Food Banks
Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many benefit claimants were referred by jobcentres to food banks in (a) greater London and (b) the UK from (i) 2011-12 and (ii) 2012-13; [157877]
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(2) how many benefits claimants have requested referral to food banks through Jobcentre Plus more than three times in (a) Greater London and (b) the UK in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14 to date. [158027]
Mr Hoban: DWP does not collate or hold numbers of the referrals to food banks.
Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the minimum floor space is that can constitute a bedroom for the purposes of the under-occupancy charge; [158053]
(2) whether a minimum floor space applies to a bedroom for the purposes of the under-occupancy penalty. [157948]
Steve Webb: The removal of the spare room subsidy does not apply a minimum floor space for bedrooms. It takes account of the number of bedrooms, as designated by the landlord, and compares this with the composition of the household to establish whether or not a reduction due to under-occupation applies.
Jobcentre Plus: Walthamstow
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the internal staff memorandum dated 20 February 2013 from the Walthamstow Jobcentre adviser manager, what league table was being referred to therein. [157662]
Mr Hoban: The league table mentioned was a locally prepared spreadsheet of management information. As with any spreadsheet, data can be shown in different ways. Managers have been reminded that this should not be used as a league table.
Members: Correspondence
Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to send a substantive response to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Chesterfield (Toby Perkins) of 24 October 2012 on behalf of a constituent, C J Howells. [157721]
Mr Hoban: I replied to the hon. Member on 31 October 2012.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to reply to the letter to him dated 22 April 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Sir Gerald Kaufman) with regard to Miss Emma Figueira. [158198]
Mr Hoban: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), replied to the right hon. Member on 4 June 2013.
Mesothelioma: Compensation
Stephen Timms:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the amount his Department would have spent on compensating
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mesothelioma sufferers and their dependants if there had not been a mesothelioma support scheme in place in each of the next five years. [157661]
Mr Hoban: Lump sum compensation payments can be paid to sufferers of mesothelioma, and their dependants, through both the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979 and the 2008 Mesothelioma Scheme (set up under the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008).
Recoveries of payments are made by the Department from any compensation received as a result of a successful civil damages claim.
The estimated amounts to be spent under both these lump sum schemes, in respect of mesothelioma, in each of the next five years are:
| £ million | |||
| Expenditure | Recoveries | Net | |
| Notes: 1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest million. 2. n/a = recovery expenditure forecasts for the 1979 Act scheme are only available for the full scheme and not broken down into different components—such as mesothelioma. | |||
A range of other benefits are available, to those entitled, such as industrial injuries benefits, personal independence payment, disability living allowance, attendance allowance and income related benefits. Figures relating only to those suffering from mesothelioma are not available.
The impact assessment that was published alongside the Mesothelioma Support Scheme Bill details the forecast expenditure of the planned Mesothelioma Support Scheme. It can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/185025/elci-compensation-meso-ia.pdf
Post Offices: Bank Services
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the total cost to the public purse was of the contract with Royal Mail to run Post Office current accounts from 2003 to 2010; [157944]
(2) what the value of the Post Office current account contract with Royal Mail has been since 2010. [157945]
Steve Webb:
The Post Office card account is a Post Office Government Services product used by DWP and other Government Departments. The total cost of the contracts with Post Office Ltd to run Post Office card
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accounts from April 2003 to March 2010 was £1.152 billion. From April 2010 to March 2013 the value of the Post Office card account contract across Government Departments has been £254 million.
The contract with the Post Office Ltd runs from October 2009 to March 2015 with the option to extend for up to two years beyond the initial contract end date.
Sign Language
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to ensure the services it offers are accessible to British Sign Language users. [157942]
Mr Hoban: The Equality Act 2010 places a duty on DWP to provide services that are accessible, available and appropriate to all claimants and customers. DWP takes seriously its duties under this Act to provide and make available reasonable adjustments to all claimants and customers who have specific communication needs. DWP has in place framework agreements to provide British Sign Language (BSL) or other communicator support to those customers who need it. Guidance on how to access this support is available to DWP staff via the internal intranet. Alternatively customers may bring their own interpreter, who, if professionally qualified, can be reimbursed with reasonable travel costs. They may also appoint a representative or intermediary to help them communicate with us.
Social Security Benefits: Automated Credit Transfer
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total administrative cost of paying benefits into Post Office current accounts was in the most recent year for which figures are available. [157943]
Steve Webb: The total cost paid by the DWP to the Post Office Ltd for the Post Office card account for the financial year 2012-13 was £63.8 million.
The Post Office card account is a very simple account that does not have the features of a current account. It is simply a deposit account from where withdrawals can be made. Most of the current accounts offered by retail banks can be accessed at Post Office branches and Post Office Ltd is currently trialling three current account products, including one specially designed to help those who may not previously have had a current account, or who find personal finances challenging.
