Social Mobility: West Midlands
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to increase social mobility in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands. [116714]
12 July 2012 : Column 337W
The Deputy Prime Minister: Opening Doors, Breaking Barriers: A Strategy for Social Mobility (April 2011) and Opening Doors, Breaking Barriers: A Strategy for Social Mobility: Update on Progress since April 2011 (May 2012) set out the steps that the Government is taking to increase social mobility across the United Kingdom, including in Coventry and the West Midlands.
Justice
Legal Aid Scheme
Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of his Department's total procurement expenditure on small and medium-sized enterprises was spent on legal aid providers in (a) the fourth quarter of 2010-11, (b) the first quarter of 2011-12 and (c) the second quarter of 2011-12. [116533]
Mr Djanogly: The information is as follows:
| Period | Percentage of legal aid spend with SMEs as a proportion of total procurement expenditure on SME |
Legal aid providers have been included in the Ministry of Justice figures for procurement expenditure with small and medium-sized enterprises since April 2011. Hence it is not possible to provide the proportion in quarter 4 of 2010-11 financial year.
Legal Services Ombudsman
Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has any plans to review the timeframe within which complaints can be referred to the legal services ombudsman. [116609]
Mr Djanogly: The legal ombudsman recently conducted a consultation to review the ombudsman scheme, which included a proposal for an extension to the time limits within which a complaint may be referred to the legal ombudsman. The consultation closed on 18 June 2012. The responses received are being reviewed and the legal ombudsman's response is being prepared.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to reply to the letter of 28 May 2012 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Reverend J P Hamilton. [116219]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: I have now replied.
Open Prisons
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people convicted of murder have been placed in open prisons since 2005; and how many such offenders have escaped. [116056]
12 July 2012 : Column 338W
Mr Blunt: An offender serving a life sentence for murder will generally be approved for transfer to open prison only following a positive recommendation from the independent Parole Board.
In exceptional circumstances, the Secretary of State for Justice also has the discretion to consider cases for transfer to open conditions executively where the prisoners can demonstrate exceptional progress (that is, without reference to the Parole Board).
In either case, the assessment of the prisoner’s suitability for transfer to open prison will consider all relevant information about the prisoner's risk of harm and risk of absconding.
Data on the number of offenders convicted of murder that have been approved for transfer and then placed in open conditions since 2005 are not held centrally in a readily accessible electronic format. Between 2004-05 and 2010-11, the most recent financial years for which data are available, the number of offenders convicted of murder who have absconded from open prisons following transfer was 89. Of these all but two have been recaptured.
Departmental Pay
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the lowest hourly rate is paid to staff by his Department; how many members of staff based outside London are paid less than £7.20 per hour; and how many members of staff based in London are paid less than £8.30 per hour. [116383]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The information is as follows:
Ministry of Justice (excluding NOMS)
In the Ministry of Justice (including Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service and the Office of the Public Guardian as Executive Agencies) the pay scales within the current terms and conditions of employment mean that no members of staff on these terms earn less than £7.20 per hour outside London or £8.30 per hour in London.
The lowest hourly rate paid by the Department to any member of staff on these current terms and conditions is £7.42 nationally and £8.94 in London.
There are six members of staff outside of London who are on legacy terms and conditions earning less than the equivalent of £7.20 per hour (FTE). The lowest hourly rate paid to any of these staff is £6.38.
There are no London based staff on legacy terms and conditions earning less than £8.30 per hour (FTE).
National Offender Management Service (NOMS)
In NOMS (which operates under separate terms and conditions to those in the core Department) there are no staff based in London whose total (FTE) earnings are less than £8.20 per hour.
There are 53 members of staff nationally whose total (FTE) earnings are less than £7.20 per hour. The lowest hourly rate payment to any of these staff is £6.81.
Public Expenditure
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he expects his Department to underspend its budget for 2012-13; and what estimate he has made of any such underspend. [116464]
12 July 2012 : Column 339W
Mr Djanogly: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast underspends in departmental expenditure limits as part of their economic and fiscal outlook in the autumn.
As part of the Transparency Agenda the Government publishes the full detail of plans and out-turn for all Departments after the end of the financial year, usually in September. HM Treasury publish out-turn data for all Departments, which are available on the Treasury website on a quarterly basis. Forecasts for 2012-13 out-turn by Department will be published at Budget 2013.
