Sure Start Children's Centres: City of York
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) children and (b) families are in receipt of support from Sure Start Children's Centres in York. [71459]
Sarah Teather: The Department does not collect this information. Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient children's centres in their area to meet local need, so far as is reasonably practicable. It is for local authorities to commission children's centres and to monitor and evaluate the use and impact of their services.
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Vocational Guidance: Greater London
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information his Department holds on the level of careers advice services local authorities in each London borough are planning to provide in response to the ending of the connexions service. [69798]
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Mr Hayes [holding answer 7 September 2011]: The Department for Education does not hold information on the services local authorities are planning to provide to fulfil their responsibility to enable, encourage or assist young people's participation in education or training.
10 Oct 2011 : Column 223W
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 10 October 2011
Work and Pensions
Child Poverty
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a copy of the additional research referred to in paragraph 1.5 of his Department's publication, “A New Approach to Child Poverty”. [60436]
Maria Miller: Copies of Dr Tess Ridge's research ‘Living with Poverty’ and The Office of the Children's Commissioner's report ‘Trying to Get By’ have been placed in the Library.
Access to Work Programme
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how the contract to private providers under the Work programme has been weighted to help families with multiple problems. [72093]
Chris Grayling: The private, voluntary and public sector organisations delivering the Work programme are free to innovate and design support that addresses the needs of individuals, taking full account of their circumstances as well as that of the local labour market.
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Providers will be paid primarily for the results they achieve in supporting people into sustained employment. They will be paid more to support those who are particularly disadvantaged in the labour market—up to around £14,000 for the hardest to help rather than around £3,000 for a typical jobseekers' allowance claimant. Where a couple have a joint JSA claim and one partner is referred to a Work programme provider, the other partner will be fast-tracked and referred simultaneously to the same provider, facilitating an holistic approach to employment support.
Turning around the lives of families with multiple problems is a high priority across Government, and DWP is exploring ways to further integrate the Work programme with the overall strategy.
Outside the Work programme, DWP is using around £200 million of funding it receives from the European Social Fund (ESF) to help families with multiple problems overcome barriers to employment. The provision will be voluntary and will add value to other existing provision for these families within the area. It will be available in England only. ESF provision has been designed to align with the Work programme. This will enable eligible customers to receive continuity of support through ESF and then Work programme provision.
Regulation
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what regulations his Department introduced between 1 March 2011 and 31 May 2011; and what the estimated costs of implementation were for those affected in each case. [60325]
Chris Grayling: The information is contained in the following table.
10 Oct 2011 : Column 225W
10 Oct 2011 : Column 226W
|
The Employment and Support Allowance (Work-Related Activity) Regulations 2011 |
The Department publishes impact assessments for regulation that has a cost to, or benefit for, business, civil society organisations or the public sector and copies of these are placed in the Library of the House.
Disability Living Allowance: Autism
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effects in reductions in entitlement to disability living allowance on those suffering from autism. [72084]
Maria Miller: We are still developing the assessment for personal independence payment and it is too early to say what its impact will be. We do, however, believe that the criteria will take better account of the impact of autistic spectrum disorders than the current criteria for disability living allowance, which do not always reflect the needs of disabled people with mental, intellectual, cognitive and development impairments. For example, the introduction of communication is a significant departure from disability living allowance and one which will ensure we better take into account the effect of impairments that impact on sight, hearing, speech and comprehension.
I have met with the National Autistic Society to hear its views on disability living allowance reform first-hand. We hope to continue working closely with them and other disability organisations as we continue to develop the assessment criteria and move towards implementation of personal independence payment.
We published our initial proposals for the assessment criteria in May and sought views from disabled people and their organisations on this draft. As part of this officials met with the National Autistic Society and are currently considering the society's written response to the informal consultation. We also tested the initial draft criteria over the summer to enable us to better understand their likely impact, which included specifically looking at how they affected people with autistic spectrum disorders. Once we have considered both the feedback received and the findings from the testing, we intend to publish a second draft of the assessment criteria later in the autumn.
Disability Living Allowance: Diseases
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received disability living allowance for care needs or mobility restrictions resulting from sickle cell disease or thalassaemia in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11. [64788]
Maria Miller: The information is not available in the format requested. Sickle cell disease and thalassaemia are categorised as part of the blood disorders group. The information relating to numbers of disability living allowance recipients where blood disorder is listed as the main disabling condition for each of the years requested is shown in the following tables:
| Disability living allowance mobility component in payment with blood disorders as the main disabling condition | ||||
|
|
Great Britain and abroad | Higher | Lower | Nil |
| Disability living allowance care component in payment with blood disorders as the main disabling condition | |||||
|
|
Great Britain and abroad | Higher | Middle | Lower | Nil |
| Notes: 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Figures are adjusted to be consistent with the overall caseload from the WPLS. 3. The preferred data source for benefit statistics is 100% Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. However, the 5% sample data are generally the preferred source for analysis on disabling condition as information is more complete for disabling condition on the 5% sample (Some recipients of DLA who transferred from the AA system may not have been allocated a specific disabling condition code. This problem can be corrected on the sample data but not on the WPLS data. The number of cases affected is decreasing over time). 4. A diagnosed medical condition does not mean that someone is automatically entitled to DLA. Entitlement is dependent on an assessment of how much help someone needs with personal care and/or mobility because of their disability. These statistics are only collected for administrative purposes. 5. This blood disorders group includes also includes conditions such as anaemia. 6. DLA recipients may be in receipt of both the mobility and care components. In November 2010 for example around about two thirds of recipients with a main disabling condition of ‘Blood Disorders’ are in receipt of both components. Source: DWP Information Directorate: Sample data (5%) | |||||
Disability: Atos Healthcare
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will discuss with Atos Healthcare the (a) availability of disabled parking at and (b) accessibility to disabled access to the employment and support allowance Atos assessment centre in Romford. [71795]
Chris Grayling: Blackburn House, where Romford Medical Examination Centre (MEC) is situated in the middle of Romford, has no visitor parking on site although there are two parking bays for use by blue badge holders in Eastern road close to the MEC entrance. There are several secure car parks nearby, including the Liberty multi-story car park on Western road, which has designated spaces for disabled drivers.
