Fracking: Planning Permission
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will consider ways to increase the weight to be attached to local referendums by the decison-maker in a planning application or appeal relating to a fracking rig installation. [150411]
Nick Boles: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 5 February 2013, Official Report, column 127W. The views of local communities can already be taken into account by decision-makers in the determination of planning applications, and the weight to be attached to the material planning considerations in those representations should be based on the individual circumstances of the application or the appeal.
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Hotels
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what costs his Department incurred in respect of hotels for (a) staff and (b) Ministers since May 2010. [135276]
Brandon Lewis: Reflecting our responsibilities for local government, housing, planning and communities, the work of the Department involves staff travelling to different parts of the country. As time allows, Ministers also undertake official visits, some of which may require overnight accommodation.
However, since May 2010, my Department has taken a series of steps to increase value for money and deliver sensible savings, as reflected by the following table.
| Hotel spending | Amount (£) |
| £ | ||
| Ministers | Staff | |
Housing: Planning Permission
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government of the major housing decisions made in 2012, how many were contrary to the (a) draft and (b) adopted local development plan; and if he will make a statement. [150834]
Mr Prisk: We do not collect data in the form requested for all individual local authority decisions. For Secretary of State decisions handled by the Planning Inspectorate, 449 major dwelling decisions were taken in 2012 of which 210 were allowed. An assessment of how many of these decisions were contrary to the draft or adopted local development plan could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Planning applications should be considered on their individual merits, and planning law requires that they must be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
Local Government Finance: Tees Valley
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations he has received from (a) council leaders and (b) directly-elected mayors in the Tees Valley on the effect of reductions in grants to local authorities from central Government. [144958]
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Brandon Lewis: Consultation on the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2013-14 ended on 15 January 2013. Representations were received from the mayor of Hartlepool and from officials from Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees councils.
Mortgages: Government Assistance
Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if the extension to the Government's FirstBuy scheme announced in Budget 2013 will apply to part-rent/part-buy properties. [150542]
Mr Prisk: From 1 April, the Government, under Help to Buy, are providing buyers with an equity loan of up to 20% of the cost of a new-build property valued up to £600,000. Following implementation we will work with partners, including lenders and housebuilders, to keep the scheme under review, as we have with other schemes.
Official Hospitality
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what costs his Department has incurred in respect of refreshments and hospitality for meetings since May 2010. [135281]
Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer to him of 19 March 2013, Official Report, column 625W, outlining how there is now no substantive expenditure on refreshments for Ministers.
I also refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer of 19 December 2012, Official Report, column 837W, outlining how we have dramatically reduced expenditure relative to the last Administration.
That latter answer understates the full trajectory of the reductions, as 40% of the figure given in that answer for April 2012 to October 2012 was delayed billing from the previous financial year.
The limited expenditure that we do undertake primarily relates to the frequent conferences and seminars that my Department holds with representatives from external organisations.
Overview and Scrutiny Committees
John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance is given to local authorities about the appointment of scrutiny committee chairs where local authorities have a significant number of councillors who do not belong to the party in overall control. [149785]
Brandon Lewis: The appointment of scrutiny committee chairs is a local matter for each council to decide.
Pay
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he has taken to ensure that contractors providing services to his Department are paying the living wage to all employees engaged in that particular contract; and if he will make a statement. [140060]
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Brandon Lewis [holding answer 28 January 2013]:The Government support the living wage and encourage business to take it up where possible and affordable. However, the decision on what wages to set is for individual employers and workers.
More broadly, from April 2013, the Government have raised the personal income allowance to £9,440—an income tax cut for 24 million tax payers—which will particularly help those on local incomes. The recent Budget announced the personal allowance will rise again to £10,000 from April 2014.
Property Rights
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to introduce any restrictions on the right to light. [150680]
Nick Boles: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 5 March 2013, Official Report, column 935W.
Public Expenditure
Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Budget 2013 Red Book, Table 2.5, which capital projects are no longer proceeding as a consequence of the underspend by his Department in 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [150126]
Brandon Lewis: Table 2.5 of the Budget 2013 Red Book shows the difference between Budget 2012 plans and Departments’ latest estimates of their full-year position.
In addition to forecast underspend against final plans, since Budget 2012 the Department surrendered a total of £300 million of CDEL at supplementary estimates. The £300 million represents a net figure of the following breakdown; -£421 million is available for future years through the Budget Exchange mechanism and switched +£42 million from its resource budget to the capital budget. It has also received +£79 million from other Government Departments.
The Department will set out its spending for the year in detail in its annual accounts in the usual way.
Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the estimated Resource DEL underspend in financial year 2012-13 of £500 million as set out in Table 2.5 of the Budget 2013 Red Book which service areas in his Department received reduced resources; what the amounts of resource reduction were; and if he will make a statement. [150199]
Brandon Lewis: Table 2.5 of the Budget 2013 Red Book shows the difference between Budget 2012 plans and Departments’ latest estimates of their full-year position.
In addition to forecast underspend against final plans, since Budget 2012 the Department surrendered £280 million of RDEL at supplementary estimates, of which £206 million is available for future years through the Budget Exchange mechanism and switched £42 million from its resource budget to the capital budget. It has
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also transferred £50 million to other Government Departments. Furthermore it received a reserve claim of £18 million paid at supplementary estimates.
The Department will set out its spending for the year in detail in its annual accounts in the usual way.
Sickness Absence
Mr Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many days of paid sickness leave per individual member of staff are authorised in his Department on an annual basis. [144483]
Brandon Lewis: For the 12 months to December 2012, a total of 12,315 days were paid as sickness leave. Staff in the Department had a total of 691,563 estimated calendar days of possible attendance hence this represents 1.8% of total staff working time. Our absence rate was 6.1 average working days lost per member of staff. This is lower than the civil service average of 7.6 days and below the private sector average of 7.1 (based on the CIPD20 measure).
In line with civil service practice, the Department pays individual members of staff for sick leave on the following basis:
Full pay for any cumulative sick leave up to six months in any 12 month period, and;
Half pay for any cumulative sick leave which exceeds six months but does not exceed 12 months in any four year period.
Staff exceeding 12 months cumulative sick leave in any four year period do not receive any sick pay.
The Department is taking a number of steps to reduce sick absence:
A self-test stress indicator tool for staff members, to help their line managers identify measures they can put in place to tackle workplace stress.
Intranet information pages to inform staff on ways in which they can maximise their physical and mental health.