Young Offender Institutions
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many cases were referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in (a) Cookham Wood, (b) Warren Hill, (c) Feltham and (d) Werrington young offender institutions in each month of the last two years; [116200]
(2) how many additional days of imprisonment were awarded to children in (a) Cookham Wood, (b) Warren Hill, (c) Feltham and (d) Werrington young offender institutions by an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month of the last two years; [116201]
(3) what the ethnicity was of each child awarded additional days of imprisonment by outside adjudicators in (a) Cookham Wood, (b) Warren Hill, (c) Feltham and (d) Werrington young offender institutions in each month of the last two years. [116202]
Mr Blunt: Table 1(a) shows how many cases were referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in (a) Cookham Wood, (b) Warren Hill, (c) Feltham, and (d) Werrington under-18 young offender institutions (YOI) in each month from January 2010 to April 2012. This includes 18-year-olds at these YOIs. (116200)
Table l(b) shows how many cases for 15 to 17-year-olds were referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in (a) Cookham Wood, (b)Warren Hill, (c) Feltham and (d) Werrington under-18 young offender institutions in each month from January 2010 to April 2012. This excludes 18-year-olds at these YOIs. (116200)
Table 2(a) shows how many additional days of imprisonment were awarded to young people in (a) Cookham Wood, (b) Feltham, (c) Warren Hill and (d)Werrington under-18 young offender institutions by an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month from January 2010 to April 2012. This includes 18-year-olds at these YOIs. (116201)
Table 2(b) shows how many additional days of imprisonment were awarded to young people aged 15 to 17 years old in (a) Cookham Wood, (b) Warren Hill, (c) Feltham and (d) Werrington under-18 young offender institutions by an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month from January 2010 to April 2012. This excludes 18-year-olds at these YOIs. (116201)
Tables 3(a) to 3(c) show the ethnicity of each person awarded additional days of imprisonment by outside adjudicators in 3(a) Cookham Wood, 3(b) Warren Hill and 3(d) Werrington under-18 young offender institutions in each month from January 2010 to April 2012. This includes 18-year-olds at these YOIs. (116202)
12 July 2012 : Column 340W
These data have been provided by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) from Cookham Wood, Warren Hill and Werrington under-18 young offender institutions (YOIs).
These figures have been drawn from YOI records; as such they are subject to possible recording errors and can be subject to change over time.
There have been no (zero) cases referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in Feltham Young Offenders Institution from January 2010 to April 2012 and therefore no (zero) additional days of imprisonment awarded to children of any ethnicity.
| Table 1(a) Number of additional days of imprisonment awarded to young people by an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month from January 2010 to April 2012, all young people including 18-year-olds | ||||
| (a) Cookham Wood | (b) Warren Hill | (c) Feltham | (d) Werrington | |
| Table 1(b): Number of additional days of imprisonment awarded to young people by an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month from January 2010 to April 2012, young people 15 to 17yearsold (18-year-olds are excluded) | ||||
| (a) Cookham Wood | (b) Warren Hill | (c) Feltham | (d) Werrington | |
12 July 2012 : Column 341W
| Table 2(a): Number of cases referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month from January 2010 to April 2012, all young people including 18-year-olds | ||||
| (a) Cookham Wood | (b) Warren Hill | (c) Feltham | (d) Werrington | |
12 July 2012 : Column 342W
| Table 2(b): Number of cases referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month from January 2010 to April 2012, 15 to 17-year-olds only (18-year-olds are excluded) | ||||
| (a) Cookham Wood | (b) Warren Hill | (c) Feltham | (d) Werrington | |
| Table 3(a): The ethnicity of each person awarded additional days of imprisonment by outside adjudicator at Cookham Wood(1) | ||
| b9 | b1 | |
12 July 2012 : Column 343W
| Table 3(b): The ethnicity of each person awarded additional days of imprisonment by outside adjudicator at Warren Hill(1) | |||
| b1 | b9 | m2 | |
| Table 3(c): The ethnicity of each person awarded additional days of imprisonment by outside adjudicator at Werrington(1) | |||||
| b1 | w1 | m1 | a2 | a1 | |
| (1) Please see key for ethnicity codes. | |||||
Ethnicity key for tables 3(a) to 3(c):
W1: White—British
W2: White—Irish
W9: White—Other white
M1: Mixed—White and Black
Caribbean
M2: Mixed—White and Black African
M3: Mixed—White and Asian
M9: Mixed—Other mixed
A1: Asian or Asian British—Indian
A2: Asian or Asian British—Pakistani
A3: Asian or Asian British—Bangladeshi
A9: Asian or Asian British—Other
Asian
B1: Black or Black British—Caribbean
B2: Black or Black British—African
B9: Black or Black British—Other
Black
01: Chinese—Chinese
09: Other ethnic group—Any other
Work and Pensions
Business: Government Assistance
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent steps he has taken to offer (a) financial and (b) other practical assistance to (i) co-operatives, (ii) financial mutuals, (iii) employee-owned businesses and (iv) credit unions; and if he will make a statement. [116885]
Steve Webb: On 10 May 2012, the Department for Work and Pensions published the Credit Union Feasibility Study looking at the sustainability of credit unions. It also examined what more can be done to expand them to serve many more people on lower incomes. The study has been well received by the sector and a range of stakeholders.
