Apprentices
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many businesses in the (a) public and (b) private sector are offering apprenticeships to (i) 16 to 18 year olds and (ii) 19 to 24 year olds in 2011-12; how many such businesses there were in each category in each of the last five years; and how many such businesses in each such year had (A) between 0 and 9 employees, (B) 0 and 49 employees, (C) 0 and 249 employees and (D) 250 or more employees. [72511]
Mr Hayes
[holding answer 10 October
2011
]: The National Employers Skills survey (NESS) shows a national estimate of the proportion of apprentices employed by
18 Oct 2011 : Column 916W
employer size. These data are based on repeated surveys of up to 79,000 employers across all business sectors in England. Table 1 shows the latest information from the published 2009 National Employer Skills survey (NESS 2011 is expected to be published in 2012) on the proportion of apprentices employed by the size of establishment, expressed as a percentage of all apprenticeships.
| Table 1: Percentage of apprentices employed by establishment size (NESS 2009) | |||||||
| Number of employees in establishment | |||||||
| 2-4 | 5-24 | 25-99 | 100-199 | 200-499 | 500+ | Total | |
| Note: Figure 8.4, p. 208 in http://www.ukces.org.uk/assets/bispartners/ukces/docs/publications/evidence-report-23-ness-main-report-2009.pdf accessed on 27 September 2011. | |||||||
The percentage of apprentices employed by establishment size data (NESS 2009) is not available by age or by further breakdown of the number of employee bands. We do not directly measure the number of apprenticeship starts in the public and private sector but table 1 shows the number of apprenticeship starts in the ‘Health, Public Services and Care' Sector Subject Area for 2009/10, the latest year for which final data are available. This may include some private sector health and care businesses and exclude some public sector apprenticeships covered in other sector subject areas but it is the most readily available information.
| Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts by sector subject area in England, 2005/06 to 2009/10 | |||||
| Sector subject area | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 |
| (1) Indicates a base value of less than five. Note: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest ten except for the total which is rounded to the nearest hundred. Source: Individualised Learner Record | |||||
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Information on the number of apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 23 June 2011:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current
Crimes of Violence: Children
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will respond to the UN Global Survey on Violence against Children; and if he will place in the Library a copy of his response. [73734]
Tim Loughton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 10 October 2011, Official Report, column 190W, to the hon. Member for Chesterfield (Toby Perkins).
Curriculum
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consideration he gave to the gender balance of his Department's National Curriculum review panel. [73413]
Mr Gibb: The review of the National Curriculum in England is being advised by an Expert Panel made up of respected academics, as well as an Advisory Committee consisting mainly of successful head teachers and also including representation from higher education and employers. The terms of reference for the Expert Panel and Advisory Committee and pen pictures of their members can be found at:
www.education.gov.uk/nationalcurriculum
The Expert Panel and Advisory Committee were selected on the basis of their expertise and experience. Both groups include both men and women.
Curriculum: Females
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has given consideration to adding texts to the National Curriculum in order to enhance the teaching of history relating to women. [73412]
Mr Gibb: One of the requirements of the current history curriculum is to develop in pupils an understanding of the diverse experiences and ideas, beliefs and attitudes of men, women and children in past societies and how these have shaped the world. The current programmes for history are a broad framework, so although there are no specific references to history relating to women in the range and content, they provide ample opportunities for schools to cover this topic.
We are currently undertaking a review of the National Curriculum. The review is considering which subjects beyond English, maths, science and physical education should in future be compulsory subjects within the National Curriculum, and at which key stages. We expect to announce our proposals early next year. For those subjects which we propose should remain part of the National Curriculum, we will work with subject experts and other interested parties during the course of next year to develop new Programmes Of Study for those subjects. There will be a full public consultation before final decisions are made.
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Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (a) to what extent and (b) in what way his Department's review of the National Curriculum will consider the inclusion of literary, mathematical or scientific works by women. [73414]
Mr Gibb: The Department's review of the National Curriculum will consider the inclusion of literary, mathematical or scientific works, whether written by women or men, in statutory Programmes of Study where these cover the essential knowledge that all children should acquire. These decisions will be based on consideration of advice received from subject experts, our analysis of international evidence and the responses to the Call for Evidence conducted earlier this year. There will be a full public consultation on our proposals before final decisions are taken.
Consultants
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what procedures his Department uses when engaging external consultants. [73100]
Tim Loughton: The Department has introduced internal procedures to review all proposals to engage consultants. These procedures now incorporate the cross-Government consultancy review arrangements established by the Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG) in Cabinet Office for high-value cases.
Consultancy engagements have to meet criteria before approval is granted:
The requirement is of genuine operational necessity;
The work cannot be undertaken by existing in-house resources;
The commercial proposals represent real value for money.
Within the Department all consultancy proposals require at least a business case signed off at director level. For engagements in our arm’s length bodies, sign-off is at chief executive level. Separate approval processes are then required depending on the value and requirement of the engagement. All cases are reviewed within Finance and Commercial Group at deputy director and director levels. Engagements that are intended to last for over nine months require clearance from the Minister with responsibility for efficiency and value for money, my noble Friend, Lord Hill of Oareford, and the Cabinet Office. Consultancy contracts of over £20,000 also require approval by Lord Hill and if they involve procurement- related consultancy, they also require Cabinet Office approval.
Existing consultancy contracts of £20,000 and above are reviewed every three months from the date of contract commencement to ensure they still meet the criteria. Contracts are reviewed at three and six months within the Department, and at nine months they are referred to Cabinet Office for approval to continue.
The Department is subject to EU and UK Procurement regulations and the strategy of centralising procurement of common goods and services for central Government Departments. As such the Department encourages use of existing framework agreements wherever possible, including those established by the Government Procurement Service. Where requirements are not met by an existing framework, business units are advised that, following the fundamental principles of EU legislation, and Government purchasing policy, contracts should be awarded following competitive tendering.
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Up to February 2011, Departments had saved £350 million on consultancy engagements—a reduction of 55%.