State Retirement Pensions
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the public purse from no longer paying a pension to people based on their partner's contributions in each of the five financial years from April 2016. [157822]
Steve Webb: The single-tier pension will fundamentally change and simplify the way state pensions are paid and uprated. As such, it is not always possible to split out costs for individual components of the package and in this instance the information requested is not available.
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Individuals could receive lower state pension amounts from the removal of derived entitlement to basic state pension but this could be offset by the single-tier calculation or the different way the current system and single-tier systems are uprated over time.
Individuals may also be entitled to guarantee credit, which will not be affected by the reforms. This could mean their household income is unaffected by the changes.
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the level of pension that will be paid to those reaching state pension age in 2016-17 who will no longer be able to claim a pension based on their partner's contribution. [157823]
Steve Webb: People reaching state pension age in 2016-17 will be paid a pension based on their own national insurance record. “The single-tier pension: a simple foundation for saving” sets out how people's single-tier pension amounts will be calculated.
The Department projects that the median state pension paid to individuals in their own right under the single tier in 2020, who would have claimed a pension based on their partners national insurance record under the current system, will be around £70 per week (in 2013/14 earnings terms). This is based on assumptions around the starting level of single tier and uprating as set out in the white paper with an implementation date of April 2016.
Some of these individuals would be eligible for guarantee credit were the current arrangements to remain in place and so they may see no change in their overall income.
The Department uses PENSIM2 to model pensioner incomes under the single tier but there are too few cases where individuals would have claimed derived entitlement to basic state pension under the current system to make a robust assessment of the amount these individuals will receive in 2016/17.
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people reaching state pension age in 2016-17 who are (a) widowed and (b) divorced would receive a lower amount in pension as a result of no longer being able to claim based on their partner's contribution. [157824]
Steve Webb: The Department estimates that in 2020 fewer than 30,000 widowed individuals will be affected by the loss of derived entitlement to a basic state pension, based upon the national insurance record of their spouse or civil partner.
Some of these individuals would be eligible for guarantee credit were the current arrangements to remain in place and so they may see no change in their overall income.
The Department uses PENSIM2 to model pensioner incomes under the single tier but there are top few cases of the number of widows who would have claimed derived entitlement to basic state pension under the current system to make a robust assessment of numbers in 2016. PENSIM2 is not able to estimate the number of divorced individuals who would be affected by the policy because it does not distinguish them from people claiming a Category A basic state pension in their own right.
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Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people reaching state pension age in 2016-17 will receive a lower amount in state pension as a result of no longer being able to claim a pension based on their partner's contribution. [157825]
Steve Webb: The Department estimates that in 2020 fewer than 40,000 married and widowed individuals will be affected by the loss of derived entitlement to a basic state pension, based upon the national insurance record of their spouse or civil partner.
Some of these individuals would be eligible for guarantee credit were the current arrangements to remain in place and so they may see no change in their overall income.
The Department uses PENSIM2 to model pensioner incomes under the single tier but there are too few cases where individuals would have claimed derived entitlement to basic State Pension under the current system to make a robust assessment of numbers in 2016-17.
Travel
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible claimed reimbursement for travel subsistence expenses in each of the last five years; what the total cost was of such claims; and what the monetary value was of the 20 highest subsistence claims in each such year. [155419]
Mr Hoban: The Department for Work and Pensions reimburses subsistence where employees on official business, away from their normal office, incur additional costs.
From April 2012, reimbursement of subsistence is based on receipted actual costs, up to a maximum of £5 for lunch and £20 for an evening meal when staying away from home overnight. The exception is where an employee is staying with family or friends overnight, for which an allowance is paid of £25 per night.
In 2012-13, 30,345 employees, out of a work force of approximately 100,000, claimed subsistence. DWP has offices across the United Kingdom, requiring substantial amounts of travel.
The total cost to the Department and its non-departmental public bodies of travel subsistence claims in each of the last five years is set out in the following tables:
| 2008-09 | ||
| Organisation | Number of employees claiming subsistence | Total cost (£) |
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| 2009-10 | ||
| Organisation | Number of employees claiming subsistence | Total cost (£) |
| 2010-11 | ||
| Organisation | Number of employees claiming subsistence | Total cost (£) |
| 2011-12 | ||
| Organisation | Number of employees claiming subsistence | Total cost (£) |
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| 2012-13 | ||
| Organisation | Number of employees claiming subsistence | Total cost (£) |
| (1) Information not available. (2) No payments for subsistence. (3) Information not provided. (4) HSE figures include the cost of legitimate overseas hotel accommodation incurred while on official business, which cannot be split without incurring disproportionate cost. (5) Remploy information is only available from April 2009 to February 2013. March 2013 information is not yet available. | ||
It is not possible to provide the monetary value of the 20 highest subsistence claims in each such year for Remploy or the Pensions Advisory Service, without incurring disproportionate cost.