We have announced that we will take forward the findings of the feasibility study. In particular, the DWP will make a further investment of up to £38 million over the next three years in credit unions and community
12 July 2012 : Column 344W
development financial institutions involved in personal lending. This investment, which is in addition to the £13 million invested in 2011-12, will be conditional upon the credit union industry meeting a number of agreed milestones for collaboration, modernisation and expansion. Our aim will be to ensure the industry's financial sustainability by the end of the project.
The feasibility study showed that at present even the biggest credit unions struggle to meet the operating costs of making small loans to people on lower incomes. Therefore in addition to our investment in modernisation and expansion, we plan to consult on raising the cap on the interest rate that credit unions are permitted to charge on loans, to determine whether it will help credit unions achieve financial sustainability and reach a wider range of customers.
The Department for Work and Pensions, HM Treasury, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will continue to work closely on all aspects of the Credit Union Expansion Project, including the formal consultation on the interest rate cap and any subsequent legislative changes.
The Government support the right of employees to form mutuals; last year this Department facilitated around 500 staff from My Civil Service Pensions in forming a mutual.
Employment and Support Allowance
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the average time from receipt of appeal to the date of the first appeal hearing for employment and support allowance appeals in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency. [116297]
Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether claimants placed in the work-related activity group are told as soon as they are assigned to this group whether the prognosis they have been given is either for (a) three, (b) six or (c) 12 months. [116400]
Chris Grayling: Where claimants are assigned to the work-related activity group following a work capability assessment they are referred for a further assessment taking account of prognosis advice from Atos Healthcare. The re-referral process and notifications normally commence in the two months before the date that a further assessment is due. Claimants are not normally notified of prognosis advice at the time of the work capability assessment.
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the oral answer from the Minister of State of 25 June 2012, Official Report, columns 19-20, on employment and support allowance: appeals, when the system for passing written decisions from the Tribunals Service to Jobcentre Plus will be introduced; what the process will be; whether each appeal outcome will be passed from the Tribunals Service to his Department; and what format this process will take. [116598]
12 July 2012 : Column 345W
Chris Grayling: From 9 July 2012, a drop-down list of common reasons for decisions has been added to decision notices from the Tribunal to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Under the Tribunal's Procedural Rules the Tribunal must provide each party to the proceedings with a decision notice as soon as reasonably practicable after making the decision. A decision notice is a notice “stating the Tribunal's decision”. The decision may be as succinct as “the appeal is refused”, or “the Secretary of State's decision is confirmed”. Where the appeal is allowed, the decision is usually along the lines of “the appellant is entitled to the specified benefit at a specified rate from a specified date”. The Procedure Rules require no more. It is open to either party to the appeal to request a full Statement of Reasons from the Tribunal which will set out in detail the reasons for the decision that the Tribunal has made, with particular reference to the relevant law.
DWP and Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service have agreed an approach for providing feedback from the Tribunal to the Secretary of State on standards of decision-making. Feedback will take the format of standardised explanations from the Tribunal about why a decision of the Secretary of State has been overturned. The explanations, which will be drawn from a ‘drop-down menu’, will be incorporated into decision notices for issue by the Tribunal to each party.
Employment Schemes: Scotland
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have found work via the Work programme in (a) Scotland and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency. [116300]
Chris Grayling: Statistics on the number of people who have found employment via the Work programme are not available.
Housing Benefit
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people under the age of 25 were in receipt of housing benefit in the last year for which figures are available; [115884]
(2) how many people under the age of 25 and in receipt of housing benefit were in employment in the last year for which figures are available. [115885]
Steve Webb: The Department regularly publishes monthly housing benefit caseloads by age group which are available from November 2008 to March 2012 on its website at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbctb
The economic status of all housing benefit (HB) recipients is not available.