Free Schools
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) whether his Department conducted a public procurement process for the provision of services to free schools from July 2011; [71368]
(2) when his Department made its first payment to the New Schools Network; [71369]
(3) whether the New Schools Network has been promoted at any events funded by his Department. [71370]
Mr Gibb: The first payment to the New Schools Network (NSN) was made in December 2010 and the grant funding arrangement lasted until 31 July 2011. The agreement with NSN was extended without additional funding by two months to 30 September 2010 after NSN offered to work for free. On 5 September the Department launched an open competitive process for an organisation to provide future support to groups interested in submitting an application to open a free school.
The Department does not hold records centrally about the promotion of NSN at DFE-funded events although the Department does advise potential applicants of the support that NSN can provide.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on what date he plans to publish his decision on applications for free schools wishing to open in 2012. [72099]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 10 October 2011]: The Department has now completed the process of assessing the applications it has received to establish free schools in 2012. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education made an oral statement to the House on 10 October 2011, Official Report, columns 62-64, about those that are approved to move to the next stage of development.
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of applications to set up a free school have been rejected; and for what reasons in each case. [72272]
Mr Gibb: During the application round for Free Schools opening in 2011 approximately 90% of the 323 applications were rejected. In the application round for free schools opening in 2012, the outcome of which was announced on 10 October 2011, Official Report, columns 62-64, by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education, approximately 75% of the 281 applications are not being taken forward. The Department does not publish details of unsuccessful applications.
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many meetings on free schools (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) civil servants in his Department have had with (i) the New Schools Network and (ii) other organisations; [72316]
(2) how many organisations have received funding from his Department to provide advice on the establishment of free schools; and what the monetary value is of each such contract. [72317]
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Mr Gibb: Ministers and special advisers have met NSN to discuss free schools on several occasions since May 2010; officials have had frequent meetings. Providing information on the exact number, and numbers of meetings about free schools with other organisations, could be done only at disproportionate cost.
On 18 June 2010 the Department agreed to enter into a £500,000 grant agreement with the New Schools Network to provide pre-application advice and support to groups and individuals interested in opening a free school. No other organisations have received funding from the Department to provide similar support.
Further Education: Finance
Mr Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to commence a new round of funding for further education college capital projects. [72966]
Mr Hayes: I announced a new two year Further Education Capital Investment Programme in the consultation document entitled ‘New Challenges, New Chances: Next Steps in Implementing the Further Education Reform Programme’, which was published in August 2011. This programme was launched in September 2011 and details of the programme are available on the Skills Funding Agency's website.
All further education colleges are eligible to apply for a £100,000 Renewal Grant subject to them making an additional contribution of twice the allocated amount to an appropriate project. In addition, all eligible colleges have the opportunity to bid through a challenge process for further ‘Enhanced Renewal Grant’ funding which could provide up to £2,000,000 for an individual project subject to the usual 2:1 funding criteria.
Offences Against Children
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will introduce measures to improve the operation of local safeguarding children boards to take account of the conclusions of the ‘Out of Mind, Out of Sight’ report from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre. [74181]
Tim Loughton: Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) have a key role in tackling child sexual exploitation. We know that there are examples of good practice in identifying this abuse and responding to it; but not enough LSCBs are tackling the problem proactively. The action plan which the Government are committed to publishing in the autumn will set out a range of actions for tackling child sexual exploitation, including ones to help LSCBs improve their performance. The action plan will take account of the conclusions of the ‘Out of Mind, Out of Sight’ report and of other related reports and research findings.
Schools: Bullying
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to reduce bullying in schools. [73866]
Mr Gibb:
The Government made a clear commitment to tackle bullying—particularly prejudice-based bullying—in the Schools White Paper, ‘The Importance of Teaching’.
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We are supporting school staff to proactively identify the motivation of poor behaviour and bullying that are particular to their school, and to ensure that they have clear strategies in place to tackle them. We have published clearer anti-bullying advice to help schools to develop an effective approach. We have updated statutory guidance to school governors, clarifying their legal powers to tackle bullying both in and outside school; and legislation currently before the House will strengthen the authority of teachers to enforce discipline and promote good behaviour. The new Ofsted inspections framework, which comes into force in January next year, will place a sharper focus on behaviour and bullying, increasing schools' accountability in this area.
Schools: Finance
Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress his Department has made on identifying annual expenditure on insurance across the school estate; and if he will make a statement. [71875]
Tim Loughton: The Department gathers spend information from schools on an annual basis in the form of consistent financial reporting (CFR).
CFR standardises, simplifies and streamlines the reporting of school finances in all local authority (LA) maintained schools in England.
Schools insurance is reported under three CRF codes: Supply Teacher insurance; Staff related insurance and Other insurance premiums.
For the reporting period 2009/10, which is the latest period that the figures are available for, the following annual values were reported:
Supply Teacher insurance—£151,485,424.20
Premiums paid to insurers for supply teacher cover
Premiums paid to insurers for cover other than for teacher absence
Vehicle insurance
Accident and public liability insurance for persons not employed directly by the school
School trip insurance
Premises related insurance
Staff related insurance—£47,212,124.85
Cover for non-teaching staff absence.
Employee related insurance for accident and liability, assault, fidelity guarantee, libel and slander
Insurance premiums paid to cover teaching absence for staff directly employed by the school
Premises related insurance
Vehicle insurance
Accident and Public liability insurance for persons not employed directly by the school
School trip insurance
Other insurance premiums—£159,613,986 . 78
Premises related insurance
Vehicle insurance
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Accident and public liability insurance for persons not employed directly by the school
School trip insurance
Insurance for supply teacher cover
Staff insurance cover
Science: GCSE
Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of pupils who achieved grades A to C in (a) biology, (b) physics and (c) chemistry at GCSE in 2011 who are planning to study the subjects at AS Level. [71964]
Mr Gibb: Learner level information on attainment in 2011 is not yet available. However, we can estimate, using historical data for the cohort who completed Key Stage 4 in 2007/08, the proportion who went on to enter AS or A-levels in 2008/09 or 2009/10(1). These figures are shown in the following tables.
| Biology | |||
| Progression to AS/A-level—cumulative | |||
| Attainment at Key Stage 4 | Number at KS4 | AS/A-level by year 12 (percentage) | AS/A-level by year 13 (percentage) |
| Physics | |||
| Progression to AS/A-level—cumulative | |||
| Attainment at Key Stage 4 | Number at KS4 | AS/A-level by year 12 (percentage) | AS/A-level by year 13 (percentage) |
| Chemistry | |||
| Progression to AS/A-level—cumulative | |||
| Attainment at Key Stage 4 | Number at KS4 | AS/A-level by year 12 (percentage) | AS/A-level by year 13 (percentage) |
(1) Two years data on AS-level and A-level entries have been used to estimate continuation to AS-level, because in many cases AS-levels are entered in year 12, but only “cashed in”, ie the award made by the awarding body, in year 13.