Access to a 24 hour Employee Assistance helpline which offers advice and support on a wide range of issues, including sick absence.
The Department has a short-term sick absence policy which line managers use to support staff back to work and manage down any absences.
The Department will be introducing a comprehensive policy for managing long-term absence. This will significantly improve the management and resolution of such cases.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many days (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies has lost to staff sickness in each of the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the cost of such absence in each year. [147982]
Brandon Lewis: For the 12 months to December 2012, our departmental absence rate was 6.1 average working days lost per member of staff. This is lower than the civil service average of 7.6 days and below the private sector average of 7.1 (based on the CIPD20 measure). The following table provides the detailed figures requested:
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| Average working days lost to sickness absence | |||||
| Organisation/12 month period ending | March 2008 | March 2009 | March 2010 | March 2011 | March 2012 |
| Notes: The Fire Service College did not submit figures for March 2009. Responsibility for Ordnance Survey transferred to BIS in July 2011. The first return to DCLG was for the period ending September 2008 so no March 2008 return is held for it. | |||||
The estimated cost of absence in each 12 month period ending March for the Department is as follows:
| £ | |
This compares to the Department's total pay bill of £109 million a year in 2011-12.
Figures on absence rates in the Department's non-departmental public bodies are not held centrally. Figures on the estimated cost of absence in the Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies are not held centrally.
The Department is taking a number of steps to reduce sick absence:
A self-test stress indicator tool for staff members, to help their line managers identify measures they can put in place to tackle workplace stress.
Intranet information pages to inform staff on ways in which they can maximise their physical and mental health.
Access to a 24 hour Employee Assistance helpline which offers advice and support on a wide range of issues, including sick absence.
The Department has a short-term sick absence policy which line managers use to support staff back to work and manage down any absences. We will also be introducing a comprehensive policy for managing long-term absence. This will significantly improve the management and resolution of such cases.
Social Rented Housing: Asbestos
Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require local authorities to carry out asbestos surveys on all of their social housing stocks. [150853]
Mr Prisk:
Local authorities are required to ensure that their homes meet the Decent Homes standard, including the absence of serious “category 1” hazards as determined under the Housing Health and Safety
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Rating System. Asbestos is one of the risks which is considered under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.
We do not believe there is a need to require local authorities to carry out further surveys.
Telephone Services
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for each of the principal access numbers operated by (a) his Department and (b) the agencies for which he is responsible, what revenue has been retained by (i) the telephone provider for that line and (ii) his Department in each of the last three years. [149989]
Brandon Lewis: Each of the principal access numbers operated by the Department and its agencies (the Planning Inspectorate and the Homes and Communities Agency) are 030 numbers.
030 numbers were specifically designed for not-for-profit organisations, charities and public sector bodies to offer consumers a single point of contact nationally. Calls cost no more than calls to geographic (01 and 02) numbers and are included in inclusive minutes and discount schemes in the same way.
The Department and its agencies retain no revenue from these numbers. The Department holds no information about the revenue retained by the telephone line providers for these lines.
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which telephone lines are operated by (a) his Department and (b) the agencies for which he is responsible for public inquiries or other services; what the (i) principal access number and (ii) telephone service provider is for each number; and which such lines (A) are free to the caller and (B) may incur a charge to the caller. [150012]
Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government uses a low cost number 030 3444 0000 for public inquiries. The telephone service provider for DCLG is Damovo UK Ltd.
The general inquiries number of the Planning Inspectorate is 0303 444 5000. The telephone service provider for the Planning Inspectorate is Damovo UK Ltd.
The Homes and Communities Agency also has one principal access number, 0300 1234 500. The telephone service provider is British Telecommunications plc.
030 numbers were specifically designed for not-for-profit organisations, charities and public sector bodies to offer consumers a single point of contact nationally. Calls cost no more than calls to geographic (01 and 02) numbers and are included in inclusive minutes and discount schemes in the same way. The Department retains no revenue from these numbers.
Training
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many away days his Department has organised for its own staff since May 2010; and what the (a) purpose and (b) cost has been of such away days. [135403]
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Brandon Lewis: Towards the end of 2010, my Department issued new guidance to staff that team away days should take place at no or limited cost; this included encouraging the use of rooms in the Department or a neighbouring Whitehall Department. This is a significant departure from practices that took place under the last Administration.
Our finance system shows that in 2008-09 and 2009-10, the last Administration spent at least £196,585 and £137,678 respectively on away days.
By contrast, I have placed a table in the Library of the House, which shows how we have reduced spending to £1,492 in 2010-11, £3,318 in 2011-12 and £870 in 2012-13. This represents just 1% of the previous Administration's average annual spend, and shows the scope for making sensible savings in the public sector.
The bulk of this expenditure relates to events where staff, based around the country, formerly from the regional development agencies or the Government office for the regions, came together to be briefed on the departmental restructuring as part of the abolition of the regional bodies and the transfer of residual functions. These were not ‘away days' as such, but I have included them in the interests of transparency.
In addition to the information in the table, I also refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer of 13 July 2011, Official Report, column 361W, on the hiring of a burlesque club commissioned under the last Administration.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what costs his Department has incurred in respect of (a) staff training and (b) leadership courses since May 2010. [135434]
Brandon Lewis: There is a business case for staff to maintain and build their specialist skills and further their professional development to help them do their jobs better.
The following table, based on information contained in our departmental audited annual accounts for the core Department, shows how administrative spending on the category ‘training and conferences’ has fallen. It also illustrates total staff costs.
| £ | ||
| Spending on ‘training and conferences’ | Staff costs | |
We do not hold figures on the total spending on leadership courses since May 2010.
I would add that civil service learning was established in April 2011 in response to a wide ranging review of the delivery of training in the civil service. The new model recognises the need for the civil service to get better value out of its investment in training, reduce duplication in the procurement of learning solutions and make greater use of the external market to provide the training which the civil service requires.
These reforms will save taxpayers’ money and improve the overall quality of training provision.
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Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many away days his Department has held since 2010; and what the cost was of each such event. [139956]
Brandon Lewis [holding answer 28 January 2013]:I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) today, PQ 135403.