With regard to disabled access to the MEC, the landlord has recently installed a new entrance door with a release button that will open automatically and there is a security guard available to give assistance to any visitor who requires it.
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Within the MEC there is also an accessible toilet, dual height reception counter and a portable induction loop amongst other measures available to assist disabled people.
Romford MEC is approved by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) as an appropriate location for medical assessments in connection with DWP benefit claims and is a well equipped examination facility.
The MEC is on the second floor of Blackburn House. Atos Healthcare adheres to DWP health and safety advice; when it is identified prior to assessment that a client will be unable to use stairs to safely evacuate in the event of an emergency, they will either be offered a home visit or an appointment at another convenient MEC. This information is identified from the customer's completed employment and support allowance pre-assessment questionnaire on page 3 where claimants are asked if they are able to get up and down stairs.
It should also be noted that the map/directions provided with the appointment letter do state that the MEC is located on the second floor and that, in the event of an emergency evacuation, it is 36 steps to the ground floor. Claimants who feel that they would have difficulty in negotiating the 36 steps on their own are asked to contact the Appointments Helpdesk for assistance and if appropriate make an alternative appointment.
Depending on where the claimant lives, the Medical Examination Centres at Marylebone, Highgate or Chelmsford could all be within the agreed travelling times.
These MECs all have ground floor facilities. Alternatively, arrangements for a domiciliary visit can be made to carry out the assessment.
Atos Healthcare is working with DWP to review all non ground floor assessment centres to identify additional ground floor rooms that may become available and, in future the department and Atos Healthcare has agreed that all new assessment centres will have ground floor assessment rooms.
Disability: Cars
Claire Perry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many specially adapted motor cars for disabled drivers have been provided (a) nationally and (b) to residents of Wiltshire in each of the last five years. [72086]
Maria Miller: The Department works closely with Motability but it is an independent charity and is wholly responsible for the administration of the Motability scheme. They have agreed to write separately to the hon. Lady with such information as they have available.
Disability: Children
Mr Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he has taken to assist parents and carers of disabled children to work through the provision of help with disabled child care. [71910]
Maria Miller:
We are committed to improving choice for and the experience of, families with disabled children. Many parents and carers of disabled children tell us they want to combine paid work with their caring responsibilities, but need access to good quality flexible
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working. The Government are keen to promote flexible working and have a strong commitment to greater family-friendly working practices and have committed, in the coalition agreement, to consult on extending the right to request flexible working to all employees. The public consultation process recently ended and we intend to respond to comments by the end of the year.
Jobcentre Plus advisers work closely with parents and carers to help them enter the labour market. Advisers can provide a parent or carer with a 'Better Off Calculation' to illustrate how they can be financially better off in work. This calculation includes those elements of tax credits which provide support with child care, including for disabled children.
Advisers also have access to a discretionary fund to provide financial support for child care and replacement care costs, which the parent or carer may need to address, before moving into work. Support for child care costs and replacement care is available to enable parents and carers to take up training and other work preparation support, while funding is also made available to manage the transition to employment once the parent or carer has been offered employment.
In March this year, we published a Green Paper, 'Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability', which set out what the Government will do to support disabled children and their families.
Local authorities have a statutory duty to secure sufficient child care to meet the needs of parents in their area, to enable them to work, or undertake learning or training leading to work. This duty specifically requires local authorities to secure child care provision for disabled children up to the age of 18, and all local authorities are provided with financial support to meet the duty.
Support for child care costs will be provided in universal credit by an additional element, and we aim to extend support to those working fewer than 16 hours. We are still considering what rates to set.
Employment and Support Allowance
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 9 September 2011, Official Report, column 907W, on employment and support allowance, what the equivalent figures are for each benefits area in Wales. [72153]
Chris Grayling: During 2009-10 and 2010-11, claimants of employment and support allowance and its predecessor benefits who lived in Wales, could partake in Jobcentre Plus Pathways to Work if they lived in the Jobcentre Plus districts of:
South Wales Valleys
South West Wales.
Those who lived in the Jobcentre Plus districts of:
North and Mid Wales
South East Wales
could be referred from Jobcentre Plus to Action for Employment (A4e) via the Provider-Led Pathways to Work programme, once they had undertaken an initial Work-Focussed Interview with Jobcentre Plus.
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The table shows the number of mandatory and voluntary starts in each quarter of 2009-10 and 2010-11 to: .