Teachers: Ex-servicemen
Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many former service personnel have (a) applied for and (b) been enrolled in the Troops to Teachers programme. [74054]
Mr Gibb:
We are developing a Troops to Teachers programme, which will provide a number of routes for service leavers who want to use their skills in schools,
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either through teaching, school leadership or providing specialist support to groups of pupils. We will announce further details of the Troops to Teachers programme later this year.
The Troops to Teachers programme will encompass the Military to Mentors programme, which was launched last year. The Military to Mentors programme employs ex-services personnel to work with some of our most vulnerable young people, in schools. There are 10 participants on the current programme, 20 more confirmed to start the next programme and a further 20 at the application stage.
Teachers: Nottinghamshire
Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teaching staff there are per child in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) England. [73529]
Mr Gibb: The following table shows the ratio of pupils to teachers in local authority maintained/nursery, primary and secondary schools combined in November 2010.
| Overall pupil:teacher ratios in local authority maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools, year: November 2010 (1) , coverage: Ashfield parliamentary constituency, Nottinghamshire local authority and England | |||
| Ashfield (2) | Nottinghamshire (3) | England (3) | |
| (1) November 2010 figures are calculated using the most current figures e.g. January 2011 pupil numbers and November 2010 teacher numbers. (2) This figure excludes any teachers directly employed by the local authority who mainly work in schools within the constituency and is therefore not truly comparable with the LA and England figures. (3) The overall PTRs are based on the total FTE number of sole and dual-registered pupils on roll in local authority maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools and the FTE of all teachers in these schools (including: centrally-employed; occasional teachers; those on employment-based routes to QTS, others without QTS, those on paid absence and any replacements). Source: School Workforce Census and School Census. | |||
Teachers: Pensions
Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to teachers' pension arrangements on the ability of teachers to move between the state and independent sectors. [73856]
Mr Gibb: The Government have agreed that the recommendations from the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission (IPSPC), chaired by Lord Hutton of Furness, will form the basis for consultation on public sector pension reforms. Proposals are under discussion and the question of mobility between the state and independent sectors will be considered as a key element in concluding how the recommendations will be implemented.
Video Games: Industry
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the Livingstone Hope Skills review. [73464]
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Mr Gibb: The report of the Livingstone Hope Skills review on the skills shortage faced by the video games and visual industries was launched in February 2011. Officials from the Department for Education and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport discussed the recommendations emerging from the review before the launch of the report, and have since met to discuss the Government's response.
Work and Pensions
Access to Work Programme: Barking
Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) in what (a) industries and (b) occupations people have been placed on the Work programme in Barking constituency to date; [74139]
(2) how many people on the Work programme in Barking constituency were placed in employment in (a) June, (b) July and (c) August 2011; [74140]
(3) how many people in Barking constituency have been referred to A4e to participate in the Work programme; [74144]
(4) how many people in Barking constituency have been referred to CDG to participate in the Work programme; [74154]
(5) how many people in Barking constituency have been referred to SEETEC to participate in the Work programme. [74155]
Chris Grayling: The Work programme was launched in June 2011, to deliver sustained employment that can change people's lives; providers have longer than ever before to make a difference.
The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity and we are aiming to publish referrals and attachments from spring 2012 and job outcomes from autumn 2012.
The Department's publication strategy for Work programme statistics was placed in the House of Commons Library and is also available at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=wp
Atos Healthcare
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on the way that Atos Healthcare carry out their assessments on behalf of his Department; and what plans he has for improvements in the way that Atos Healthcare undertake such assessments. [74042]
Chris Grayling: It is important the work capability assessment (WCA) is subject to an ongoing process of review, evaluation and refinement. This includes continuing to listen to the concerns of both representative groups and individuals and we welcome the recent Work and Pensions Select Committee Report which acknowledged improvements to the WCA resulting from the review process.
As part of this continuous improvement Professor Harrington published his first Independent Review of the WCA in November 2010. He concluded that the
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principles of the assessment are right, but that the system contains some flaws that risk undermining its effectiveness. We fully endorse his review and have sought to implement all of its recommendations.
Improvements include the introduction of mental, cognitive and intellectual ‘champions’ into assessment centres to improve the assessment of these functions. Atos has additionally published a customer charter which is available in their medical assessment centres, ensuring that individuals understand the level of service they may reasonably expect from the organisation.
We will continue to review and refine the WCA to ensure that it is effective; fair for all claimants and as a result fair for the taxpayer. I am delighted therefore that Professor Harrington has agreed to take on the second Independent Review of the WCA. We look forward to receiving his further recommendations by the end of the year.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department's contract with Atos to carry out assessments for employment and support allowance will expire. [73755]
Chris Grayling: The Department's contract with Atos to carry out assessments for employment and support allowance will expire on 31 August 2015.
Carbon Monoxide: Poisoning
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to provide information to the public on the (a) risk and (b) prevention of carbon monoxide poisoning. [73708]
Chris Grayling: The Government takes awareness of carbon monoxide issues very seriously, and provides information for the public on websites and in publications. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advice to consumers is to always use a Gas Safe registered engineer for all gas work in their home, and to ensure that any gas appliances are regularly serviced and maintained. Although not a substitute for the correct installation or maintenance of an appliance, HSE also strongly recommends the use of audible carbon monoxide alarms. Additionally, HSE provides a free gas safety advice line, which gas consumers, tenants and landlords can contact for advice and information.
The Gas Safe Register, the statutory registration scheme for gas engineers, was launched in April 2009. The Register has undertaken significant campaigns, including national TV advertising, coverage on a wide variety of consumer programmes and national and regional press and radio, along with regional and community events to raise public awareness of gas safety risks. Recent research by the Gas Safe Register has shown that 81% of consumers are aware of gas safety risks and the Gas Safe Register.