Travellers
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2013, Official Report, column 383W, on Travellers, (1) if he will list the members of the Ministerial Working Group (a) before and (b) after the Cabinet reshuffle of September 2012; [150617]
(2) whether his Department plans to publish a second report in 2013; [150618]
(3) what progress he has made in respect of the 28 commitments announced in April 2012. [150619]
Mr Foster: The progress report by the Ministerial Working Group on reducing inequalities experienced by Gypsies and Travellers was published in April 2012. It includes 28 commitments from across Government that will help mainstream services support Gypsies and Travellers. The report also says that the Government intends to produce another report once we have had the opportunity to assess progress in delivering against those commitments. We are currently doing so. The members of the Ministerial Working Group are listed in the progress report, and the list has not formally been revised since the ministerial reshuffle in September 2012. However, the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Brandon Lewis), is now the DCLG ministerial representative and I can confirm that officials from all the relevant Government Departments are involved in reviewing progress on the Ministerial Working Group commitments.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to facilitate community involvement in the preparation of its Roma Strategy. [150620]
Mr Foster: European Union member states agreed Council Conclusions on Roma integration in May 2011, in which they made commitments to advance the integration of Roma (including Gypsies and Travellers) either through national strategies or through wider social inclusion policies. The Government submitted a report to the European Commission in March 2012 setting out how we are advancing Roma, Gypsy and Traveller integration through wider policies for integration and inclusion. Officials from the Department for Communities and Local Government meet regularly with Gypsy, Traveller and Roma organisations to discuss issues of interest to their communities, particularly through the DCLG Gypsy and Traveller Liaison Group and the local authority-led National Roma Network. Items on the agenda of recent meetings have included updates on developments since the May 2011 Council Conclusions and progress made by Government Departments in meeting commitments made in the April 2012 report of the Ministerial Working Group on reducing inequalities experienced by Gypsies and Travellers.
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Urban Areas
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what data his Department holds on trends in footfall in town centres over the last 20 years [150334]
Mr Prisk: The Department does not hold any information on the trends in footfall in town centres over the last 20 years.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which locations have been successful applicants to the Town Team; and how much funding has been granted to such towns since the start of the pilot scheme. [150426]
Mr Prisk: The following 27 town teams in England successfully applied to become Portas pilots and received a total of £2,564,881:
| Portas pilot | Amount awarded (£) |
|
Chrisp Street, Roman Road and Watney Markets, Tower Hamlets(1) | |
| (1) Funded by the Greater London Authority | |
In addition, 333 town teams out of a potential 393 registered to become a Town Team Partner and now have access to the support package we have provided, which includes £10,000 for each town team to help deliver their proposals. Only town teams that were
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unsuccessful in the Portas pilot competition were eligible to apply to become Town Team Partners. A list of Town Team Partners can be found on the Department's website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/improving-high-streets-and-town-centres
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress he is making on the interim findings of the Town Team pilot. [150428]
Mr Prisk: Following the Mary Portas review published in December 2011, we have been addressing the problems facing the high street. My report of high street progress, which I published on 25 March, describes the work that has gone on over the past year. It can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-future-of-high-streets
But I do recognise that more needs to be done which is why I have established the Future High Streets Forum. The forum, which had its first meeting on 25 March, builds on the work of the Portas pilots and Town Team Partners and brings together leaders across retail, property, business, academics, third sector, civil society and government to better understand the competition town centres across the country face and to drive forward new ideas and policies to help revive the high street. Full details of the Future High Street Forum can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/policy-advisory-groups/future-high-streets-forum
Work and Pensions
Employment: Airdrie and Shotts
Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of people usually resident in Airdrie and Shotts constituency who are employed by his Department. [150582]
Mr Hoban: The number of people employed by the DWP resident in Airdrie and Shotts constituency is 271.
Child Maintenance
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of Child Support Agency cases with a current positive liability have received payment (a) in full, (b) in part and (c) not at all in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [145615]
Steve Webb: The following table shows over the last four quarters the number of CSA cases where maintenance is due, split by how much of the requested maintenance was paid in full, in part or not at all.
| Paying in full | Paying part | Not paying | Assessed not charging | ||||||
| Quarter Ending: | No. of cases where maintenance is due | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
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Cases are classed as having maintenance due if an ongoing liability to pay maintenance exists, or if arrears of maintenance exist and payment has been requested.
Cases that have a positive liability but no active charging schedule in place are classed as ‘assessed not charging'.
Figures may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many non-resident parents are currently paying maintenance who have been assessed by the Child Support Agency between 1993 and 2003. [150464]
Steve Webb: In the quarter to December 2012, there were 150,200 non-resident parents with a positive maintenance outcome, where their case is assessed under the 1993 scheme or was originally assessed under the 1993 scheme and has now been converted to the 2003 scheme.
A case is classed as having a positive maintenance outcome if a payment has been received via the collections service in the quarter, or if a maintenance direct arrangement is in place.
These figures do not include off system cases. A non-resident parent may be involved in more than one case, therefore these figures will not match those published in the Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics.
Citizens Advice Scotland
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions his Department has had with Citizens Advice Scotland on a dedicated line for inquiries from citizens advice bureaux. [150547]
Mr Hoban: DWP in Scotland has regular dialogue with Citizens Advice Scotland and shares information and updates in a number of different formats, both at Scottish and local level with bureaux. Escalation contact points have been shared and refreshed again with CAS recently.
Cold Weather Payments: Bassetlaw
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for how long the weather station at Waddington has been used for assessing cold weather payments for people living in the Bassetlaw area. [150650]
Steve Webb: Waddington has been used continuously as a primary station in the scheme since the cold weather payment scheme began in 1988. In the first few years weather stations were not linked to postcode districts but were instead assigned to individual counties, boroughs, districts and parishes or parts thereof.
Cold Weather Payments: Scotland
Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on cold weather payments in (a) Scotland and (b) Airdrie and Shotts constituency in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many people in Airdrie and Shotts constituency were allocated cold weather payments in (i) November 2012, (ii) December 2012 and (iii) January 2013. [150573]
Steve Webb: The cold weather payment scheme is administered at weather station area level. Information on expenditure and the number of people qualifying for cold weather payments is only available for the area covered by each weather station and not at parliamentary constituency level. Weather station coverage areas are determined by postcode and do not align with constituency boundaries. Airdrie and Shotts constituency is covered by Bishopton, Edinburgh Gogarbank and Salsburgh weather stations.
