage repayments in full. The fluctuating nature of the standard interest rate has been a key design feature since 1995, so rate increases and decreases are not new. It has always been the claimant's responsibility to meet any shortfalls. All individuals applying to the HOLD scheme must be able to demonstrate to their mortgage lender and the housing association provider that they are able to meet the cost of buying their share and that they can sustain the financial responsibilities that home ownership brings.
Pensioners: Cost of Living
Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consideration he has given to the reliability of the consumer prices index as a measure of inflation for pensioners, particularly in respect of mortgage interest. [68810]
Steve Webb: We have concluded that the consumer prices index (CPI) is a reliable measure of pensioners' experience of inflation for a number of reasons.
Firstly, the CPI basket of goods does not include mortgage interest payments, which are not relevant to the majority of pensioners, only 8% of whom have a mortgage. The inclusion of mortgage interest payments in the retail prices index (RPI) led to negative RPI growth of -1.4 per cent in the year to September 2009, whereas the CPI showed 1.1 per cent growth during the same period.
The CPI includes the expenditure of pensioner households who receive 75% or more of their income from the state, a group excluded from the RPI.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 117W
The CPI also employs a methodology that is a more accurate reflection of how consumers, including pensioners, respond to price rises, than the methodology employed in the RPI.
Pensions
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether an individual receiving the average rate of earnings who has made full national insurance contributions will be better or worse off under his plans for a flat-rate pension. [68858]
Maria Miller: The Government's consultation paper, “A state pension for the 21st century”, sets out two broad options for reform to simplify the state pension and better support retirement saving. It also examines options for a more automatic mechanism for determining future changes to state pension age in order to ensure that the state pension remains sustainable and affordable.
The public consultation began on 4 April 2011 and closed on 24 June 2011. A summary of responses to the consultation was published on 27 July 2011 and can be accessed via the following web link:
www.dwp.gov.uk/state-pension-21st-century
As policy development is still under way, it is not possible to provide further detail at this stage. If the Government decide to take these proposals further, the publication of a White Paper and impact assessment would follow as part of the usual process.
Personal Independence Payment
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of his proposed personal independence payment on vulnerable adults with moderate and low care needs. [68041]
Maria Miller: The Government are in the process of developing the detailed criteria that will be used in the new assessment to determine eligibility for personal independence payment. We are currently carrying out an informal consultation on the draft criteria to seek the views of disabled people and their organisations on how they will work and how they might be improved. We are also testing them by carrying out around 1,000 sample assessments over the summer. The testing will help us to better understand the likely effect of the criteria, including the effect on those vulnerable adults with low to moderate needs. We intend to publish a second draft of the assessment criteria in the autumn, following consideration of the consultation findings and testing results.
The Government published an impact assessment and equality impact assessment on DLA reform with the Welfare Reform Bill which are available in the Library. As more detailed design is completed estimates of the impact of the new assessment on people receiving DLA will be made.
Procurement
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the annual value is of his Department's current contracts in each sector in which contracts are held. [66586]
5 Sep 2011 : Column 118W
Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions presently does not hold sector-specific contractual information for such sectors as retailing/catering/industrial/services. The information is either not available or not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Social Security Benefits
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department plans to change its administrative structure as a result of proposed reforms to the benefits system. [66743]
Chris Grayling: The welfare system is currently undergoing the biggest reform in 50 years, making it simpler and more efficient and helping to make work pay. As such it will necessitate a change in the administrative structure of DWP. We are currently working to establish what form the new structure will take.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of households that will be affected by the proposed benefit cap in which (a) an adult or (b) a child is present who is recognised as a disabled person under the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 2010, but does not qualify for disability living allowance; what consideration he has given to providing exemptions in such circumstances; and if he will make a statement. [68034]
Chris Grayling: Our analysis of the impacts of the cap on disabled people was set out in the equality impact assessment we published in March 2011. This shows that of the 50,000 households we estimate the cap will affect, approximately half are likely to contain somebody who is disabled as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 2010.
We have announced that households that include a member who is entitled to disability living allowance will be exempt from the cap. This is in recognition that disability living allowance is paid to people to help with the extra costs arising from their disability. Not everyone defined as disabled by the Disability Discrimination Act will have extra costs that the Government would expect to meet through the benefit system.