HSE and Gas Safe Register continues to work to raise awareness of the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning, particularly with vulnerable groups such as the elderly and students. Gas Safe Register ran its first Gas Safety Week in September 2011 and reached millions of consumers with key gas safety messages.
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Child Support Agency
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many times the Child Support Agency has not provided information within the timescale requested to the (a) Independent Case Examiner and (b) Parliamentary Ombudsman in each of the last three years. [73940]
Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times the Child Support Agency has not provided information within the timescale requested to the (a) Independent Case Examiner and (b) Parliamentary Ombudsman in each of the last three years. [73940]
The Commission has a service level agreement with the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) with agreed timescales for provision of information to ICE. The tables below set out performance against these service level agreements for the previous three years.
| CSA service level agreement activity, 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 | ||||
|
|
Agreed timescale (days) | Number provided to ICE | Number provided later than SLA | Percentage provided later than SLA (%) |
| CSA service level agreement activity, 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 | ||||
|
|
Agreed timescale (days) | Number provided to ICE | Number provided later than SLA | Percentage provided later than SLA (%) |
| CSA service level agreement activity, 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009 | ||||
|
|
Agreed timescale (days) | Number provided to ICE | Number provided later than SLA | Percentage provided later than SLA (%) |
The Commission does not have a formal Service Level Agreement with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. The vast majority of requests for information from her office have individual timescales attached so the requested information would only be available at disproportionate cost.
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Whilst we have no formal agreement with the Ombudsman, the Commission has procedures in place to ensure requests for information are responded to in a timely manner.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Construction: Safety
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has made an assessment of levels of awareness and understanding of the Health and Safety Executive's construction, design and management guidance amongst public sector bodies that procure construction projects. [75322]
Chris Grayling: In 2009 the Health and Safety Executive carried out a study examining health and safety issues in public sector construction procurement. The study was published in May 2011 in a research report “Health and safety in public sector construction procurement” and this is available on their website at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr848.htm
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to implement the recommendation of his Department's report, entitled “One Death is too Many: inquiry into the Underlying Causes of Construction Fatal Accidents”, to apply Office of Government Commerce Common Minimum Standards throughout publicly funded construction projects, including local authorities. [75342]
Chris Grayling: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published research into the health and safety considerations in procurement of construction work by public sector clients. This research has been shared with the Cabinet Office who are currently updating the Common Minimum Standards for the Built Environment as set out in the Cabinet Office document “Government Construction Strategy” published in May 2011.
Departmental Billing
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of invoices from suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt in July and August 2010. [74327]
Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions became a signatory to the Prompt Payment Code in March 2009 and set a target to pay 90% of correct invoices within 10 days of receipt. This target applies to all invoices paid by the Department and its agencies which are covered by a single finance system. The target has been met consistently since the signing of the Code.
The proportion of all supplier payments made within 10 days of receipt of an invoice for the months requested are:
Invoices received—70,248
Invoices paid within 10 Days—68,335
Percentage paid within 10 Days—97%
Invoices received—59,052
Invoices paid within 10 Days—57,503
Percentage paid within 10 Days—97%
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Official Hospitality
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on hospitality for events hosted by each Minister in his Department in each of the last 12 months. [73661]
Chris Grayling: There was no DWP expenditure on hospitality for events hosted by each Minister in his Department in each of the last 12 months.
Procurement
Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of employing civil servants to undertake procurement for his Department in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11; and what estimate he has made of the cost of (i) employing civil servants and (ii) engaging consultants to undertake procurement for his Department in 2011-12. [73184]
Chris Grayling: Procurement activity in the Department for Work and Pensions is covered by a corporate commercial strategy under which costs are monitored each financial year. The cost of employing civil servants to undertake procurement for the Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies in 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 were:
| Financial year | Costs (£ million) |
| (1) Estimate | |
The Department is committed to delivering corporate efficiencies in order to deliver value for money for the taxpayer and will continue to review progress in achieving this.
The Department has not engaged, and does not plan to engage, any consultants to undertake procurements on its behalf in 2011-12.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has budgeted for penalties for the early termination of contracts under (a) the flexible new deal and (b) pathways to work. [75421]
Chris Grayling: The information is as follows:
(a) Negotiations to agree settlements in closing flexible new deal phase 1 contracts are currently in train and are commercial in confidence. It would therefore be prejudicial to DWP's remaining active negotiations to release this information at this time
(b) Pathways to work contracts ended on 31 March 2010, therefore, no penalty costs for early termination were budgeted for or incurred.
Universal Credit
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the likely level of redundancies in the Housing Benefit Service after the universal credit becomes fully operational. [73711]
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Steve Webb: Universal credit is a national benefit. It will be delivered largely through an online service, with its core administration most efficiently run by a centralised system. As DWP start to build the organisation to deliver universal credit, and we have yet to settle on the precise detail, and select the right people with the right capability it is likely some of those skills will exist within local authorities. We will therefore always look to include local authority staff in our thinking.
In relation to the longer term delivery of universal credit, we will continue to work with colleagues in HM Revenue and Customs and local authorities to test new ways of working and impact ongoing Delivery Model design at both a national and local level. Our aim is to work collaboratively to enable the decision making process and deliver optimal value. This includes the decision making around any redundancies, for which we have a small amount in our business case (whether they are in DWP, HMRC or local authorities). However, we do not expect there to be significant numbers of redundancies, if any at all, given the time available to us to plan and complete the transition to universal credit by 2017. I will be able to say more on the transition plan and the associated costs once we have collated and analysed the responses from the recent survey of local authorities. I expect to be able to do this by the end of the year.
Disability Premium
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households with children receive the (a) severe disability premium, enhanced disability premium and support component of employment and support allowance, (b) severe disability premium and enhanced disability premium but not the support component of employment and support allowance, (c) severe disability premium and the support component of employment and support allowance but not the enhanced disability premium and (d) severe disability premium but not the enhanced disability premium or the support component of employment and support allowance. [73319]
Chris Grayling: The information as requested is not available.
Information on employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants also entitled to disability premiums is recorded on the Department's administrative systems, but is not included in datasets underpinning routine publication of benefit statistics. To access the original datasets and carry out the necessary quality assurance would incur disproportionate cost.