Jobcentre Plus Pathways to Work—for customers who lived in South Wales Valleys and South West Wales Jobcentre Plus districts
Provider-Led Pathways to Work—for customers who go on to start with A4e in North and Mid Wales and South East Wales
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Jobcentre Plus districts, after being referred by Jobcentre Plus following their initial Work-Focussed Interview
(1):
(1) Source:
DWP Jobcentre Plus and Provider-Led Pathways databases. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10, totals may not sum due to rounding.
| Jobcentre Plus Pathways | Provider-Led Pathways—A4e | ||||
| Quarter of starting Pathways with Jobcentre Plus | Wales | South Wales Valleys | South West Wales | North and Mid Wales | South East Wales |
Official statistics are routinely published for employment programmes such as Pathways to Work. Official statistics on Pathways to Work starts and job entries are currently available up to January 2011, and are published at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=ib_ref_p2w
Employment and Support Allowance: Atos Healthcare
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the appeal process is for a claimant of employment and support allowance placed in the work-related activity group, who has been diagnosed by both Atos and a GP as suffering from a degenerative illness. [71796]
Chris Grayling: If an employment and support allowance (ESA) claimant disagrees with the outcome of a work capability assessment (WCA), they are able to ask the office who made the decision to explain it, ask to have the decision reconsidered by Jobcentre Plus, or appeal against the decision to an independent tribunal run by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service. This is the case irrespective of the health condition or disability they may have.
If the claimant wishes to appeal against the decision to an independent tribunal, they will usually need to do this within one month of the decision they are appealing against, although late appeals may be accepted in some circumstances.
Under the Welfare Reform Bill proposal to require consideration of revision of a decision before an appeal, the claimant would be required to go through the reconsideration process before being able to make an appeal to the tribunal. This new approach would increase the likelihood that the decision to appeal would be informed by the claimant's view of whether reconsideration had provided them with an adequate ‘second opinion’ and a clear justification for the original decision.
The work capability assessment is based on the premise that eligibility for ESA should not be based on the diagnosis of a specific condition, but rather on the way that the condition limits an individual's functional capability. It takes account of fluctuating and variable conditions and people are given every opportunity to explain how their condition affects them as an individual. As part of the WCA, a health-care professional will provide advice on when they think a claimant's condition may have changed sufficiently that a review of their circumstances is necessary. The Department uses this advice to decide when to reassess claimants.
Employment Schemes: Young People
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to publish his participation strategy to maximise participation of 16 to 24-year-olds in education, training or work. [72045]
Chris Grayling: Work on the participation strategy is currently under way and is being led jointly by this Department along with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the Department for Education. The Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health are also involved. As set out in the Social Mobility document ‘Opening Doors, Breaking Barriers’, it is due to be published autumn 2011 and will consider issues for young people not in employment, education, or training, and the barriers they face.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many sector-based work academies he plans to establish in 2011; and for what areas he proposes they will be responsible. [72046]
Chris Grayling: Sector-based work academies are being established in sectors with high volumes of current local vacancies. The model is flexible and can be tailored to meet sector and local needs. As a locally-driven initiative the geographical distribution and number of sector-based work academies will depend on the appetite of employers, training providers and claimants across the Jobcentre Plus districts.
Jobcentre Plus, working in partnership with local employers and training providers, will determine the most appropriate offer to meet the need of the local labour market. There is no specific target for the number
10 Oct 2011 : Column 231W
of sector-based work academies to be established in 2011. However, we anticipate the participation of up to 50,000 benefit claimants in sector-based work academies by the end of March 2013.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how his proposed sector-based work academies will be funded; who he proposes may apply to establish such academies; and if he will make a statement. [72047]
Chris Grayling: Jobcentre Plus is seeking to establish partnerships both with local employers in sectors with high volumes of current local vacancies and with training providers, to establish sector-based work academies that meet the needs of the local labour market. The Department for Work and Pensions has allocated £13.1 million to support the implementation and co-ordination of the initiative.
The pre-employment training element of the sector-based work academy model will be funded from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills' Adult Skills budget. It will also be acceptable for employers to fund and deliver the training element of a sector-based work academy themselves if they prefer.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how he proposes that young people will be routed from work experience schemes to apprenticeships. [72049]
Chris Grayling: Work experience and apprenticeships are central to improving the prospects of young unemployed people across the country.
Overall we are funding up to 100,000 work experience placements over two years. This will enable young people to undertake a period of valuable work experience lasting between two and eight weeks. Claimants in the 18 to 24 age group are eligible for work experience and from October 2011 we will be widening eligibility to include 16 and 17-year-olds in receipt of jobseeker's allowance.
This Government are funding up to 250,000 more apprenticeships in England over the next four years. There will be clear routes into apprenticeships to widen access to the programme and clear routes into higher level skills training including, but not exclusively, higher apprenticeships. We are committed to strengthening the links between work experience and apprenticeships. From October this year young people will be able to have their work experience placements extended by up to four weeks where employers make a firm offer of an apprenticeship and that offer is accepted. This will be one of the routes that will help to maximise the number of young people moving off benefits into the 40,000 extra apprenticeships, targeted at unemployed young people, that were announced in the 2011 Budget.