The mitigation for recipients of disability living allowance means that approximately 30,000 customers who are disabled as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act, who would otherwise be impacted by the cap, are exempted from its effects.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received from local authorities on the potential effects of his proposed household benefit cap on demand for (a) school places, (b) housing and (c) children's services; and if he will make a statement. [68037]
Chris Grayling: As part of the Department for Work and Pension's (DWP) consultation on the overall welfare reform package we have received a number of broad representations from local authorities on the potential effects of the reforms on demand for housing. Representations about school places and children's services would be referred to the Department for Education.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 119W
The DWP has a statutory obligation to ensure that local authorities are kept abreast of benefit policy and strategy developments that affect them and have the opportunity, where possible, to help shape them.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of households living in temporary accommodation provided by a local authority who will be affected by his proposed household benefit cap; what consideration he has given to providing exemptions in such circumstances; and if he will make a statement. [68038]
Steve Webb: Information on the number of households living in temporary accommodation provided by a local authority who will be affected by the proposed household benefit cap is not available.
We have announced that households which contain a member who is entitled to disability living allowance or constant attendance allowance or is eligible for working tax credit will be exempt from the benefit cap, as will war widows and widowers. We have also said that we are looking at ways of easing the transition for families and providing assistance in hard cases.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of couple households with children who would be affected by the proposed benefit cap but would cease to be affected by the benefit cap if they terminated their relationships and evenly distributed the residency of the children between two separate parental households; and if he will make a statement. [68039]
Chris Grayling: The introduction of the household benefit cap is intended to achieve long-term positive behavioural effects through changed attitudes to welfare, responsible life choices and strong work incentives.
The financial position of couples living together versus their position apart would depend largely on the cost of accommodation in either situation. There is a wide variation in the cost of accommodation in this country, so it is not possible to say whether such couples would be better or worse off by altering their living arrangements in this way.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of households who will be affected by the proposed benefit cap during periods of worklessness lasting less than (a) 26 weeks, (b) 13 weeks and (c) four weeks; what consideration he has given to exemption in such circumstances; and if he will make a statement. [68156]
Chris Grayling: If the benefit cap were applied in full, as announced in the spending review 2010, we estimate that it will affect approximately 50,000 households.
We have announced that households which contain a member who is entitled to disability living allowance or constant attendance allowance or is eligible for working tax credit will be exempt from the benefit cap, as will war widows and widowers.
We have also said that we are looking at ways of easing the transition for families and providing assistance in hard cases.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 120W
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of households with children in kinship care likely to be affected by the proposed benefit cap; what consideration he has given to exemption in such circumstances; and if he will make a statement. [68157]
Chris Grayling: Information on the number of households with children in kinship care likely to be affected by the proposed benefit cap is not available.
We have announced that households which contain a member who is entitled to disability living allowance or constant attendance allowance or is eligible for working tax credit will be exempt from the benefit cap as will war widows and widowers. We have also said that we are looking at ways of easing the transition for families and providing assistance in hard cases.
Any payments kinship carers receive from the local authority are not payments of social security benefit and so will not be included in calculations for the purposes of the benefit cap.
Social Security Benefits: Appeals
Mrs McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the workload of GPs arising from the provision of evidential support to appeals against decisions in disability living allowance and employment and support allowance. [68048]
Chris Grayling: DWP obtains medical evidence whenever necessary as part of the decision-making process when deciding entitlement to benefit. If a claimant decides to appeal against the decision they may obtain further medical evidence from clinicians involved in their care, and this may include their GP.
DWP has not undertaken any recent assessment of trends in GP workload arising from provision of medical evidence to support appeals against decisions in disability living allowance or employment and support allowance.
Mrs McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of trends in the time taken for GPs to respond to requests for information as evidence in applications for (a) disability living allowance and (b) employment and support allowance. [68067]
Chris Grayling: When deciding benefit entitlement it is essential that the right decision is reached. Up-to-date and relevant information is central to this process. DWP may seek information from a number of sources that includes the patient, carers, relatives and friends and professionals involved in the claimant's care.
Wherever possible, information collection is kept to a minimum but at times professional reports to substantiate claims are needed, and in these circumstances a request for further medical evidence may be made to the GP.
DWP has not undertaken any assessment of trends in the time taken for GPs to respond to requests for medical evidence for either disability living allowance or employment and support allowance.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 121W
In claims for employment and support allowance, if a GP fails to provide a written report on request, there are mechanisms in place for a health care professional to telephone the GP if it is considered that that the information is essential.