Information is only available for HB recipients whose claim is not passported: that is for those who do not receive either income support, jobseekers allowance (income-based), employment and support allowance (income-based), or pension credit (guaranteed credit).
The available information is published at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=adhoc_analysis
12 July 2012 : Column 346W
Housing Benefit: Greater London
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish each representation he has received from the Mayor of London on the limiting of housing benefit payments. [116349]
Steve Webb: Correspondence received from the Mayor of London concerning housing benefit will be placed in the Commons Library.
Housing Benefit: Kilmarnock
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged under 26 years of age were in receipt of housing benefit in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [116294]
Steve Webb: Information on how many people aged under 26 years of age were in receipt of housing benefit in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency in each of the last five years is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Lost Working Days
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average number of working days lost per person was in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last three years. [116424]
Chris Grayling: The following table shows the average number or working days lost per person in (a) the Department for Work and Pensions and (b) in each of its agencies in each of the last three years:
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |
| (1) Jobcentre Plus and Pension, Disability and Carers Service ceased to exist as Executive agencies from October 2011. | |||
The Department reports as one organisation from October 2011.
Manchester Declaration
Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent contribution his Department and its non-departmental public bodies and agencies have made to implementation of the 2005 Manchester Declaration. [115128]
Chris Grayling:
The Department for Work and Pensions has introduced a number of IT based systems over recent years designed to improve the efficiency of our customer facing operations and the ease by which customers and claimants can obtain information about pensions and benefits. These include the introduction of internet access devices in Jobcentre Plus offices to help engage claimants to our online services. Claimants have been able to claim job seekers allowance online since August 2010 and pensioners have been able to claim state
12 July 2012 : Column 347W
pension online since February 2011. In addition, the online Benefit Advisor Service has provided information on benefits and tax credits since April 2008. The Information Capture Tool introduced within the Department in April 2009 has shared information between benefit systems, thus reducing the need for citizens to report a change of circumstances more than once. The Department’s telephony service has also been enhanced through new technology when the Enquiry Service was introduced from February 2010, enabling agents to handle enquiries relating to multiple benefit claims and automatically updating certain changes of circumstance across the benefit payment systems. Across the Department, there are more than 800 members of staff who hold the additional role of Digital Champion. They encourage staff to promote digital services as well as helping claimants utilise these services including applying for jobs and completing CVs.
Of the non-departmental public bodies, the Independent Living Fund has recently introduced a secure system of electronic information exchange that has improved the speed and quality of their previous clerical system. The National Employment Savings Trust has established a web-based system that allows members and employers to communicate directly with them, for example to enrol new members. The Pensions Regulator has improved their website so that all information obligations required by them can be submitted online, including levy collection via card payment. The Pensions Advisory Service has introduced self service products on their website which include calculators and the facility to communicate by email and webform. The Pensions Ombudsman does not currently exchange information electronically but expects to introduce a web based system in October 2012.
Of the agencies, the Health and Safety Executive operates a website that provides information as well as online tools and services for employers, employees and the general public. Improvements to the functionality of the website are ongoing and now include the facility for the notifying reportable accidents. The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission publishes all key information regarding child maintenance on its website. New IT has been developed for introduction later this year that will improve the service to clients along with an innovative web based application specifically aimed at helping hard to reach and traditionally disengaged clients seek online support.
With regards to the improvement of procurement processes, the Department has been given approval to implement an end to end e-Procurement solution by the Cabinet Office in July 2011. This solution is now about 80% implemented and is being used for tender based sourcing activity. It includes the facility for e-auctions, which will be used going forward. Comprehensive spend analysis data extracted from the purchasing system provide detailed management information and meet the requirements of the Government Procurement Service. Documentation of all procurements valued at over £10,000 is stored electronically for public viewing as part of the Governments transparency commitment.
Improvements in the area of identity assurance include work ongoing to draft EU regulations relating to identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market. This will allow e-identities issued by one member state to be acceptable in another member
12 July 2012 : Column 348W
state. The Department is working to ensure that such systems will be sufficiently robust to prevent identity theft and the misuse of information. Regulations are expected to be laid in 18 months’ time.