Employment: Milton Keynes
Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate has been made of the number of people not in employment, education or training (a) nationally and (b) in Milton Keynes. [71985]
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Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated September 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what recent estimate has been made of the number of people not in employment, education or training (a) nationally and (b) in Milton Keynes. (71985)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles labour market statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
For the period January 2010 to December 2010, the number of people aged 16 to 64 not in education, employment or training was 31,000 in Milton Keynes and 8,690,000 in the UK.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and JSA count are available on the Nomis website at:
http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
Employment: Scotland
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has relating to the future employment of local authority employees in Scotland who administer benefits advice following implementation of his legislative proposals on welfare reform. [72011]
Chris Grayling: Universal credit will be delivered by DWP drawing on the expertise of HMRC and local authorities. The best of the current capability will be used to deliver the new service, taking the opportunity to modernise and improve it to deliver better efficiency for the taxpayer and better service for claimants. As DWP starts to build the organisation to deliver universal credit, the role of providing benefits advice will form part of our thinking and we continue to work collaboratively across HMRC and local authorities to enable a future proof design to meet claimant needs.
Housing Benefit
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households were claiming housing benefit in each local authority in Great Britain (a) in total and (b) in respect of (i) shared, (ii) one-bedroom, (iii) two-bedroom, (iv) three-bedroom and (v) four-bedroom properties in May 2011. [71229]
Steve Webb: The requested information cannot be provided by bedroom size. The Department does not collect administrative information on the number of bedrooms for accommodation in the social rented sector. In the private rented sector although the local housing allowance rate provides information on the bedroom size for which local housing allowance is payable it is not necessarily a reflection of the property size occupied as claimants can choose to over or under occupy.
The Family Resources Survey does collect information on the number of bedrooms in a household however this is not sufficiently robust to present by local authority.
A copy of the Housing Benefit caseload as of May 2011 has been placed in the Library.
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Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) actual and (b) percentage change in the number of households claiming local housing allowance in each local authority area in Great Britain was between June 2010 and May 2011. [71230]
Steve Webb: The information has been placed in the Library.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications were made for housing benefit discretionary payments in each local authority area in 2010-11; and how many households received housing benefit discretionary payment. [71232]
Steve Webb: The information is not available. The Department does hold some management information on the number of awards in each local authority area, but this has not been through sufficient quality assurance for publication.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress he is making in his proposals to cap housing benefit. [72056]
Steve Webb: From April 2011, we introduced overall weekly maximum local housing allowance rates for each category of property as well as the removal of the five-bedroom rate.
£250 a week for a one-bedroom property
£290 a week for a two-bedroom property
£340 a week for a three-bedroom property
£400 a week for a four-bedroom property or larger
There is provision for existing claimants to have more time to adjust to any reduction in entitlement by giving them up to nine months transitional protection from the anniversary date of their claim.
We have also provided a substantial increase in the discretionary housing payment budget, which will allow local authorities to give additional support and help people through the transition.
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with (a) the National Housing Federation and (b) individual housing associations regarding plans to restrict housing benefit payments where the claimant is deemed to be under-occupying their home. [72165]
Steve Webb: The Minister for Welfare Reform, my noble Friend Lord Freud, has met with the National Housing Federation and various housing associations to discuss welfare reform issues including housing benefit and is always receptive to contributions they have to make to the debate. DWP officials have also met and continue to engage with the National Housing Federation, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and a number of housing associations on this measure. A questionnaire was recently issued to 200 local authorities and housing associations specifically about the under-occupancy measure and 56 responses have been received.
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Housing Benefit: Leeds
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the effects of (a) the changes in housing benefit and (b) the £26,000 benefits cap on households by family size in (i) Leeds and (ii) the UK. [71908]
Chris Grayling: The information is as follows:
(a) In Great Britain, it is estimated that housing benefit claimants assessed under the local housing allowance rules will lose on average £12 per week as a result of the changes that were introduced in April 2011. The average loss in Leeds is estimated at £7. Impacts by family size are not available, although the Department has published statistics on losses broken down by bedroom entitlement.
| Average loss per claimant from the April 2011 local housing allowance reforms | ||
| £ | ||
|
|
Great Britain | Leeds |
(b) The Department's estimates for the impacts of the proposed overall, benefit cap in Great Britain can be found in the impact assessment published to support the cap's inclusion in the Welfare Reform Bill. The impact assessment can be found on the Department's internet site at:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/household-benefit-cap-wr2011-ia.pdf
Information on its specific effects in Leeds is not available as sample sizes are too small to yield reliable results for areas smaller than the overall impacts for Great Britain.
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of recipients of (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax benefit are in work in (i) Leeds and (ii) the UK. [71909]
Steve Webb: The information as requested is not available.