Social Security Benefits: British Nationals Abroad
Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department takes to check the entitlement of partners and children resident in other EU member states whose benefits are topped up by the UK because of national insurance contributions made by a family member working in the UK. [67860]
Justine Greening: I have been asked to reply.
An EU/EEA national who is working in the UK, paying compulsory UK national insurance contributions and entitled to UK family benefits by virtue of EC regulation 883/2004 in respect of a child or children resident in another member state must provide documentary evidence of the child or children being claimed for, such as an original birth or adoption certificate.
In addition, where a claim is considered under the EC regulation, HMRC will carry out further checks with the authorities of the other member state to confirm the composition of the family, whether the other parent is working there and whether that member state is paying family benefits. These checks are carried out by all competent institutions in the member states when considering claims to their family benefits under the EC regulation. Payments of UK family benefits, whether at the full rate or at a lower supplementary rate, are not made until the other member state has provided the necessary confirmation.
Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the contribution by the Minister for Pensions of 12 July 2011, Official Report, column 73WH, on benefits (EU nationals), what the evidential basis is of his statement that it is not possible to prevent skilled migrant workers from working in less demanding jobs; and what discussions he has had with representatives of UK businesses on steps to reduce demand for migrant workers. [68776]
Chris Grayling: EU Regulation 492/2011 (formerly Regulation 1612/68), on the freedom of movement of workers within the EU, guarantees migrant workers equality of treatment with nationals of the host country in respect of the right to take up an activity as an employed person and full and free access to the host country labour market. This means the majority of migrant workers from the EU have the right to take up available employment in the UK on the same basis as UK workers. However, there are transitional restrictions in place for nationals of the newest EU member states, Bulgaria and Romania, and the Government are committed to introducing transitional controls on nationals of all new EU member states as a matter of course.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 122W
I have not had any discussions with business representatives to reduce demand for migrant workers.
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the contribution by the Minister for Pensions of 12 July 2011, Official Report, column 75WH, on benefits (EU nationals), how many habitual residency requests have been granted to applicants who have been resident in the UK for less than (a) three months, (b) six months, (c) nine months and (d) a year in each year since 2004. [68777]
Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.
Information is collected from claimants to help benefit decision-makers decide whether a person is habitually resident, including the length of time someone has lived in the UK prior to making their claim for benefit.
Information in these circumstances is usually gathered by interviewing the claimant. However, as habitual residence is not a condition of entitlement, and while this information is collected and passed to decision-makers in considering habitual residence, it is not recorded on our benefit processing systems, and we are therefore unable to provide any information relating to this.
The term “habitual residence” is not defined in social security legislation. This means that each case is considered on its own merits, in the light of the person's individual circumstances. In deciding whether a person is actually habitually resident, decision-makers consider a wide variety of factors. These include reasons for coming to the United Kingdom, the length of their stay, future intentions, previous links with the country and, in the case of people returning to the United Kingdom, the reasons for their absence. DWP guidance, based on case law, suggests that a period of between one and three months is likely to be appropriate to demonstrate that a person's residence is habitual in nature.
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the contribution by the Minister for Pensions of 12 July 2011, Official Report, column 76WH, on benefits (EU nationals), what the minimum level of national insurance contributions is that workers have to make in order to be eligible for benefits that require national insurance contributions at the (a) higher and (b) lower national insurance contribution rate. [68778]
Chris Grayling: EU nationals take the same steps to claim contribution-based benefits as UK nationals. If an EU migrant worker's UK national insurance record is not sufficient to meet the contribution conditions for benefit, the UK will use their social insurance payments in another EU member state to help. EU law requires us to ask benefit claimants about whether they have worked elsewhere in Europe.
The following tables outline the domestic position.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 123W
5 Sep 2011 : Column 124W
Social Security Benefits: Expenditure
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much social security spending within total managed expenditure was spent on (a) working and (b) non-working people in each year since 1997; what proportion of such spending was on each benefit; and if he will make a statement. [68121]
Chris Grayling: The available information has been placed in the Library.