Remploy
Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many expressions of interest have been submitted for the Remploy factory sites proposed for closure; and for which sites. [116624]
Maria Miller: The Remploy Board has considered in excess of 60 expressions of interest to take Remploy businesses/factories out of government control as part of the commercial process. Due to commercial sensitivities I am unable to reveal specific sites that these expressions of interest relate to.
Social Fund
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much will be transferred to local authorities after the abolition of community care grants and crisis loans. [114088]
Steve Webb: For the current spending review period the Department for Work and Pensions has been allocated £178 million per annum for the discretionary Social Fund for Great Britain. This funding will form the programme funding for the new local services that will be in place from April 2013. It will be apportioned nationally between Scotland, England and Wales. In addition, the Department will transfer funding for the administration of the new local services so that all of the £178 million is spent on vulnerable people.
The Department is basing its allocations on the equivalent Social Fund spend for 2012-13. Spend on the Crisis Loan element of the discretionary Social Fund is being managed down to 2005-06 levels, and on the current profile we will reduce expenditure to this level by end 2012/13.
The Department is currently undertaking the financial modelling to finalise the amounts to be allocated to each upper tier English local authority and the devolved Administrations and the indicative amount will be outlined in a Settlement letter which is due to be sent out shortly. The amount to be transferred will be fixed for the next two years of the comprehensive spending review.
Social Security Benefits
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how he plans to implement his household benefit cap policy for families not receiving universal credit for which a reduction in housing benefit does not take them below the annual limit. [116611]
Steve Webb: The majority of households who currently receive benefits in excess of the cap level will be in receipt of housing benefit and they will have the cap applied from April 2013 via housing benefit. We are aware that there may be a small number of households who will continue to receive benefits over the cap level until their claims migrate to universal credit.
12 July 2012 : Column 349W
Social Security Benefits: Kilmarnock
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many residents of Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency were in receipt of benefits amounting to more than those allowable under the benefit cap for which provision is made in the Welfare Reform Act 2012, excluding households which are exempted, in the latest period for which figures are available. [116296]
Chris Grayling: The information is not available for Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.
Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consideration his Department has given to requiring all medical assessments to be recorded so that they can be referred to at any appeal stage. [116588]
Chris Grayling: Based on the results of a trial during 2011, we have not implemented universal recording for claimants going through the work capability assessment (WCA). We have asked Atos Healthcare to accommodate requests for audio recording, where a claimant makes a request in advance of their assessment. This approach began in late 2011 and we will monitor take up during 2012 before making a decision on the requirement for recording assessments, taking into account factors such as value for money and the value it adds to the WCA process. As part of this process we are also reviewing Atos capacity to provide recordings for those claimants who currently request one.
Unemployment
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many 16 to 24 year olds have been unemployed for more than 12 months in (a) Coventry, (b) Coventry North East constituency, (c) west midlands and (d) England in each of the last five years. [116603]
Chris Grayling: Figures on the number of 16 to 24-year-olds claiming jobseeker's allowance for 12 months or more are shown in the following table. Direct comparisons over this period are likely to be misleading because until last year many young people participating in Government programmes were excluded from the jobseeker's allowance statistics.
| Aged 16-24 claiming jobseeker's allowance for 12 months or more | |||||
| May 2008 | May 2009 | May 2010 | May 2011 | May 2012 | |
Under those policies young people were required to move off jobseeker's allowance before they reached 12 months, either to a training allowance or temporary job. Those who later came back to JSA were counted as newly unemployed and this had the effect of holding the number of long duration claims at a much lower level than would have been the case given natural off-flow rates.
12 July 2012 : Column 350W
Now individuals taking up work experience opportunities or entering the Work programme remain on JSA until they find a regular job. As their claim is not broken artificially, more young people are staying on JSA and moving into longer durations and the number claiming for 12 months or more is rising. In reality, however, the figures are more closely reflecting the true level of long-term unemployment. Taking account of the changes in the way people are counted, nationally the number of 18 to 24-year-olds either on JSA or another form of temporary support is slightly lower now than it was two years ago. Within this there has been a rise in the number on JSA for 12 months or more, as people are no longer moved off benefit automatically. But this has been more than offset by: a fall in the number of short-duration JSA claims, as fewer people are being re-cycled back onto the claimant count; and a fall in the number of people recorded separately because they are on a training allowance or in a temporary job.
Universal Credit: Greater London
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the benefits changes under universal credit on levels of child poverty in (a) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, (b) Tower Hamlets and (c) London. [116235]
Chris Grayling: Universal credit will reduce the number of individuals in poverty. On reasonable assumptions, the combined impact of take-up and entitlements will lift around 50,000 children out of poverty in (c) London.