Table 1 gives the estimated expenditure on cold weather payments in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 in Scotland as a whole and in respect of triggers at Bishopton, Edinburgh Gogarbank and Salsburgh weather stations. There were no triggers at Bishopton and Edinburgh Gogarbank weather stations in 2011-12.
| Table 1: Estimated expenditure on cold weather payments between 2009-10 and 2011-12 | |||
| £ million | |||
| Weather station | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
Table 2 provides the estimated number of recipients of cold weather payments in November 2012, December 2012 and January at Bishopton, Edinburgh Gogarbank and Salsburgh weather stations. There were no triggers at Bishopton weather station in this period.
| Table 2: Estimated recipients of cold weather payments between November 2012 and January 2013 | |||
| Weather station | November 2012 | December 2012 | January 2013 |
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| Notes: 1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National Statistics. 2. The figures for Scotland only include payments made in respect of weather stations whose coverage areas lie entirely within Scotland. There are some weather station areas whose coverage crosses the England/Scotland border; as we do not know which country these recipients are in, they are excluded from the figures for Scotland. 3. The figures for the Bishopton, Edinburgh Gogarbank and Salsburgh weather stations will also cover areas outside Airdrie and Shotts. 4. Cold weather payments are made to benefit units rather than to households or individuals. A benefit unit can be a single person or a couple and can include children. The recipient volumes given are based on the number of eligible benefit units on 31 October 2012. 5. The number of recipients is not equal to the number of payments made. Recipients can receive more than one payment if the weather station triggers multiple times. 6. A cold weather payment of £25 is made when the average temperature has been recorded as, or is forecast to be 0°C or below over seven consecutive days at the weather station linked to an eligible recipient's postcode. 7. All expenditure figures have been rounded to the nearest £100,000. All recipient figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. |
Contingencies Fund
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his statement of 22 March 2013, Official Report, column 64WS, on Contingencies Fund (Advance), for what reasons he is seeking a £506 million advance from the Contingencies Fund. [150483]
Mr Hoban: The £506 million Contingency Fund Advance was required due to the tabling of The Supply and Appropriation (Anticipation and Adjustments) Bill 2012-13 being later than in previous years.
The Contingency Fund Advance request was in line with normal parliamentary processes as set out in the Estimate Guidance (see following link):
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/estimates_manual_july2011.pdf
Disability Living Allowance: Young People
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of young people who are currently in receipt of disability living allowance who will be reassessed for personal independence payment over the next 12 months as they reach their 16th birthday. [151059]
Esther McVey: I refer the hon. Lady to the written answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Stirling (Mrs McGuire) on 25 March 2013, Official Report, column 974W.
Disclosure of Information
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many civil servants in his Department have been subject to non-disclosure agreements in each year since 2010. [150044]
Mr Hoban: The Department does not use specific non-disclosure agreements but it uses settlement agreements, compromise agreements and COT3 agreements (settlement agreements entered into under the auspices of ACAS—Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) when resolving and settling issues and disputes with staff.
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The agreements may contain a non-disclosure clause which prevents the individual from disclosing or discussing the existence, negotiation and terms of the settlement. The Department considers whether such clauses are appropriate and necessary and always ensures that any non-disclosure clause allows disclosure for business needs and the requirements of law, including accountability to Parliament. The clause is not aimed at preventing staff from raising or disclosing any concerns regarding their employment which they will continue to have a right to do under whistleblowing legislation and the Department's whistleblowing policy.
With regard to the information requested the Department is not able to provide the information requested as it is not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Employment and Support Allowance: Airdrie
Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Airdrie and Shotts constituency were underpaid employment and support allowance as a result of departmental error in each of the last three years; and what the total amount of any such underpayment was. [150467]
Mr Hoban: The information is not available in the format requested.
Food Banks
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he has made an assessment of the reasons for the increase in referrals to Trussell Trust foodbanks between 2009-10 and 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [149165]
Mr Hoban: DWP does not collate or hold numbers on the usage of food banks.
Future Jobs Fund: Airdrie
Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received assistance through the future jobs fund in Airdrie and Shotts constituency in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) the latest period for which figures are available. [150565]
Mr Hoban: The number of starts on placements funded by the future jobs fund in Airdrie and Shotts constituency in each calendar year are shown in the following table.
| Calendar year | Starts |
| Notes: 1. There were no starts after 2011. 2. Due to data protection protocols, figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. There may be a few people who experienced more than one start on a placement funded by the future jobs fund, so the number of people starting on a placement may not exactly equal the number of starts. Source: DWP LMS opportunities evaluation database August 2011. | |
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Housing Benefit: Barrow and Furness
John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Barrow and Furness constituency are in receipt of (a) housing benefit and (b) local housing allowance; and what the average weekly sum awarded under such benefits is. [150489]
Steve Webb: The information requested is in the following table:
| Housing benefit recipients in Barrow and Furness parliamentary constituency November 2012: Caseload and average amounts paid | ||
| Total number of recipients | Average weekly amount (£) | |
| Notes: 1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. Recipients are as at the second Thursday of the month. 3. Caseloads are rounded to the nearest 10 and average weekly amounts are rounded to the nearest penny. 4. SHBE is a monthly electronic scan of claimant level data direct from local authority computer systems. It replaces quarterly aggregate clerical returns. The data are available monthly from November 2008 and November 2012 is the most recent available. Source: Single housing benefit extract (SHBE) | ||
Housing Benefit: Scotland
Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in Scotland with individuals aged between 25 and 35 received an exemption from the shared accommodation rate due to being clients of agencies in multi-agency public protection arrangements in 2012. [150462]
Steve Webb: This information is not available.
Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
Alan Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on couples with a spare room who legally separate in regard to the under-occupancy penalty. [149272]
Steve Webb: A couple is entitled to claim housing benefit for one bedroom.
When a couple separates, both members will usually live in separate accommodation and be subject to the size criteria rules as single individuals.
In the event that they continue to reside in the same property, the local authority would be required to consider whether they are indeed not living together as husband and wife, or civil partners, but as single individuals.
There is no single factor on which the local authority will base its decision. However, it will take into account (but not limit consideration to) factors such as the existence of a shared household, financial arrangements, and responsibility for children.
It is the responsibility of the local authority to make a decision based on the individual circumstances of each case.
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Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the ability of the private rental market in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Airdrie and Shotts constituency to accommodate people who leave the social rented sector due to their inability to meet increased costs as a consequence of the under-occupancy penalty. [150472]
Steve Webb: The information is not available. Claimants affected have a range of possible responses open to them, including finding work, taking in a lodger or moving within the social sector. It is not yet known how individuals will respond. The Department is commissioning an independent evaluation of these reforms, which will examine the effects on and responses by social tenants, including moves.