Information on ESA claimants, including the phase of the claim, can be found on the Department's website at:
http://83.244.183.180/100pc/esa/tabtool_esa.html
Employment and Support Allowance
Mr Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of employment and support allowance in each month since May 2010. [75250]
Chris Grayling: The information is compiled on a quarterly basis and is given in the following table.
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| Employment and support allowance recipients, each quarter since May 2010—Great Britain | |
|
|
Recipients |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Employment and support allowance (ESA) replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008. 3. This analysis does not include credits only cases, i.e. those not receiving payment. 4. Figures are published at: http://83.244.183.180/100pc/esa/tabtool_esa.html Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. | |
Employment and Support Allowance: Cancer
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to allow students who have to take time off university for cancer treatment to access employment and support allowance without withdrawing from their course. [73332]
Chris Grayling: Students are not normally eligible for social security benefits as they should be supported by the higher education system. However, there are exceptions which enable disabled students receiving disability living allowance to receive employment and support allowance. The Government have no plans for allowing exceptions to these rules in respect of students.
When a student becomes too ill to continue their course and so abandons it, they are no longer treated as a student and may apply for employment and support allowance immediately.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what evidence he took into account when making the decision to limit employment and support allowance payments to one year for cancer patients; [74503]
(2) what discussions he had with representatives of Macmillan Cancer Care prior to his decision to limit employment and support allowance payments to one year for cancer patients; and if he will publish the minutes of these meetings. [74504]
Chris Grayling: As part of his spending review announcement last October my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out the intention to introduce a time limit of one year for those claiming contributory employment and support allowance who are placed in the Work Related Activity Group. The change requires primary legislation and is included in the Welfare Reform Bill which is currently being considered by Parliament.
Ministers have had a number of discussions with Macmillan Cancer Support since the spending review announcement, as we are determined that the benefits system should support people who are diagnosed with cancer in the most sensitive, fair and appropriate way. The Department has no interest in making it harder for those who cannot work to claim benefits and is committed to an ongoing process of review and improvement.
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As part of his second Independent Review, Professor Malcolm Harrington asked Macmillan to look in detail at how the work capability assessment assesses people with cancer and to provide to him with any recommendations for further improvements.
The Department recently received these recommendations from Professor Harrington and is considering them carefully to understand whether they will improve the assessment further for individuals with cancer. The Department will come forward with any proposals shortly.
Employment Schemes: Transport
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that the Work programme will support jobseekers entering employment with the costs of travelling to work where they have accepted employment outside their immediate area because no employment matching their skills and expertise was available within their immediate area. [74678]
Chris Grayling: The underlying principles of the Work programme give providers the flexibility to design an innovative and personalised approach to help an individual into sustained employment. In line with this approach, DWP do not specify that Work programme providers have to support participants with costs for travelling to work. However, the provider could choose to support these costs if they think it is needed to sustain employment. The provider should determine what advice and support is required for a participant returning to employment following consultation with the individual.
Employment: Durham
Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) County Durham and (b) North West Durham constituency were placed in employment through the Future Jobs Fund between October 2009 and April 2011. [74615]
Chris Grayling: The most recent Young Person's Guarantee statistics were published on 12 October 2011. Statistics are available on the Future Jobs Fund which covers the period from October 2009 to the end of March 2011. There were no further starts after March 2011.
There have been 440 people placed in temporary employment via the Future Jobs Fund within the combined City of Durham, North Durham and North West Durham parliamentary constituencies of which 210 people solely within the North West Durham parliamentary constituency.
Further breakdowns of this information can be found in the following table;
| Table 1: Number of people within Durham that have started a Future Jobs Fund placement since October 2009 | ||
| Future Jobs Fund placements | ||
|
|
Combined City of Durham, North Durham and North West Durham parliamentary constituencies | North West Durham parliamentary constituency |
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| Notes: 1. Data Source—DWP LMS opportunities evaluation database October 2011. 2. Due to data protection protocols, figures are rounded to the nearest 10 to avoid disclosure. Due to rounding, totals may not be the sum of the individual cells. Months are calendar months. Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Labour Market Interventions Strategy Division | ||
Government Procurement Card
Chris Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Government Procurement Card transactions were made by his Department's officials withdrawing cash from automated teller machines from 2006-07 to 2009-10; at what cost; and on which dates. [73714]
Chris Grayling: There were no Government Procurement Card transactions for the Department for Work and Pensions involving cash transactions from automated teller machines from 2006-07 to 2009-10.
It is not possible to withdraw cash using Government Procurement Cards as that particular Merchant Category Code is blocked by JP Morgan on all Department for Work and Pensions Government Procurement Cards.
Department for Work and Pensions policy states:
“There is NO cash withdrawal facility (via ATM or via “Cash back”) with any type of GPC account.”
Housing Benefit: Birmingham
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of the housing benefit cap on women living in Birmingham, Ladywood constituency. [72741]
Steve Webb: The caps do not have an impact on Birmingham as the prevailing local housing allowance rates are below: £250 for the shared and one-bedroom rates; £290 for the two-bedroom rate; £340 for the three-bedroom rate; and £400 for the four-bedroom rate.
Jobseeker's Allowance: Education
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the situation faced by individuals who have had jobseeker’s support withdrawn as a result of enrolling on a college course in order to improve their employability. [74184]
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Chris Grayling: The Government recognise the importance that education and skills can play in helping people find work. Jobseekers can undertake part-time education or training at any point in their claim and continue to receive jobseeker's allowance as long as they continue to meet the basic conditions of entitlement.
Nevertheless, jobseeker's allowance is primarily intended as a safety net for people who are unemployed and searching for work. While certain social security entitlements continue to be available to students in vulnerable groups—such as disabled students and students who are responsible for a child of qualifying age—the vast majority of full-time students are not entitled to benefits as a means of supporting themselves while studying. Financial support for students who wish to study full-time is instead generally through the grants and loans available through the further education system.
Evidence from employment programmes suggests that jobseekers are better served by support that mixes ongoing job-search with integrated work-related training. Skills provision also works best when it meets the needs of both employers and those seeking employment.