The information requested in (a) and (b) is not available as sample sizes are too small to yield reliable results for these areas.
The impact assessment states that in Great Britain universal credit will lift around 900,000 individuals out of poverty, including more than 350,000 children and around 550,000 working-age adults.
These poverty impacts exclude the positive impacts of more people moving into work.
Work Capability Assessment
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of appointments for claimants' examinations for employment and support allowance have been cancelled by Atos because of unavailability of staff in (a) Wrexham, (b) Wales and (c) the UK in the latest period for which figures are available. [109813]
Chris Grayling: Atos Healthcare retains records of appointments where a customer attended but could not be seen on the day, because a healthcare professional was not available for their appointment.
The latest period for which figures are available is April 2012.
During April 2012 the number cancelled for the above reason was:
Wrexham—none
Wales—0.3% (16 appointments)
Nationally—0.5% (369 appointments)
12 July 2012 : Column 351W
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been waiting for a work capability assessment by home visit for (a) less than one month, (b) two to three months, (c) three to six months and (d) more than six months by region. [113852]
12 July 2012 : Column 352W
Chris Grayling: The numbers of people who have been waiting for work capability assessments by home visit for (a) less than one month, (b) two to three months, (c) three to six months and (d) more than six months by region are shown in the following table. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
| Count of NiNo | Description | |||||
| Name | Sub Cat 3 | (a) | (b) | (c) | (d) | Grand total |
| Sub Cat 1 (All) Ref Type (All) | ||||||
Work Programme
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) West Midlands and (d) England have secured employment through the Work Programme to date; and what the average length of time of that employment has been. [116604]
Chris Grayling: Statistics on how many people in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) West Midlands and (d) England have secured employment through the Work Programme to date; and what the average length of time of that employment was are not available.
The Department aims to publish official statistics on Work Programme job outcomes in autumn 2012.
Working Tax Credit
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average family claim for childcare tax credits was for families with children of each age in the latest period for which figures are available. [116270]
Mr Gauke: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Treasury.
This information is not available because families make a single claim for child care, rather than claiming for each individual child.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many families with a (a) two, (b) three and (c) four year old child receive both childcare tax credits and a free entitlement to 15 hours a week childcare. [116271]
12 July 2012 : Column 353W
Mr Gauke: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Treasury.
This information is not available as HMRC does not administer the child care scheme.
Education
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what correspondence (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with the Information Commissioner's Office on his Department's use of private e-mail accounts for conducting official Government business; and if he will place in the Library a copy of any such correspondence within the last 12 months. [113986]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 27 June 2012]: In December 2011 the Department received a report from the Information Commissioner on the findings of its good practice visit in October 2011, which included consideration of the use of personal e-mail and the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Information Commissioner published those findings on 15 December 2011.
The Information Commissioner and his staff regularly exchange correspondence with departmental officials in the course of relevant Freedom of Information Act and Data Protection Act casework.
Freedom of Information: Requests
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received between 10 May 2010 and February 2011; how many requests (a) were answered within 20 working days, (b) were answered in between 20 and 40 working days, (c) were answered in between 40 and 60 working days, (d) were answered in between 60 and 80 working days, (e) were answered in between 80 and 100 working days, (f) were answered after 100 working days; and (g) remained unanswered after more than 100 working days. [114004]
12 July 2012 : Column 354W
Tim Loughton [holding answer 27 June 2012]: Quarterly and annual statistics on Freedom of Information requests received by a number of central Government monitored bodies (including all Departments of State) are published by the Ministry of Justice on their website at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/foi/implementation
http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/foi/implementation/implementation-editions
The Department is asked to collate these statistics to provide a picture of FOI performance across central Government Departments.
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2012, Official Report column 370W, on the Freedom of Information Act 2000, what meetings he had with representatives of the Information Commissioner's Office to discuss his Department's compliance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in the last 12 months. [114029]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 27 June 2012]: None.