The private rented sector continues to accommodate housing benefit claimants. Since March 2011, the number of housing benefit claimants living in the private rented sector has increased by 7%.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Kingston Upon Hull North (Diana Johnson) of 5 March 2013, Official Report, column 979W, on housing benefit: social rented housing, if he will place in the Library the brief and specifications for his early evaluation of the under-occupancy penalty. [150655]
Steve Webb: The full specification for the evaluation of the removal of the spare room subsidy is currently being finalised and is a working document which may be adapted, as policy develops and the evaluation progresses. There are no plans to formally publish the specification. As a broad indication, the evaluation will include small- scale primary research with a range of local authorities, social landlords, claimants and voluntary organisations across England, Scotland and Wales.
Dr McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has held with the Minister at the Department for Social Development in the Northern Ireland Executive at Stormont about the under-occupancy penalty. [150923]
Steve Webb: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), has not held any recent discussions with the Minister at the Department for Social Development in the Northern Ireland Executive at Stormont about the removal of the spare room subsidy.
Dr McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many families will be affected by the under-occupancy penalty in each region of the UK. [150924]
Steve Webb: This information is available in the equality impact assessment:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011-ia.pdf
Housing Benefit: Wigan
Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients of local housing allowance in Wigan are under-occupying by (a) one and (b) more than one bedroom. [150866]
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Steve Webb: This information is not available.
Local housing allowance is based on the characteristics of the household and not affected by the number of bedrooms in the property occupied. The information is therefore not needed for the housing benefit claim and is not collected by local authorities.
Industrial Health and Safety: Agriculture
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2013, Official Report, column 691W, on Agricultural Wages Board, what the names were of all businesses (a) investigated, (b) sanctioned or (c) prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive in relation to accidents to agricultural workers. [150434]
Mr Hoban: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not publish information about all businesses investigated unless formal enforcement action has been taken. Information about businesses that have been the subject of formal enforcement action can be found at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/prosecutions.htm
Jobcentre Plus
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2013, Official Report, column 1002W, on universal credit, what assessment he has made of the work of Jobcentre Plus advisers in helping people who lack the skills or confidence to use online services to develop their digital skills. [149219]
Mr Hoban: Although a high percentage of our customers have regular access to the internet, we do understand that some do not have the necessary IT skills to search or apply for a job online, or use DWP's other digital services.
For free training and advice customers are often referred to UK Online, Learn Direct or other partners in their local area. Alongside this, training and support is being given to Jobcentre Plus advisers to enable them to help people use online services. All Jobcentres now have a dedicated digital champion, whose role is to provide support to staff and customers. We have developed a “digital driving licence” to increase the digital skills of staff, equipping them to be confident in supporting customers to use digital services. Also, we have developed the “jobsearch in a digital age” course specifically for Jobcentre advisers. This will enable staff to support customers in using digital services to look for jobs and developing basic digital skills.
We have completed a review of the digital champion role and the findings will inform how this role develops in the future. The review included assessment of digital champions’ skills and how they support customers in improving their digital skills and confidence.
Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to prevent Jobcentre Plus from accepting job advertisements which require the applicant to telephone a premium rate telephone number in order to apply; and if he will make a statement. [150440]
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Mr Hoban: Universal Jobmatch is DWP's online job posting and matching service for jobseekers and employers.
The use of 070 and 09 premium rate telephone numbers is prohibited within Universal Jobmatch and their use is blocked automatically by the service. The Universal Jobmatch terms and conditions must be accepted by employers before they can use the service. By accepting these, employers agree not to use premium rate and income-generating numbers (070 and 09 prefixes) when posting their jobs to the service.
The ‘Finding a Job’ area within Gov.UK contains a section called ‘Your rights and safety when looking for a job’. This includes advice to jobseekers that some job adverts have a number to call for more information, which may be a premium rate number. There is also a link to the Ofcom site which shows how to identify premium rate numbers and details the costs that can be incurred when dialling them.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the Jobcentre Plus Stricter Benefit Regime. [150444]
Mr Hoban: The Stricter Benefit Regime (SBR) was introduced alongside jobseeker's allowance back in 1996. The SBR regime was refreshed in 2006 with intensified benchmark targets. We removed benchmarks in April 2011 as we believe there are no right levels for sanctions. However, we continue to collect management information to support the consistent application of the rules across the Jobcentre network. SBR has been superseded by a new Conditionality and Sanctions regime from 2012 which uses a graduated sanction to enforce the conditionality that all jobseeker's allowance claimants are subject to. There are no targets.
Mr Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Jobcentre employees have been put on a performance improvement plan in the last 18 months. [150551]
Mr Hoban: The Department does not maintain central records of employees who have been placed under performance improvement plans. Where such plans were agreed locally as part of day to day line management, a record would not necessarily have been kept.
The Department introduced new policies covering performance management and dealing with poor performance in 2012-13. At mid-year (in October 2012), of the 91,365 employees rated, 5,910 were informed that their performance was below standard and would be rated ‘must improve’. Of these, 3,039 were employed in Jobcentres.
Under the Department's policy, any employee rated ‘must improve’ should have a performance improvement plan.
Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Jobcentres have public conveniences available for use by benefit claimants and jobseekers; and what his Department’s policy is on provision of such facilities. [150556]
Mr Hoban:
In most Jobcentre Plus offices there are no public toilet facilities, and public access to the staff toilets is either not allowed or only available at the
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discretion of a member of staff. Jobcentres are not required to provide public conveniences for claimants or jobseekers. Local office staff will consider requests based on individual need taking into account security and health and safety considerations.
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what performance standards Jobcentre staff are measured against; [150880]
(2) what performance targets (a) Jobcentre advisers and (b) Jobcentre managers are set. [150881]
Mr Hoban: The Department has two operational targets for these staff: off-flows from benefit and monetary value of fraud and error. Jobcentre advisers and managers agree individual key work objectives with their line manager to support these targets.
Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions who is responsible for ensuring that benefit claimants' personal details remain confidential in cases where staff other than Jobcentre Plus staff are involved in processing claims. [150991]
Mr Hoban: In accordance with the Data Protection Act, the Department will be the data controller in respect of claims for benefits administered by the Department. In cases where third parties administer claims on behalf of the Department, those organisations will have the legal status of data processor in accordance with the Act, and contracts will set out the Department's formal requirements for protecting claimants' personal details. However, in those circumstances, the Department will remain as the legal data controller with ultimate responsibility for ensuring that personal details are kept confidential.