A breakdown of housing benefit (HB)/council tax benefit (CTB) recipients by employment status is only available for recipients who are not also on a passported benefit (income support, jobseekers allowance (income-based), employment and support allowance (income based), or pension credit (guaranteed credit). Non- passported recipients represent around one third of all HB/CTB recipients. Available information is shown in the following tables:
| Housing benefit recipients by passported status, in Leeds local authority, and Great Britain. May 2011 | ||||
|
|
All HB recipients | Passported | Non-passported | Non-passported: of which in employment |
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| Council tax benefit recipients by passported status, in Leeds local authority, and Great Britain. May 2011 | ||||
|
|
All CTB recipients | Passported | Non-passported | Non-passported: of which in employment |
| Notes: 1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Proportions to the nearest one decimal place. 3. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended payment cases. An extended payment is a payment that may be received for a further four weeks when they start working full-time, work more hours or earn more money. 4. Passported status does not include recipients with unknown passported status. 5. SHBE is a monthly electronic scan of claimant level data direct from local authority computer systems. It replaces quarterly aggregate clerical returns. The data are available monthly from November 2008 and May 2011 are the most recent available. 6. Council tax benefit figures exclude any single adult rebate cases. 7. These data refer to people receiving housing benefit not in receipt of a passported benefit and are recorded as being in employment if their local authority has recorded employment income from either the main claimant, or partner of claimant (if applicable), in calculating the housing benefit award. People receiving passported benefits who are working part-time cannot be identified and are therefore not included in this analysis. 8. DWP does not hold benefit statistics for Northern Ireland. Benefit statistics are published on the Department for Social Development Northern Ireland's (DSDNI) website at: http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm Source: Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE) | ||||
Housing Benefit: Mental Illness
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with charities and mental health workers on the effects on single people under 35 years with a mental illness of changes to the local housing allowance shared accommodation rate. [70146]
Steve Webb: We have regular meetings with voluntary organisations and groups that specifically focus on mental health issues. We have considered carefully representations made directly to us and responses to the consultation held by the Social Security Advisory Committee on the shared accommodation rate change.
Discretionary housing payments can be paid to those in receipt of housing benefit, who face a shortfall in meeting their contractual rent. These payments are very flexible and can be considered where, in the local authority's opinion, further financial assistance with housing costs is required.
Housing Benefit: Wales
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received housing benefit in the Vale of Clywd in each month since November 2008. [72029]
Steve Webb: The Department regularly publishes monthly housing benefit case loads at local authority area level which are available from November 2008 to May 2011 on its website at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbctb
However, parliamentary constituency breakdowns have only been produced as a one-off exercise for January 2011, and are published at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/hb_ctb_parlc_jan11.xls
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The number of housing benefit (HB) recipients in the Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency at January 2011 was 6,570.
Notes:
1. Parliamentary constituency is based on the address of the HB/CTB recipient. Note that local authority data is based on the authority administering the benefit claim. It is possible for the recipient to reside in a different LA to the one administering their HB/CTB claim. Therefore it may not always be possible to make direct comparisons between parliamentary constituency and local authority data.
2. Recipients are as at the second Thursday of the month.
3. The figure has been rounded to the nearest 10.
Innovation Fund
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will ensure that resources from the Innovation Fund are made available to support the re-employment of skilled and experienced careers advisers recently made unemployed as a result of the closure of Connexions services. [72095]
Chris Grayling: The Innovation Fund will support disadvantaged young people, and those at risk of disadvantage, aged 14 years and over. Any organisation in the public, private or voluntary sector is eligible to bid for the Innovation Fund, as an investor/ intermediary or as a delivery organisation within a social investment partnership. The second phase of the Innovation Fund will be launched in the autumn and projects are being selected on the basis of a competitive process.
Payments from the fund will be made on the basis of the educational and employment related outcomes achieved by the participants. However, the Innovation Fund provision must not duplicate existing programmes or funding arrangements—the provision needs to be genuinely innovative and deliver support to individuals which would not otherwise be available to them.
Jobseeker's Allowance
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria his Department uses to ensure information and updates on legislation and procedures passed to all (a) staff handling jobseeker's allowance, (b) national helplines, (c) voluntary agencies and (d) claimants. [71882]
Chris Grayling: The information is as follows:
(a) Standard processes exist within Jobcentre Plus to ensure that changes such as the introduction of new legislation are notified to staff in advance. This includes a four week notice period of any changes to internal guidance and supporting products, to ensure that all staff are fully aware of the scope and affect of the change before the policy or process changes are implemented. A monthly strategic forward look of change, including the impacts on operational capacity to absorb change, is also available to staff. Additional products, such as Learning and Development, are produced to help staff understand the changes.
(b) Assuming ‘national helplines’ refer to those operated by DWP, the same response applies as (a) above, about how we inform staff.
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(c) There are no set criteria for disseminating information to voluntary agencies, i.e. the advice sector. Each instance is judged on its own merits. The primary channel for communicating with this sector is the DWP Adviser and Intermediaries site, which has links to legislation and guidance. Changes are communicated through this site, through direct mailings to national customer organisations and at meetings with representatives of the sector.
(d) To provide claimants with information about changes to legislation, the Department takes a two-part approach:
For new claimants, information is updated in our printed leaflets, factsheets and forms, and on our Directgov information pages. Where appropriate we may highlight that the new information is a change. For printed materials, we aim to update products to a schedule that minimises unnecessary cost (for example at a regular review stage, or when old stock needs to be reprinted).
For existing claimants, changes are notified through our existing relationship, either during regular fortnightly signing in Jobcentres, through letters or through direct contact (such as by phone or in adviser interviews).
New Enterprise Allowance
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions through what channels his Department makes information on the new enterprise allowance available. [72044]
Chris Grayling: Background information about the new enterprise allowance and its administration, together with a list of the Department's delivery partners in Jobcentre Plus districts, can be found on the Department's website:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/adviser/updates/new-enterprise-allowance/
Information on the new enterprise allowance scheme itself is available to claimants online, through the Directgov website:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Jobseekers/LookingForWork/DG_173931
Jobcentre Plus front-line staff also provide claimants with information about the scheme when they attend the Jobcentre for regular interventions.