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much social security spending within total managed expenditure was spent on (a) working age and (b) non-working age people in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [68128]
Chris Grayling: The information requested is shown in the following tables.
| DWP benefit expenditure | |||
| £ billion, nominal | |||
|
|
Working age | Non-working age | Total |
5 Sep 2011 : Column 125W
| £ billion, 2011-12 prices | |||
|
|
Working age | Non-working age | Total |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1 billion, and may not sum due to rounding. 2. Figures are consistent with those published following the 2011 Budget. Figures for 2010-11 are estimates and are subject to further revision. 3. Figures cover only benefits for which DWP and its predecessors had responsibility, and some elements of expenditure are no longer included in the figures due to being transferred to other Government Departments. 4. “Working age benefits” are assumed to include those paid specifically in respect of children—principally Child Benefit (up to 2002-03, after which it was transferred to HM Revenue and Customs). Source Data: DWP statistical and accounting data | |||
Further benefit expenditure data can be found using the following address:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure
Social Security Benefits: Fraud
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2010, Official Report, column 873W, on social security benefits: fraud, how many arrest warrants had been issued in cases where a defendant had failed to attend a hearing or trial without an explanation acceptable to the court on the most recent date for which figures are available; what the monetary value of the alleged fraud was in each such case; and how many such warrants were successfully executed in the latest period for which figures are available. [67108]
Chris Grayling: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost for the 550 cases referred to in the answer of 1 December 2010. However, information is available for arrest warrants that have been issued since November 2009 when the data began to be captured electronically.
5 Sep 2011 : Column 126W
In the period 2 November 2009 to 14 July 2011 the Department obtained 1,188 arrest warrants in cases where a defendant failed to attend a hearing or trial without an explanation acceptable to the court. During the same period, 869 arrest warrants were executed, leaving 319 outstanding.
I have deposited a table in the Library indicating the monetary value of each case.
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent steps he has taken to prevent benefit tourism. [67454]
Chris Grayling: We have strict rules in place to prevent abuse of the benefit system by benefit tourism. One of the principal measures is the habitual residence test. People coming from abroad can claim income-related benefits only if they have a right to reside and are habitually resident in the Common Travel Area(1). Claimants are required to show that they are habitually resident in this country and have a settled intention to remain. Any exceptions (refugees, for example) are linked to the immigration status awarded by the Home Office.
To support staff in applying the habitual residence test, we recently introduced an electronic data gathering form in Jobcentre Plus. The aim is to improve both the collection of information relevant to the test, and the quality of the decisions made in respect of it.
In addition, I have commissioned work to look at making information available on the nationality of benefit claimants. These statistics will help us identify the extent to which people from other countries are claiming benefits in the UK.
Last month, in the EU Employment and Social Affairs Council, I called for debate on economically inactive migrants and their access to benefits. 14 other member states supported me, and have also joined the UK in seeking changes to EU regulations to prevent benefit tourism.
We recognise that it is important that we provide support to people who come to this country, in line with our national and international obligations. However, it is also necessary to protect the taxpayer and the benefit system from possible abuse.
We are committed to ensuring that the rules governing the payment of benefits to people from abroad are kept under review.
(1 )The UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, and the Republic of Ireland.
Social Security Benefits: Islington
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Islington North constituency were (a) in receipt of jobseeker's allowance, (b) in receipt of income support and (c) not economically active or in receipt of benefits in each of the last 12 months for which information is available. [69086]
Chris Grayling: The numbers of people in the Islington North constituency who are claiming jobseeker's allowance, income support and the total number of people who are receiving benefits are as follows:
5 Sep 2011 : Column 127W
5 Sep 2011 : Column 128W
|
|
(a) Number of jobseeker's allowance claimants | (b) Number of income support claimants | Total number of benefit claimants | (c) Total number not economically active or in receipt of benefits |
The figures for jobseeker's allowance claimants are updated on our computer system on a monthly basis. However, the numbers of other benefit claimants only become available on our computer system after six months.
State Retirement Pensions
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) women and (b) men qualifying for a full state pension in (i) 2008, (ii) 2009 and (iii) 2010 did so having paid national insurance contributions in excess of the necessary minimum number of qualifying years. [68303]
Steve Webb: The following table presents the estimated number of UK and overseas residents qualifying for a full basic state pension in their own right by gender and tax year of state pension age, and the estimated number of individuals with more qualifying years than necessary for a full basic state pension.
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the total monetary value was of employee national insurance contributions made in 2010 by (a) men and (b) women who had already made payments for the necessary minimum number of qualifying years for a full state pension; [68305]
(2) how many (a) male and (b) female employees who made national insurance contributions in 2010 had already made payments for the necessary minimum number of qualifying years for a full state pension. [68244]
Steve Webb: Estimates are not available for the 2010-11 tax year. The latest available estimates are in the following table, for the 2008-09 tax year.