Jobcentre Plus: Airdrie
Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time vacancies were advertised in Jobcentre Plus offices in Airdrie and Shotts constituency on the most recent date for which figures are available. [150581]
Mr Hoban: The following figures have been sourced from the Universal Jobmatch system and relate to active full-time and part-time jobs as at 25 March 2013 in the towns of Airdrie and Shotts.
| Airdrie active jobs as at 25 March 2013 | |
| Number | |
| Shotts active jobs as at 25 March 2013 | |
| Number | |
Jobcentre Plus: Internet
John Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2013, Official Report, column 753W, on universal credit,
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if he will
(a)
estimate the furthest distance a universal credit claimant will be from an internet access device that will be installed in jobcentres and
(b)
estimate the number of free community access points that could be used by people in receipt of universal credit in (i) Glasgow North West constituency, (ii) Glasgow, (iii) Scotland and (iv) the UK. [150337]
Mr Hoban: It is not our intention to carry out such an estimate. There are many different ways for claimants to access the internet. Local libraries and jobcentres are just two examples of places that claimants could gain free access to the internet.
According to the Office of National Statistics 80% of households in Great Britain have internet access:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/rdit2/internet-access---households-and-individuals/2012/stb-internet-access--households-and-individuals--2012.html
Jobcentre Plus: Wigan
Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what training has been made available to Jobcentre Plus staff in Wigan to promote understanding of upcoming benefit reforms. [150992]
Mr Hoban: There are many activities under way to support Jobcentre Plus staff in Wigan in understanding the upcoming benefit reforms. This includes general awareness presentations for all staff, role-specific training, a range of e-learning packages, team discussions around case studies, process walkthroughs, staff forums and interview technique refresher training.
Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what extra (a) resources for staff and computers and (b) access points are being made available to Jobcentre Plus in Wigan. [150993]
Mr Hoban: We are currently considering what resources are required in the staged roll-out of universal credit.
Jobseeker's Allowance
Mr Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the 50 jobcentres with the highest number of applications of sanctions over jobseeker's allowance in the last 18 months, by number of such applications. [150550]
Mr Hoban: The information requested is not currently available. The official statistics published on the tabulation tool contain JSA sanctions and disallowances up to and including 21 October 2012. After this date new regulations introduced a regime of fixed period sanctions, which replaced the existing sanction rules and moved claimants closer to the sanction regime planned for universal credit in 2013.
We aim to publish the JSA sanctions statistics on this new regime in May 2013, and on a quarterly basis thereafter. In the light of the recent interest in this area we will publish these statistics at Jobcentre Plus office level. At the same time we aim to publish a complete time series of JSA sanctions to 21 October 2012, at Jobcentre Plus office level.
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Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many sanctions were issued to recipients of jobseeker's allowance in each (a) Jobcentre Plus district and (b) Jobcentre Plus office in each of the last three years. [150671]
Mr Hoban: The information is as follows:
(a) Information on how many sanctions were issued annually to recipients of jobseeker's allowance in Great Britain and each Jobcentre Plus district from 1 January 2010 to 21 October 2012 is in the following table.
| Number(1) of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) sanctions applied(2) in Great Britain by Jobcentre Plus district and year of decision(3): 1 January 2010 to 21 October 2012 | |||
| Year of decision(3) | |||
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
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| (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10."-" denotes nil or negligible. Some additional disclosure control has been applied. Totals may not sum due to rounding method used. (2) Sanctions applied: The number of sanctions applied is the number of Varied(4), Fixed Length(5) and Entitlement Decision(6) referrals where the decision was found against the claimant between 1 January 2010 and 21 October 2012. (3) Year of decision: The year in which the decision to apply a sanction was made. The year 2012 only includes data up to and including 21 October, where these are the latest data available. (4) Varied Length sanctions: A sanction of between one week and 26 weeks is imposed for leaving employment voluntarily without just cause, refusing employment without good cause, or losing employment through misconduct. The actual period in each case is at the discretion of the Adjudication Officer who makes the decision. (5) Fixed Length sanctions: A sanction of between one week and 26 weeks is imposed for refusal, without good cause, to attend an employment programme or carry out a Jobseeker's Direction. Payment of benefit continues in full pending the Adjudication Officer's decision on a sanction question. (6) Entitlement Decisions: These are questions on which entitlement to JSA depends. For example, if there is doubt around whether the Jobseeker's agreement (JSAg) is suitable, whether they are actively looking for work or making themselves available for work. In most cases payment of JSA will be suspended by benefit processing until the doubt is resolved. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: JSA Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database | |||
(b)The information requested is not currently available.
The official statistics published on the Tabulation Tool contain JSA sanctions and disallowances up to and including 21 October 2012. After this date new regulations introduced a regime of fixed period sanctions, which replaced the existing sanction rules and moved claimants closer to the sanction regime planned for universal credit in 2013.
We aim to publish the JSA sanctions statistics on this new regime in May 2013, and on a quarterly basis thereafter. In the light of the recent interest in this area we will publish these statistics at Jobcentre Plus office level. At the same time we aim to publish a complete time series of JSA sanctions to 21 October 2012, at Jobcentre Plus office level.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2013, Official Report, column 555W, on jobseeker's allowance, from what date all sanctions for failing to meet work-related requirements will be notified to claimants in writing. [150714]
Mr Hoban:
All sanction decisions are notified to claimants in writing and include details of the claimant's rights of reconsideration and appeal. These notifications
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are generated from the jobseeker's allowance payment system when the details of the sanction decision are input into the system and are issued to claimants by post.
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what guidance he issues on reasonable circumstances for failing to meet a work-related requirement in relation to a claim of jobseeker's allowance; and if he will make a statement; [150877]
(2) what guidance his Department issues on reasonable grounds for a jobseeker's allowance claimant failing to (a) attend an appointment and (b) fulfil their job search requirements. [150886]
Mr Hoban: Guidance relating to the reasonable circumstances for failing to meet a work-related requirement, including attending an appointment and fulfilling job search requirements, is contained within the Labour Market Conditions Guide and the Decision Makers Guide.
The Labour Market Conditions Guide details the specific circumstances that can be accepted by a Jobcentre Adviser for these failures without further consideration by a decision maker. The Labour Market Conditions Guide also details those situations, specified in the Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations, where a claimant can be treated as if they had met the requirements.
Where cases are referred to a decision maker for consideration, the Decision Maker's Guide details the factors that must be taken into account when determining whether or not a claimant had reasonable grounds for their failure.