Information about the performance of the new enterprise allowance scheme will be released as part of the pre-Work programme official statistics covering Get Britain Working Measures. The first release is due to be published on 16 November 2011. More information can be found on the Department's website:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=wp
Pensions
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what funding his Department has allocated to explaining the planned changes to pensions and their consequences to businesses. [72208]
Steve Webb: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Coventry South (Mr Cunningham) on 15 September 2011, Official Report, column 1360W.
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to offset the costs incurred by micro firms in implementing pension changes in 2012. [72209]
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Steve Webb: The independent Making Automatic Enrolment Work review looked at the impact of the reforms on employers and specifically examined whether micro employers should be excluded from the reforms. It concluded that they should not because this would exclude 1.5 million people working for small businesses from the opportunity to save for their retirement.
We do, however, want to make the implementation of the reforms as straightforward for employers as possible and the Pensions Bill 2011 includes measures that will reduce the regulatory impact on business including:
An increase in the earnings threshold for automatic enrolment;
An optional waiting period of up to 3 months before an employee needs to be automatically enrolled; and
A simpler way for employers to check that existing defined contribution schemes meet the required standards.
In addition, the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) has been established to ensure that all, employers have access to suitable, low cost pension provision. NEST has been designed to make compliance with the reforms as straightforward as possible for all employers, and will be particularly suited to the needs of small and micro business.
Poverty
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of households in poverty have at least one person working. [72030]
Maria Miller: Estimates of the number and proportion of various groups of individuals living in poverty across the UK are published in Households Below Average Income Series (HBAI, 2009/10). This uses household income adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) for household size using various thresholds of low income poverty. This analysis looks at household level poverty, using a threshold of the 60% of contemporary median equivalised disposable household income
The following table shows the number and proportion of households, where at least one person is working, that have income below 60% of contemporary median household income, both Before and After Housing Costs in 2009-10, the most recent data available.
| Number in millions and percentage of households with income below 60% of median income Before Housing Costs (BHC) and After Housing Costs (AHC) where at least one person is working | ||
| Million (and %) of households | ||
|
|
BHC | AHC |
| Notes: 1. These statistics are based on the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series, sourced from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). This uses disposable household income, adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 2. Net disposable incomes have been used to answer the question. This includes earnings from employment and self-employment, state support, income from occupational and private pensions, investment income and other sources. Income tax, payments, national insurance contributions, council tax/domestic rates and some other payments are deducted from incomes. 3. Figures have been presented on a Before Housing Cost and an After Housing Cost basis. For Before Housing Costs, housing costs are not deducted from income, while for After Housing Costs they are. 4. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 5. Proportions of households in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest whole percentage point and numbers of households have been rounded to the nearest 100,000. Source: Households Below Average Income, DWP | ||
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Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what benefits are claimed by (a) working households in poverty without children, (b) workless households in poverty without children, (c) lone parents in poverty who work, (d) lone parents in poverty who do not work, (e) couple parents in poverty who work, (f) couple parents in poverty who do not work, (g) workless households in poverty with children, who have one or more adult who is disabled and (h) workless households in poverty without children, who have one or more adult who is disabled; what estimate he has made of the average amount of time members of each such category spent on administering benefits and benefits claims in the latest period for which figures are available; what (i) additions and (ii) mental health problems affecting people in each such category have been reported to his Department; and what the incidence of such households is in each geographic area. [72212]
Maria Miller:
Estimates of the number and proportion of various groups of individuals living in poverty are
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published in the households below average income (HBAI) series sourced from the Family Resources Survey. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living. This analysis looks at household level poverty, using a threshold of 60% of contemporary median equivalised disposable household income.
Data provided in the following tables for the United Kingdom are for 2009/10, the most recent year for which data is available.
Tables 1 and 2 as follows show the proportion of each of the household and family types specified in receipt of each type of state support. The sample size of the Family Resources Survey is not sufficient to provide estimates below the United Kingdom level.
The Department for Work and Pensions does not have an estimate of the average amount of time members of each household and family types specified spent on administering benefits and benefits claims. It also has no information on the additions and mental health problems affecting people in each household and family type have reported.