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of individuals who have stopped receiving jobseekers allowance in each month of the last two years as a result of taking up a higher education course in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland. [74186]
Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available. Claimants leaving jobseeker's allowance are not required to inform the Department of their destinations and hence the information that is collected is incomplete.
Information is held on the number of jobseeker's allowance recipients who are referred to full-time training by a Jobcentre Plus adviser and subsequently moved onto a training allowance for the duration of this training. This information is shown in the following table:
| Training allowance starts per month, jobseeker’s allowance claimants | ||||
|
|
England | Wales | Scotland | All |
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Jobseeker's Allowance: Social Workers
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many care workers claimed jobseeker's allowance in the last (a) month and (b) 12 months. [74737]
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 October 2011:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many care workers claimed jobseeker's allowance in the last (a) month, (b) 12 months. (74737)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles the number of claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system.
Table 1 shows the number of people resident in the UK, whose usual occupation was care assistants and care workers and who were in receipt of JSA in each month since September 2010 up to the latest available period, September 2011.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
| Table 1: Number of-persons (1) claiming jobseeker's allowance resident in the UK, whose usual occupation is care assistants and home carers (2) | |
|
|
Number |
| (1) Data rounded to nearest 5. (2) SOC GROUP 61.15. Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative system | |
Mining: Safety
Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likelihood of a conflict of interest arising from the Health and Safety Executive Mines and Quarries Unit having responsibility for both routine examinations of mines and accident investigation. [74455]
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Chris Grayling: The primary responsibility for managing risks in mining rests with the mine owner. The regulator's role is to encourage and promote good standards of health and safety management and, where necessary, to secure compliance through enforcement.
HSE intervenes with the industry both through targeted proactive inspection and reactive investigation of incidents. It fully recognises the potential for a conflict of interest arising from an investigation into a serious incident where there has been previous engagement with the site in question.
It has well-established procedures for dealing with any such issues if they arise. HSE also works closely, with the police whenever there is a fatal incident and both regulators routinely review their approach as co-investigators in such cases.
Musculoskeletal Disorders
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the costs to business of musculoskeletal conditions in the work force. [71242]
Maria Miller: No assessment has been made by the Department for Work and Pensions of the costs to businesses of musculoskeletal conditions in the work force.
Mr Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the potential saving to the public purse of reducing the number of people diagnosed with musculoskeletal conditions in receipt of (a) employment support allowance and (b) disability living allowance. [71243]
Chris Grayling: The impact assessments and equality impact assessments which accompanied the Welfare Reform Bill set out the financial impacts on the Exchequer and individuals of the policies contained in the Bill. These are published at the following link:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/welfare%2Dreform/legislation%2Dand%2Dkey%2Ddocuments/welfare%2Dreform%2Dbill%2D2011/impact%2Dassessments%2Dand%2Dequality/
Entitlement to employment and support allowance is determined using the work capability assessment which is based on the premise that eligibility 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.
Subject to parliamentary approval, we intend to replace disability living allowance for people of working age with personal independence payment, a new, more transparent and sustainable benefit with an objective assessment of individual need. Exchequer savings from this measure are estimated to be around £325 million in 2013-14, rising to £1.25 billion by 2015-16. The assessment criteria for personal independence payment are still being designed, tested and consulted on. It is, therefore, not possible to estimate the impact of the reforms on particular groups.
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Pension Credit
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many couples who receive pension credit include one partner who is under the qualifying age for pension credit; and what the average monetary value per week of pension credit is to such couples. [75422]
Steve Webb: As at February 2011 there were 93,200 pension credit recipients who had a partner aged below 60. The average amount of pension credit in payment to these couples was £110.46.
Notes:
1. The best statistics on benefits are now derived from 100% data sources. However the 5% sample data still provide some detail not yet available form the 100% data sources. DWP recommends that, where the detail is only available on the 5% sample data, the proportions derived should be applied to the overall 100% total for the benefit. This has been done here.
2. Case load figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
3. Average amounts are shown to two decimal places.
4. The data held is for age 60. The qualifying age for pension credit is increasing in line with the increase in women's state pension age. At February 2011 the qualifying age for pension credit was between 60 and four months and 60 and five months.
Source:
Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate, 5% sample.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the potential savings arising from the provision in schedule 2, paragraph 64, of the Welfare Reform Bill to exclude couples from claiming pension credit if only one has reached the qualifying age. [75428]
Chris Grayling: The Government have decided that households where one member of a couple is over the qualifying age for pension credit and the other member is of working-age, will be entitled to claim universal credit.
The Government believe that all people of working age who can work should be expected to do so and that it is not right to continue the current position where pension credit can go to households which contain a person of working age without that person having to meet any work-related requirements. The universal credit approach provides financial support to such couples, whilst giving the working-age member of the couple access to support in finding work.
We have already acknowledged that it will be important not to undermine the stability and outcomes for existing pension credit customers, so the change will not apply to couples already in receipt of pension credit.
It is estimated that this policy could save up to £100 million over this spending review. Because of the interaction with other changes to support pensioners, which are still being developed, we are not yet able to provide a firm estimate for a long run figure for savings.
Pensions
Mr Amess:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward proposals to introduce a pro rata system for pension payments;
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what recent representations he has received on the issue; what response he gave; and if he will make a statement. [72225]
Steve Webb: Payment of state pension starts from the first full benefit week that follows the date a person reaches state pension age. State pension is paid in full weeks and this means that for most people there will be a gap between their birthday (when they reach pension age) and the day they receive their first payment of pension. The gap could be anything between one and six days, depending on the person's birthday and their benefit payday.
If a person's birthday happens to fall on the same day of the week as the first day of their benefit week, there is no gap between that birthday and the first day for which payment is due. For most other people, there will be. However, because we make pension payments in complete weeks, there are no part-week payments at the end of a claim either, when a full week's benefit is also paid and thus the system balances itself out.
There are administrative costs associated with making part-week payments and it is important that we continue to deliver the Department's service as cost-effectively as possible. If we made part-week payments at the commencement of a claim then logically we should seek to recover any days' overpayment at the end this would be at a cost to the Department.
The Government have no plans to change this arrangement at the present time. I do receive letters on this subject from time to time and my response has been along similar lines.