For the Department we have provided the monetary value of the 20 highest subsistence claims in 2012-13. To provide the same analysis for earlier years would incur disproportionate cost and would require interrogation of around two million individual claims submitted during the period.
The following tables provide the information that is available for the Department and its non-departmental public bodies:
| £ | ||||
| CMG | HSE | Independent Living Fund | The Pensions Regulator | |
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5 Jun 2013 : Column 1212W
| £ | |||||
| DWP | CMG | HSE | Independent Living Fund | The Pensions Regulator | |
| (1) Information not provided | |||||
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on ministerial travel by (a) Government Car Service, (b) private hire vehicles, (c) taxis, (d) rail, (e) aviation and (f) other means in each year of the current parliament. [157558]
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Mr Hoban: Section 10 of the ministerial code provides guidance on travel for Ministers and makes clear that Ministers must ensure that they always make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements.
The DWP's business travel policy actively discourages travel but, where travel is deemed appropriate, the most cost effective modes of transport should be used.
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For comparative purposes, in previous tax years the Department spent £428,800 in 2008/09 and £506,726 in 2009/10 on the Government Car Service alone.
| £ | |||||||
| Year | Government Car Service | Private hire vehicles | Taxis | Rail | Aviation | Other | Total |
| (1) Covers the period from April 2012 to end September 2012. From 1 October 2013 the department has used an official vehicle for ministerial journeys for officials to use for official journeys. | |||||||
Universal Benefit
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his Department's publication, Direct Payment Demonstration Project: Learning and Payments figures-May 2013, what assessment he has made of the learning and payment figures published in that report. [157663]
Mr Hoban: The Direct Payment Demonstration projects have and continue to provide much valuable live learning about how best to design that aspect of universal credit for tenants and landlords.
To date, the learning has had a direct influence on the design for universal credit in the areas of personal budgeting support, the alternative payment arrangements and the rent arrears trigger.
The figures contained in last month's release indicated that payment collection rates have increased and landlords have got better at managing rent arrears and the switchback process. The volume of tenants paid by direct payment has remained relatively constant but switchbacks have increased. These safeguards have helped contain arrears and lessons have been learnt about the support tenants who fall behind on their rent may need.
As the financial position of tenants will change over the course of the projects, the detailed rent account analysis is important to properly understand the impacts of direct payment on landlords and tenants. The rent account analysis will assess the impact of direct payments on landlord cash flows and will form part of the final evaluation report produced as part of the independent evaluation being conducted by the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research. The final report is expected to be published in the spring of 2014.
It is important to understand that the findings from the projects are not indicative of what will happen in universal credit. While the scale of the change is greater, the new safeguards and support processes will be in place for tenants and landlords.
Universal Credit
Mr Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the potential savings to his Department of the introduction of housing costs contributions under universal credit. [157646]
Steve Webb: It has long been a feature of the benefits system that someone living in a claimant's home should be expected to contribute towards the rent. This principle will be carried forward into universal credit, although the system will be both simpler and provide improved work incentives. The revised approach is not expected to deliver savings.
It is not possible to isolate the impact of the housing cost contribution from the other constituent parts of universal credit. This means that it is not possible to provide an estimate of the financial effects of the housing cost contribution. It is important to note that non-dependants may be better off in universal credit, compared to the current system. For example, a non-dependant working 30 hours per week at the national minimum wage of £6.31 (from October) would be expected to make a flat rate contribution of £68 per month towards the rent under Universal Credit, compared to about £185.90 under current rules.
Work Capability Assessment: Audio Recordings
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of work capability assessments have been audio-recorded since the facility was made available. [157664]
Mr Hoban: Since September 2011 Atos Healthcare have completed 2,056 audio-recorded work capability assessments.
During that period 1,446,515 face to face work capability assessments (for both ESA and IB reassessments) have been completed.
Therefore, the proportion of recorded assessments is 0.14%.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department takes to inform people undertaking a work capability assessment of the facility to have an audio recording of the assessment. [157665]
Mr Hoban: Information for claimants about requesting an audio recording of their work capability assessment is available on the Atos Healthcare websites.
DWP and Atos Healthcare are taking steps to amend and improve their communication with claimants to provide more information about the recording facility and how to request a recorded assessment when their work capability assessment process commences.