| Table 1a: Percentage of each family or household type who are in receipt of each type of state support, before housing costs (part 1) | ||||
| Percentage | ||||
| Family or household type | ||||
| State support type | Working households in poverty without children | Workless households in poverty without children | Lone parent families in poverty who work | Lone parent families in poverty who do not work |
| Table 1b: Percentage of each family or household type who are in receipt of each type of state support, before housing costs (part 2) | ||||
| Percentage | ||||
| Family or household type | ||||
| State support received | Couple parent families in poverty who work | Couple parent families in poverty who do not work | Workless households in poverty with children, who have one or more adult who is disabled | Workless households in poverty without children, who have one or more adult who is disabled |
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| Source: Households Below Average Income 1994/95-2009/10, DWP | ||||
| Table 2a: Percentage of each family or household type who are in receipt of each type of state support, before housing costs (part 1) | ||||
| Percentage | ||||
| Family or household type | ||||
| State support received | Working households in poverty without children | Workless households in poverty without children | Lone parent families in poverty who work | Lone parent families in poverty who do not work |
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| Table 2b: Percentage of each family or household type who are in receipt of each type of state support, before housing costs (part 2) | ||||
| Percentage | ||||
| Family or household type | ||||
| State support received | Couple parent families in poverty who work | Couple parent families in poverty who do not work | Workless households in poverty with children, who have one or more adult who is disabled | Workless households in poverty without children, who have one or more adult who is disabled |
| Notes: 1. These statistics are based on households below average income (HBAI) data available at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbai_arc 2. These statistics are based on households below average income (HBAI) data sourced from the 2009/10 Family Resources survey (FRS). This uses disposable household income, adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 3. Net disposable incomes have been used to answer the question. This includes earnings from employment and self-employment, state support, income from occupational and private pensions, investment income and other sources. Income tax, payments, national insurance contributions, council tax/domestic rates and some other payments are deducted from incomes. 4. Figures have been presented on a before housing cost and an after housing cost basis. For before housing costs, housing costs are not deducted from income, while for after housing costs they are. 5. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to a degree of uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. The sample size for lone parent families in poverty who work is particularly small, so results for this family type should be treated with particular caution. 6. Benefit receipt is based on self-assessment and therefore may be subject to misreporting. The Family Resources Survey is known to undercount receipt of certain benefits. 7. The population groups include subgroups of families and households. Families are defined as a single adult or a married or cohabiting couple and any dependent children; from January 2006 same-sex partners (civil partners and cohabitees) are included in the same benefit unit. A household is made up of one of more families. 8. The reference period for HBAI figures is the financial year. 9. Proportions of families and households have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. 10. Numbers of families and households have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand. 11. “—“ indicates less than 0.5%. 12. Poverty has been defined as: Relative low income: households with equivalised households incomes below 60% of contemporary median household income, before or after housing costs. 13. For this analysis, disability is defined as having any long-standing illness, disability or impairment that leads to a substantial difficulty with one or more areas of the individual's life. Everyone classified as disabled under this definition would also be classified as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 (and the Disability Discrimination Act which was in force at the time of the survey). However, some individuals classified as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 would not be captured by this definition, as the Family Resources survey, the source of the households below average income series, does not fully collect this information. 14. No adjustment is made to disposable household income to take into account any additional costs that may be incurred due to an illness or disability, because research shows these vary significantly in level and nature, and there is no general agreement on how to measure these costs. 15. A household or family is defined as workless if no-one within the household or family is classified as working; otherwise the household or family is defined as working, so is wider than just those individuals classified as unemployed. 16. We have excluded households or families that do not contain any working-age adults. The categories specified are not mutually exclusive and the same individuals can be counted in more than one group. Source: Households Below Average Income 1994/95-2009/10, DWP | ||||
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Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of workless households that are in poverty and have one or more adults who is disabled and one or more adults of working age also include at least one child. [72213]
Maria Miller: Estimates of the number and proportion of various groups of individuals living in poverty are published in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living.
The following table shows the proportion and number of workless households that are in poverty and have one or more adults who is disabled and one or more adults of working age that also include at least one child.
| Proportion and number of workless households that are in poverty and have one or more adults who is disabled and one or more adults of working age which also include at least one child, United Kingdom, 2009-10 | ||
| Workless households in poverty with one or more disabled adults and one or more working-age adults with at least one child | ||
| Low income | Number (Million) | Proportion (Percentage) |
| Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data available at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbai_arc 2. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data sourced from the 2009-10 Family Resources Survey (FRS). This uses disposable household income, adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 3. Net disposable incomes have been used to answer the question. This includes earnings from employment and self-employment, state support, income from occupational and private pensions, investment income and other sources. Income tax, payments, national insurance contributions, council tax/domestic rates and some other payments are deducted from incomes. 4. Figures have been presented on a before housing cost and an after housing cost basis. For before housing costs, housing costs are not deducted from income, while for after housing costs they are. 5. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to a degree of uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 6. The reference period for HBAI figures is the financial year. 7. Number of households have been rounded to the nearest 100,000. 8. Proportion of households have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. 9. Poverty has been defined as: relative low income: households with equivalised households incomes below 60% of contemporary median household income, before or after housing costs. 10. For this analysis, disability is defined as having any long-standing illness, disability or impairment that leads to a substantial difficulty with one or more areas of the individual’s life. Everyone classified as disabled under this definition would also be classified as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 (and the Disability Discrimination Act which was in force at the time of the survey). However, some individuals classified as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 would not be captured by this definition, as the Family Resources Survey, the source of the Households Below Average Income series, does not fully collect this information. 11. No adjustment is made to disposable household income to take into account any additional costs that may be incurred due to an illness or disability, because research shows these vary significantly in level and nature, and there is no general agreement on how to measure these costs. 12. A household is defined as workless if no one within the household is classified as working; otherwise the household is defined as working, so is wider than just those individuals classified as unemployed. Source: Households Below Average Income 1994-95 to 2009-10, DWP. | ||
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of workless households living in poverty include (a) one or more and (b) two or more disabled adults. [72214]
Maria Miller:
Estimates of the number and proportion of various groups of individuals living in poverty are published in the Households Below Average Income
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(HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living.