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps a jobcentre adviser must take before stopping the payment of jobseeker's allowance following failure to attend an appointment. [150884]
Mr Hoban: If a claimant fails to attend an appointment they have five working days in which to contact the office and provide their reason(s) for not attending.
In most cases no further action is taken at this point. However, if the claimant concerned has childcare responsibilities, at least one attempt is made to contact them by telephone and if that is not possible, a letter is sent advising them of the five-working-day limit in which to make contact.
If a claimant does not make contact within the required timeframe, their claim is terminated in accordance with the jobseeker's allowance regulations.
If a claimant makes contact within the required timeframe, their explanation for not attending the appointment is obtained and considered, initially by the jobcentre adviser and if necessary, by a decision maker.
If the explanation given is found to be unreasonable, the claimant is notified that their benefit will be sanctioned.
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of jobseeker's allowance claimants received benefit sanctions (a) in the UK, (b) in each parliamentary constituency and (c) through each jobcentre in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement. [150978]
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Mr Hoban: Information on how many jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants received benefit sanctions (a) in Great Britain, (b) in each parliamentary constituency from 1 January 2009 to 31 May 2012 has been placed in the Library.
Information on (c) how many JSA claimants received benefit sanctions through each jobcentre in each of the last four years is not currently available.
The official statistics published on the Tabulation Tool contain JSA sanctions and disallowances up to and including 21 October 2012. After this date new regulations introduced a regime of fixed period sanctions, which replaced the existing sanction rules and moved claimants closer to the sanction regime planned for universal credit in 2013.
We aim to publish the JSA sanctions statistics on this new regime in May 2013, and on a quarterly basis thereafter. In the light of the recent interest in this area we will publish these statistics at Jobcentre Plus office level. At the same time we aim to publish a complete time series of JSA sanctions to 21 October 2012, at Jobcentre Plus office level.
Jobseeker's Allowance: Scotland
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of sanctions imposed on jobseeker's allowance claimants in Scotland resulted from the recommendations of Work programme providers between April 2012 and March 2013. [150875]
Mr Hoban: Statistics on what proportion of fixed and varied length sanctions imposed on jobseeker's allowance claimants in Scotland resulted from the recommendations of Work programme providers between April 2012 and October 2012 can be found at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?pageMabtool
Guidance for users is available at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of sanctions imposed on jobseeker's allowance claimants in Scotland resulted from a failure to meet a work-related requirement made by a Work programme provider between April 2012 and March 2013. [150876]
Mr Hoban: The information requested is not available.
Labour Market: North East
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the labour market in the north-east; and if he will make a statement. [150281]
Mr Hoban: Official labour market figures are published by the Office for National Statistics. Latest estimates show employment in the north-east up 12,000 in the year to November 2012 to January 2013, with ILO unemployment down 12,000 over the same period. The region's employment rate rose 0.5 percentage points on the year, to 67.2%, and its unemployment rate fell 0.9 points to 9.8%.
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Claimant count figures (February 2013) show the number of people on jobseeker’s allowance in the north-east falling for the fourth consecutive month, down 1,100 to 92,000, but 600 higher than a year earlier. The latest figures for those claiming incapacity or lone parent benefits show a fall of 10,000 in the year to August 2012 to 164,000.
Members: Correspondence
Andrew Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 1 February 2013, Official Report, column 1020W, on Members: correspondence, when he intends to provide Mr Tolen with a substantive reply to his letter of 6 December 2012. [150927]
Mr Hoban: The pensions director, Graeme Wallace, replied to Mr Tolen's correspondence on behalf of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 4 February 2013.
National Insurance Contributions: Part-time Employment
Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of people working 17 hours per week who its paying voluntary Class 3 National Insurance contributions. [150431]
Mr Hoban: The information requested is not available.
Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations 2010
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the number of (a) fatalities and (b) injuries averted by the Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations 2010 to date. [150715]
Mr Hoban: No such assessment has been made in these terms. The Health and Safety Executive's view, based on its experience, is that these regulations are not needed to protect health and safety.
Pension Credit
Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners who did not claim pension credit to which they were entitled in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; [150470]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners in (a) Scotland and (b) Airdrie and Shotts constituency who have not claimed the pension credit to which they were entitled in the last year. [150471]
Steve Webb:
The “Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-up” report covers Great Britain for the financial year 2009-10. It provides caseload and expenditure estimates of take-up for income support and employment and support allowance (income-related), pension credit, housing benefit (including local housing allowance), council tax benefit and jobseeker's allowance (income-
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based). The latest release updates the statistics previously released on 10 June 2010. The figures are available online and can be found here:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=irb
Estimates of take-up are not available for 2010-11 or 2011-12, nor are they sufficiently robust to present at Geographies below Great Britain. As such, estimates are not available for Airdrie and Shotts constituency.
Recruitment
Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on advertising job vacancies in (a) 2005, (b) 2006, (c) 2007, (d) 2008 and (e) 2009. [150290]
Mr Hoban: Over the five-year period 2005 to 2009 most DWP vacancies were advertised through overall resourcing packages that included the cost of advertising job vacancies. This cost was not separately itemised and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
School Meals
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has met the authors of the School Food Plan to discuss its recommendations on school meals. [150961]
Mr Hoban: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), has not met the authors of the School Food Plan to discuss its recommendations on schools meals.
Sign Language
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department plans to bring forward proposals to give statutory protection to British Sign Language (BSL) and to take steps to remove barriers to communication by BSL users in the provision of services, training and employment. [151511]
Esther McVey: Good accessible services are the best ways to remove or overcome the barriers deaf people face. Existing equality legislation already means employers, service providers and public bodies have to provide services in BSL when it is reasonable to do so and we have no plans to introduce new legislation.
The Government support those wishing to learn BSL and therefore extend the pool of BSL interpreters. That is why we provide funds for the training of BSL interpreters. The Government also fully fund BSL training where it is needed to help unemployed people find work.
Through Access to Work, funding pays for BSL interpreters in the workplace, or at work-related meetings and conferences.
Social Security Benefits
Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will consult with Ministers in the devolved Administrations to ensure that benefit up-take rates under the welfare reform changes are maximised across the UK. [150522]
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Mr Hoban: Welfare reform is a UK issue. In relation to universal credit the complexity of the current benefit system makes it expensive and difficult to administer. This fuels error by administrators and claimants alike and reduces benefit take-up as people do not understand their entitlements.