Social Security Benefits
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2011, Official Report, column 251W, on social security benefits: EU nationals, how much was paid in benefits to (a) UK and (b) non-UK EU nationals in each of the last five years; and how many (i) UK and (ii) non-UK EU nationals claimed each benefit type in each year. [75404]
Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.
The UK's benefit payment systems do not record the nationality of people receiving benefits and therefore it is not possible to determine cost of benefits paid to EU nationals. I have, however, commissioned work to make information available on the nationality of benefit claimants.
Those who have worked in the UK and paid national insurance contributions may claim contributory benefits such as contribution-based jobseeker's allowance if they satisfy the contributions and other conditions for the benefit.
Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the contribution by the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, the hon. Member for Thornbury and Yate (Steve Webb) of 12 July 2011, Official Report, column 73WH, on benefits (EU nationals), when he expects to make available information on the nationality of benefit claimants; and what steps he has taken to make available information on the nationality of benefit claimants. [68775]
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Chris Grayling: I have commissioned work to release information regarding the nationality of benefits claimants at the point of registration for a national insurance number. I am in discussion with Government colleagues, and hope to make preliminary statistics on the matter available shortly.
In the longer term, I have asked my officials to look into ways of capturing this information at source.
Social Security Benefits: Scotland
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much and what proportion of the welfare budget is spent in Scotland. [73346]
Chris Grayling: In 2010-11 the Department for Work and Pensions spent around £14.7 billion on benefit expenditure and administration costs in Scotland, which is around 9.2 % of total expenditure.
Note:
Figures do not include expenditure on war pensions which is the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence, or tax credit and child benefit expenditure which is the responsibility of HM Revenue and Customs. The total DWP expenditure figure does not include welfare spending in Northern Ireland.
Source:
DWP Resource Accounts 2010/11 Table 6 and DWP statistical and accounting data.
Stress
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take to implement the recommendation of Dame Carol Black's Review entitled Working for a healthier tomorrow. [72816]
Maria Miller: The Government have an active health, work and well-being programme which responds to the issues raised in Dame Carol Black's review of the health of Britain's working age people. Overseen by the GB wide cross-Government Health, Work and Well-being Executive and advised by the Health, Work and Well-being National Stakeholder Council, the programme includes action to support individuals, employers and healthcare professionals and aims to:
create new perspectives on health and work
improve work and workplaces; and
support people to work.
Specific elements of the programme include:
locally designed proof of concept pilots of Fit for Work Services to help sickness absentees return to work more quickly;
occupational health advice services pilots for small businesses and General Medical Practitioners (GPs) to provide help with individual employee cases;
a “fit note”, a revised medical certificate to help GPs switch the focus of their advice to what people can do rather than what they cannot;
a national education programme for GPs which aims to improve their knowledge, skills and confidence when dealing with health and work issues; and
a national network of Health Work and Well-being Co-ordinators to stimulate action on health, work and well-being issues in their area and offer advice and support to small businesses.
All measures and pilots will be fully evaluated.
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Third Sector
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many letters he has received on funding for civil sector organisations within his Department's area of responsibility in each month since 1 June 2010; and if he will make a statement. [73997]
Chris Grayling: The information is not available other than at disproportionate cost.
Universal Credit
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of transferring to the universal credit system. [72956]
Chris Grayling: Universal credit is expected to be introduced in October 2013, and individuals will be migrated to universal credit over the subsequent four years. Costs and benefits over this transition period will depend upon the precise nature of the migration strategy. We are actively working on this at present, and decisions will be made at the most appropriate juncture.
The impact assessment updated in September 2011 sets out an assessment of the costs and benefits once universal credit has been fully implemented and transitional protection has been exhausted.
Overall, it is estimated that benefit expenditure will be around £2 billion higher once universal credit is fully implemented. This will be a cost to the Exchequer and the taxpayer of around £4 billion as a result of entitlement changes and increased take-up. Offsetting this it is estimated that there will be savings of around £2 billion due to reduced fraud, error and overpayments together with changes to the earnings disregards that currently exist in tax credits. In the longer term reduced complexity has the potential to lead to savings of more than £0.5 billion a year in administrative costs.
Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action will be taken in cases where a partner receiving universal credit on behalf of a couple are found to be (a) abusive of the other partner and (b) not supporting the other partner financially. [74284]
Chris Grayling: We expect that the vast majority of claimants will manage their universal credit payment by either electing to use a joint bank account or opting to have it paid directly to one member of the household.
There may, however, be exceptional cases that require alternative arrangements, and we are considering the circumstances for and details of these. For example, where there is proven abuse of the money by one partner, the Government already have and will retain the power to direct payments to the other partner, or there may be instances where it is more appropriate to divide the payment.
Nicola Blackwood:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to paragraph 3(d) of the revised version of Universal Credit Policy Briefing Note 2, 12 September 2011, in what situation all or part
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of the payment of income support, income-based jobseekers' allowance or other benefits can currently be redirected from the main claimant to their partner in couples; and in how many cases in each such situation this has occurred in the last five years. [74285]
Chris Grayling: Currently, couples cannot claim independently as single people. They can decide for themselves which partner claims benefit but the partner must agree to the claimant claiming for them. If, exceptionally, the couple cannot agree who should claim, the Department's decision maker can make the decision for them. This also applies to JSA Joint Claimants. Additionally, a split payment may be considered in certain cases, for example, that of domestic violence.
We do not hold information on split payment cases.
Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether money management advice will be provided to universal credit recipients moving from fortnightly to monthly payments; what form any such advice will take; and what the means of delivery will be of such advice. [74286]
Chris Grayling: The Department recognises that the move from fortnightly to monthly payments represents a change for many families and we are developing a package of support to ensure recipients of universal credit are able to manage this change effectively. This support is likely to include a mix of financial advice and interim and bridging loans.
Work Capability Assessment
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have failed to attend a work capability assessment (WCA) appointment arranged by Atos Healthcare on behalf of his Department and subsequently had their benefit stopped in each (a) (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) Jobcentre Plus area and (b) for each benefit type since the inception of the WCA. [73232]
Chris Grayling: The information that is available will be placed in the Library.
Please note the Department holds information on the number of times a person has failed to attend a work capability assessment (WCA) appointment and the number of claims that have been closed before the assessment process is complete. However, there are a number of reasons that a claim may be closed, so we cannot be certain that a failure to attend a WCA is the direct reason for a claim being closed.