The following table shows the proportion and number of workless households that are in poverty also include (a) one or more and (b) two or more disabled adults. Households that contain only adults above pension age have been excluded from this analysis.
| Proportion and number of workless households that are in poverty with at least one working-age adult that also include (a) one or more and (b) two or more disabled adults, United Kingdom, 2009-10 | ||||
| Before housing costs | After housing costs | |||
| Workless households with at least one working-age adult in poverty with | Number (Million) | Proportion (Percentage) | Number (Million) | Proportion (Percentage) |
| Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data available at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbai_arc 2. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data sourced from the 2009-10 Family Resources Survey (FRS). This uses disposable household income, adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 3. Net disposable incomes have been used to answer the question. This includes earnings from employment and self-employment, state support, income from occupational and private pensions, investment income and other sources. Income tax, payments, national insurance contributions, council tax/domestic rates and some other payments are deducted from incomes. 4. Figures have been presented on a before housing cost and an after housing cost basis. For before housing costs, housing costs are not deducted from income, while for after housing costs they are. 5. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to a degree of uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 6. The reference period for HBAI figures is the financial year. 7. Number of households have been rounded to the nearest 100,000. 8. Proportion of households have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. 9. Poverty has been defined as: relative low income: households with equivalised households incomes below 60% of contemporary median household income, before or after housing costs. 10. For this analysis, disability is defined as having any long-standing illness, disability or impairment that leads to a substantial difficulty with one or more areas of the individual’s life. Everyone classified as disabled under this definition would also be classified as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 (and the Disability Discrimination Act which was in force at the time of the survey). However, some individuals classified as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 would not be captured by this definition, as the Family Resources Survey, the source of the Households Below Average Income series, does not fully collect this information. 11. No adjustment is made to disposable household income to take into account any additional costs that may be incurred due to an illness or disability, because research shows these vary significantly in level and nature, and there is no general agreement on how to measure these costs. 12. A household is defined as workless if no one within the household is classified as working; otherwise the household is defined as working, so is wider than just those individuals classified as unemployed. We have excluded households that do not contain working-age adults. Source: Households Below Average Income 1994-95 to 2009-10, DWP. | ||||
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of people of working age, in work and living in poverty are women in (a) full-time and (b) part-time employment. [72215]
Maria Miller:
Estimates of the number and proportion of various groups of individuals living in poverty across the UK are published in Households Below Average Income Series (HBAI, 2009-10). This uses household
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income adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size using various thresholds of low income poverty. This analysis looks at individual level poverty, using a threshold of the 60% of contemporary median equivalised disposable household income.
The following table shows the number and proportion of working age women, in full time and part time employment that have income below 60% of contemporary median household income, both Before and After Housing Costs in 2009-10, the most recent data available.
| Table 1: Numbers and proportions of people of working age, in work and living in poverty who are women in (a) full-time and (b) part-time employment, Before Housing Costs and After Housing Costs, 2009-10, United Kingdom | ||||
| Before Housing Costs | After Housing Costs | |||
| Million and percentage of people of working age, in work and living in poverty who are: | Number (million) | Proportion (percentage) | Number (million) | Proportion (percentage) |
| Notes: 1. These statistics are based on the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series, sourced from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). This uses disposable household income, adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 2. Net disposable incomes have been used to answer the question. This includes earnings from employment and self-employment, state support, income from occupational and private pensions, investment income and other sources. Income tax, payments, national insurance contributions, council tax/domestic rates and some other payments are deducted from incomes. 3. Figures have been presented on a Before Housing Cost and an After Housing Cost basis. For Before Housing Costs, housing costs are not deducted from income, while for After Housing Costs they are. 4. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 5. Proportions of individuals in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest whole percentage point and numbers of individuals have been rounded to the nearest 100,000. Source: Households Below Average Income, DWP | ||||
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many and what proportion of working age (a) parents living in poverty as a couple and (b) lone parents have at least one child (i) over and (ii) under five; [72216]
(2) how many and what proportion of people of working age and living in households in poverty are lone parents; [72217]
(3) how many and what proportion of people of working age in work and living in households in poverty are lone parents. [72218]
Maria Miller: Estimates of the number and proportion of various groups of individuals living in poverty across the UK are published in Households Below Average Income Series (HBAI). This uses household income adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size using various thresholds of low income poverty. This analysis looks at household level poverty, using a threshold of the 60% of contemporary median equivalised disposable household income
Data provided in the following tables for the United Kingdom are for 2009-10, the most recent year for which data are available.
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| Table 1: Number and proportion of working age people living in households with income below 60% of contemporary median income Before Housing Costs (BHC) and After Housing Costs (AHC) who are lone parents | ||||
| Million and percentage of individuals | ||||
| BHC | AHC | |||
|
|
Million | Percentage | Million | Percentage |
| Table 2: Number and proportion of working age people in work living in households with income below 60% of contemporary median income Before Housing Costs (BHC) and After Housing Costs (AHC) who are lone parents | ||||
| Million and percentage of individuals | ||||
| BHC | AHC | |||
|
|
Million | Percentage | Million | Percentage |
| Table 3: Number and proportion of working age people who are (a) living in a couple and (b) lone parents that have at least one child in certain age bands | ||||
| Million and percentage of individuals | ||||
| Couple | Lone parent | |||
| At least one child | Million | Percentage | Million | Percentage |
| Table 4a: Number and proportion of working age people living in households with income below 60 % of contemporary median income Before Housing Costs who are (a) parents in a couple and (b) lone parents that have at least one child in certain age bands | ||||
| Million and percentage of individuals | ||||
| Couple | Lone parent | |||
| At least one child | Million | Percentage | Million | Percentage |