Universal credit will be a much simpler system. All elements will be assessed in a single claim which will remove the need to claim different means-tested benefits from different agencies. It will be easier for customers to understand their entitlements and easier to administer the system.
As such the greater simplicity of universal credit is expected to significantly improve the take-up of currently unclaimed entitlements.
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to receive the report of the reviews of the ways in which claimants make inquiries about their benefits. [150546]
Mr Hoban: The My Benefits Online (MBOL) service will allow claimants to access details of their benefit claim, payment date or amount.
The service was due to launch in December 2012. However, because of problems discovered while testing the service, the launch has been delayed.
An additional review is now being carried out with Government Digital Services in order to ensure that users of the site receive the best possible service. If the outcome of the review is positive, we expect to launch the new service over the summer.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of reports about the Jobcentre Plus stricter benefit regime; and if he will make a statement. [150669]
Mr Hoban: Jobcentre advisers do not make the decision to sanction a claimant's benefit. Advisers simply raise a doubt about the claimant's entitlement and submit evidence to a decision maker who is independent of the adviser and who reaches a decision based on evidence. All claimants have a right to an appeal to an independent tribunal. So if there was a target regime in jobcentres, and there is not, it could not lead to inappropriate sanctions because decisions are made independently of advisers.
The original Stricter Benefit Regime (SBR) was introduced in 1996 and refreshed in 2006. Until 2011 jobcentres operated benchmark targets for referrals to the independent decision-making regime.
Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many non-UK nationals are in receipt of (a) jobseeker's allowance, (b) employment and support allowance, (c) child tax credit, (d) carer's allowance, (e) income support allowance and (f) disability living allowance. [150701]
Mr Hoban: Information on the number of non-UK nationals in receipt of jobseeker's allowance, employment and support allowance, carer's allowance, income support and disability living allowance is not available. Her Majesty Revenue and Customs has the responsibility of child tax credit.
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We currently check nationality and immigration status of benefit claimants to ensure the benefit is paid properly and to prevent fraud. Although this information is used, it is not recorded as part of the payment administrative systems.
Looking forward, the Government are looking at ways to record the nationality and immigration status of migrants who make a claim to universal credit so that we have more robust information about our claimants.
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance is given to Jobcentre Plus staff on the application of sanctions; and whether that guidance is publicly available. [150871]
Mr Hoban: There is a wealth of guidance available to Jobcentre Plus staff on the application of sanctions. The primary guidance products are the Labour Market Conditions Guide and the Decision Makers Guide.
The Labour Market Conditions Guide details the conditions attached to the receipt of jobseeker's allowance, and the actions for advisers to take where they have doubts about a claimant meeting any of those conditions. This guidance is not published. The Decision Makers Guide details the considerations decision makers must make when determining whether or not a sanction should be applied, and includes details of the appropriate social security legislation and case law. The Decision Makers Guide is accessible through the DWP internet site:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides/decision-makers-guide/
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what training Jobcentre Plus staff receive on the application of sanctions. [150872]
Mr Hoban: Depending on their job role, staff who deal with sanctions in respect of jobseeker's allowance receive up to 26 hours of training.
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the process and timescales are for notifying a benefit claimant following the application of a sanction. [150883]
Mr Hoban: The first step in the process is an adviser in a jobcentre raises a doubt. Decision makers, independent of the adviser assess the evidence. If the decision maker concludes that a sanction should be applied to a jobseeker's allowance claimant, they send details of their decision to the appropriate benefit centre for input into the jobseeker's allowance payment system.
Once a sanction decision has been input into the system, a letter is sent to the claimant the following day by second class post. The letter informs claimants they have the right to appeal against the sanction and that financial support may be available depending on their circumstances.
Social Security Benefits: Appeals
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the appeal process is when a benefit payment is stopped after a claimant fails to attend an appointment. [150885]
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Mr Hoban: Where benefit entitlement terminates or a benefit award is reduced because of a failure to attend an appointment, the appeals process is as follows. The decision notification tells the claimant that they can appeal against the decision. If the claimant wishes to appeal, he must write to the Department for Work and Pensions identifying the decision he is appealing against and giving his reason(s) for disagreeing with it; he has one month, extendable in certain circumstances by 12, to make this appeal.
A decision maker will first consider whether the reason given provides grounds for changing (that is, revising) the decision; if not the appeal will be processed. This involves the Department providing a written response—an explanation of the reasons for the decision—to Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, which administers appeal hearings, and the claimant (and their representative, should they have one). The claimant is then given the option of an oral or paper hearing. The decision of the tribunal can be further appealed to the Upper Tribunal on a point of law.
Social Security Benefits: Disability
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if his Department will undertake a cumulative impact assessment of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 on the lives of disabled people. [151062]
Esther McVey: The Government provide impact assessments of policy changes routinely, as required by the Equality Act 2010.
We are, however, limited in what can be done on the cumulative impact of all welfare policy changes on disabled people because of the complexity of the modelling required and amount of detailed information on individuals and families needed to estimate the interactions of a number of different policy changes. These policy changes will take place at different times up to 2017/18 on benefit caseloads which are dynamic. We cannot, for example, identify from survey data exactly who will be eligible for higher or lower rates of benefit following a new medical assessment, which will collect detailed information on individuals that is not available in a published survey.
Due to these kinds of data limitations, neither HMT nor the IFS, which have both estimated and published the cumulative impact of tax and benefit reform since 2010, break down their results separately for the disabled population. The latest assessment of the cumulative impact of tax and benefit changes under the coalition for the whole population, provided by HMT, is published in Budget 2012.
Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals relating to the entitlement to benefits for people from Romania and Bulgaria arriving in the UK from January 2014. [149166]
Mr Hoban:
The Department already has robust rules and guidance in place. To further protect the integrity of the British benefits system and ensure it is not abused the Prime Minister has announced a number of changes currently in development. These include strengthening
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the habitual residence test, time limiting how long some migrants can claim benefits for, and closing loopholes exploited by some people who have no right to work in the UK.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many EU nationals resident in the UK were receiving benefits after three months of residence in each of the last three years, by country of original benefit claim. [151007]
Mr Hoban: Information on the number of EU nationals receiving benefits after three months residence is not available.
We currently check nationality and immigration status of benefit claimants to ensure the benefit is paid properly and to prevent fraud. While this information is used, it is not recorded as part of the payment administrative systems.
Looking forward, the Government are looking at ways to record the nationality and immigration status of migrants who make a claim to universal credit so that we have more robust information about our claimants.