GCSE
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of (a) pupils receiving free school meals, (b) pupils not receiving free school meals and (c) all pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 were not entered for any GCSE in each year since 1997. [115986]
Mr Gibb: Figures for the years 2005/06 to 2010/11 on the number and percentage of pupils who achieved no qualifications at the end of Key Stage 4 by their free school meal eligibility can be found in the following table. In most cases this is based upon data on entries to qualifications, however for some vocational courses we only hold data on achievements, not entries. The Department holds data on eligibility for free school meals; information on whether or not a pupil is actually receiving free school meals once eligible is not available centrally. Figures for the years 2001/02 to 2004/05 can be provided only at a disproportionate cost. Figures for the years prior to 2001/02 are not available because pupil-level data have only been collected in the School Census since the 2001/02 academic year.
| Number and percentage of pupils who have achieved no qualifications(1) at the end of Key Stage 4(2) by free school meal (FSM) eligibility. Years: 2005/06 to 2010/11(3). Coverage: England, maintained schools (including academies and CTCs) | ||||||
| Pupils eligible for FSM | All other pupils(4) | All pupils | ||||
| Number not achieving a GCSE or equivalent | Percentage not achieving a GCSEor equivalent | Number not achieving a GCSE or equivalent | Percentage not achieving a GCSE or equivalent | Number not achieving a GCSE or equivalent | Percentage not achieving a GCSEor equivalent | |
| (1) In some cases only pupils who have achieved vocational qualifications are included in our data rather than those entered for the qualification. For GCSEs, all pupils who are entered are included. (2) Number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in each academic year. (3) Figures for 2005/06 to 2010/11 are based on final data. (4) Includes pupils for whom free school meal eligibility could not be determined. Source: National Pupil Database | ||||||
12 July 2012 : Column 355W
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils (a) receiving and (b) not receiving free school meals achieved five A*-C grades including English and mathematics at GCSE (i) including and (ii) excluding equivalents in each year since 1997. [115988]
Mr Gibb:
The information requested by free school meal eligibility (eligible for and claiming free school
12 July 2012 : Column 356W
meals) is provided in the following table. Information on whether or not a pupil is receiving free school meals is not available. Figures for the years 2001/02 to 2004/05 can be provided only at a disproportionate cost. Figures for the years prior to 2001/02 are not available because pupil-level data have only been collected in the School Census since the 2001/02 academic year.
| Number and percentage of pupils at the end of key stage 4(1) achieving five or more A*- C grades including and excluding equivalent qualifications including English and mathematics GCSEs, by free school meal (FSM) eligibility. Years: 2005/06 to 2010/11(2). Coverage: England, maintained schools (including academies and CTCs) | ||||||
| Including equivalents | ||||||
| Pupils eligible for FSM | All other pupils(3) | All pupils | ||||
| No. achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs | % achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs | No. achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs | % achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs | No. achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs | % achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs | |
| Excluding equivalents(4,5) | ||||||
| Pupils eligible for FSM | All other pupils(3) | All pupils | ||||
| No. achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs | % achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs | No. achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs | % achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs | No. achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs | % achieving 5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics GCSEs | |
| (1) Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 in each academic year. (2) Figures for 2005/06 to 2010/11 are based on final data. (3) Includes pupils for whom free school meal eligibility could not be determined. (4) Figures for 2010/11 include AS levels, full and short GCSEs, double award GCSEs, applied GCSEs and the accredited iGCSEs and their legacy qualifications. (5) Figures for 2005/06 to 2009/10 include only full GCSEs, double awards and accredited iGCSEs and their legacy qualifications. Source: National Pupil Database | ||||||
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils obtained a GCSE Grade D or below in (a) English and (b) mathematics in (i) England and (ii) Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency in the most recent academic year for which figures are available. [116278]
Mr Gibb: The information requested can be found in the following table.
| Numbers and percentages of pupils(1,2,3) at the end of Key Stage 4 achieving grade D or below(4) in English and mathematics GCSEs(5,6) in Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency(7), the North West region(8) and England(9)—2010/11 | |
| Number/% | |
12 July 2012 : Column 357W
12 July 2012 : Column 358W
| (1) Percentages are based on all pupils at end of Key Stage 4 in each area. (2) Figures do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas. (3) Figures include all maintained schools (including CTCs and academies). (4) Includes grades D-G. (5) Including attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (6) Full GCSEs have been included (Full GCSEs, double awards, accredited international certificates and their predecessor iGCSEs) and AS levels. (7) Parliamentary constituency figures are based on the postcode of the school. (8) Regional figures are based on the region of the local authority maintaining the school, or in the case of CTCs and academies, the local authority in which the school is situated. (9) England figures are the sum of all local authority figures. Source: National Pupil Database. | |