Therefore the tables provided show the number of claims that have been closed prior to the assessment being complete and of these the number that have, and have not, had a failure to attend a WCA recorded. This gives a broad indication only of the numbers of claims where a failure to attend may have led to the case being closed.
The information given relates to all new ESA claims started between October 2008 and November 2010 (the latest information available) where their claim was closed before their initial assessment was complete. Information on incapacity benefit claimants going through reassessment using the work capability assessment is not available.
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The information is not available at parliamentary constituency level so local authority, area has been given as an alternative.
The data presented come from benefit claims data held by the Department for Work and Pensions and functional assessment data from Atos Healthcare. It is consistent with the official statistics publication on ESA and the WCA. The latest report was published in July 2011 and can be found on the internet at the following link:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_wca
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department recognises fibromyalgia for the purposes of the work capability assessment. [74191]
Chris Grayling: DWP recognises fibromyalgia as a real and potentially significantly disabling condition. Where a clinical diagnosis of fibromyalgia has been made full account will be taken of its disabling effects as part of the work capability assessment.
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department has issued to Atos-approved healthcare professionals in relation to fibromyalgia and the work capability assessment. [74190]
Chris Grayling: All healthcare professionals working for Atos Healthcare who carry out WCA assessments undertake a distance learning module on fibromyalgia within 12 months of joining the organisation. The distance learning module is approved by the chief medical adviser to the DWP. In addition, Atos healthcare professionals are required to undertake a programme of continuing medical education that is agreed with the Department. A module on chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia is included in the suite of CME topics available to the healthcare professionals.
Work Capability Assessment: Autism
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to ensure that adults with autism are accompanied to assessments by another person to ensure that assessments are fair. [74679]
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Chris Grayling: We recognise that, for some individuals, attending a face-to-face assessment can be a stressful experience. Where there is sufficient evidence available, face-to-face assessments will not be carried out in order to determine benefit entitlement. In addition, you can be assured that health care professionals who carry out the face-to-face assessments are trained in dealing with customers with additional needs and that when people are asked to come for an assessment they are encouraged to bring a friend or relative with them.
Although we are still developing the delivery model for personal independence payment assessment, the same principles will apply. We recognise the importance of ensuring that the assessment process is appropriate to individual's circumstances, including individuals with autistic spectrum disorders. For this reason we have made clear that individuals who are asked to attend a face-to-face consultation will be able to bring with them a relation, friend, carer or advocate if they would find it helpful.
Working Conditions: Temperature
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward proposals to set a maximum permitted working temperature. [73129]
Chris Grayling: In 2009, HSE commissioned an independent review into workplace temperatures, which drew on the wide range of non-Government research available. Following this review, conducted a survey about temperatures in workplaces, to which 2,933 completed responses were submitted. Evaluation of this and other data provided little evidence of significant numbers of illnesses, long or short-term, physical or psychological, caused or exacerbated by exposure to high temperatures. Given this, the Government have no plans to set a maximum working temperature.
Guidance currently available on the HSE website provides advice to business on how to deal with high temperatures.
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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 18 October 2011
Business, Innovation and Skills
Competition Commission: Enterprise Act 2002
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department retains powers to refer the newspaper distributor sector to the Competition Commission under the Enterprise Act 2002. [74085]
Mr Davey: Responsibility and powers to refer markets to the Competition Commission falls to the Office of Fair Trading and those sector regulators with concurrent competition powers. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills retains a power to refer markets under specific limited circumstances. Following the Machinery of Government changes announced in December 2010 responsibility for the media sector falls to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport.
Apprentices: Birmingham
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many creative apprenticeships are being undertaken by people resident in Birmingham, Ladywood constituency. [73054]
Mr Hayes: There were 10 apprenticeship starts on the Creative Apprenticeship Framework in Birmingham Ladywood parliamentary constituency in the 2009/10 academic year, the latest year for which final data are available.
The figure for apprenticeship starts has been rounded to the nearest 10. Geographic information is based upon the home postcode of the learner.
Information on the number of apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 23 June 2011:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current
BAE Systems: Apprentices
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to assist apprentices affected by the redundancies announced by BAE Systems in finding new apprenticeships. [73163]
Mr Hayes: The National Apprenticeship Service has end-to-end responsibility for delivering apprenticeships in England. As part of this role, the National Apprenticeship Service work is with employers to try and find alternative placements for those individuals at risk of redundancy.
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In this case, the National Apprenticeship Service and Skills Funding Agency are working together to provide BAE with site-level support across the country to manage any transition activities for individuals as necessary. BAE is sensitive to ensuring that apprenticeship schemes are protected and will look to ensure that existing apprenticeships can be completed. Where individuals are unable to complete their apprenticeships at the same site, the apprenticeship programme has sufficient flexibility within its contracts to allow those affected to move to other BAE sites to complete their training.
Business
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to increase the number of employee-owned businesses. [74749]
Mr Davey: In our drive for sustainable growth, this Department is working with Cabinet Office to promote employee ownership and social enterprise in both public and the private sectors as business forms that can support innovation, create jobs and deliver effective public services.
Business: Audit
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of audit committees in (a) highlighting risks within a business, (b) understanding the business model and the framework in which a business operates and (c) assessing the effectiveness of internal controls within a business. [74652]
Mr Davey: The Financial Reporting Council's (FRC) Corporate Governance Code sets out principles and best practice for good corporate governance and covers the role and responsibilities of audit committees. In September the FRC published a document setting out how they will achieve the aims set out in their paper ‘Effective Company Stewardship’ to extend the remit of audit committees.
In September the FRC also published a paper, ‘Boards and Risk—A Summary of Discussions with Companies, Investors and Advisers’, which considered the approach of companies and boards to risk and how that risk is managed. This was based on extensive discussion with market participants about how they operate. One of the key conclusions is that a company's ability to understand and articulate its business model leads naturally to a better understanding of risk and how it should be prioritised.
In September I published a consultation, ‘The Future of Narrative Reporting’, which describes a new, simpler and more user-friendly reporting framework for UK companies. This framework will enable companies to provide investors with a clear description of the company's strategy, business model and principal risks.