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DWP's evaluation of audio recording continues—and the evaluation period has been extended until the end of the summer to enable the gathering of additional data. The Department will assess this evidence to see the impact of audio recording on the quality of assessments and to what extent claimants request the facility. These findings will inform ongoing policy development.
Work Programme
Mr McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people on the Work programme have (a) received one-to-one support and (b) attended group sessions to date. [157694]
Mr Hoban: The data requested are not readily available and to provide them would incur disproportionate costs.
Mr McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures his Department used to evaluate the performance success of companies delivering the Work programme in 2012-13. [157950]
Mr Hoban: The prime measures of success are the proportions of participants in each contract area who secure sustained employment and leave benefit. There are various ways in which these proportions can be measured, for example in-year, by cohort or over the life of the programme, and the Department has been considering advice on the most appropriate and meaningful. Statistics covering referrals, attachments and job outcomes to March 2013 will be published on 27 June 2013.
Mr McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what amount of government funding was allocated to companies delivering the Work programme in (a) 2012-13 and (b) all previous years. [157951]
Mr Hoban: The total paid to Work programme providers in the UK is £377.9 million from the start of the programme through to 30 July 2012, i.e. the period covered by the first Statistical Release.
Further information on spend up to the end of March 2013 is scheduled to be available to coincide with the next planned Statistical Release on 27 June 2013.
Mr McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many companies are involved in delivering the Work programme as (a) prime contractors and (b) sub-contractors. [157952]
Mr Hoban: There are 18 prime providers delivering the Work programme, and according to the Department's most recent records there are 785 subcontractors. A list of Work programme prime providers and their subcontractors is available on the GOV.UK website via:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/organisations-that-supply-services-to-the-work-programme-providers
Mr McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people on the Work programme have been placed in employment lasting over six months. [158055]
Mr Hoban:
Statistics on how many people in on the Work programme have been placed in employment lasting over six months are shown in the following
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tables. Statistics covering referrals, attachments and job outcomes to March 2013 will be published on 27 June 2013.
| Number of Work programme job outcomes for payment groups 1, 2 and 9 by employment duration as at 31 July 2012 | |||
| Area | Total | 26 weeks up to 50 weeks | 50 weeks or over |
| Number of Work programme job outcomes for payment groups 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 by employment duration as at 31 July 2012 | |||
| Area | Total | 25 weeks up to 49 weeks | 49 weeks or over |
| Notes: 1. Figures are cumulative and are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Job Outcomes: The Work Programme IT payment system update went live in April 2012. All outcomes prior to this were recorded clerically and uploaded to the system during April and May 2012. The outcome date for these is based on the date the information was uploaded to the system. For job outcomes recorded after this, outcome dates are based on the date that payments were made to providers following pre-payment validation processes to confirm job outcomes. The manual pre-payment validation checks may take time to conduct resulting in a delay between the job outcome being claimed and the date the payment is made to providers, and hence recorded in the statistics. Validation procedures continue to improve to streamline the process as issues are identified. For further details around issues and delays to job outcome payments please see the information note available on the WP landing page: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=wp 3. Payment groups are assigned by Jobcentre Plus, on the basis of a claimant's circumstances, and benefit they receive. A small number of claimants appear in an incorrect group caused by the way information is recorded on the administrative system. Details of the payment groups 1-8 can be found at Annex 1 of the following document: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/wp-pg-chapter-9.pdf 4. Payment group 9 is the JSA Ex-Offender Day 1 Mandation group and a Job Outcome payment can be claimed at 26 weeks. 5. Employment duration is defined as the number of weeks required to claim a Job Outcome plus the number of weeks for which sustainment payments have been made. For example a job outcome paid for a customer in Payment Group 1 with one additional sustainment payment will have been in employment for 30 weeks up to 34 weeks. 6. A Job Outcome payment can be claimed when: There has been a either continuous or cumulative period of employment (Job Outcome payment trigger point) of 13 weeks for Payment Groups 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 and 26 weeks for Payment Groups 1, 2 and 9; A participant has been in employment and off benefit in each week of the period (a week is defined as a seven-day period); and The Job Outcome is after the Job Start date, i.e. a Job Outcome payment can only be claimed when a participant starts a job after Attachment Activity has been recorded on DWP prescribed IT or clerical system. 7. Sustainment payments: Providers can only claim a Sustainment payment where: A Job Outcome has been reported; Four continuous weeks in employment have elapsed between the Job Outcome payment date and the Sustainment payment date, or between the previous Sustainment payment date and the current Sustainment payment date. A participant has been in employment and off benefit each week (a week is defined as a seven-day period) in the four-week period; and 15 working days have passed since the last date of the period being claimed. Following a break in employment after the 104 weeks Allotted Time providers will no longer be eligible to receive a Sustainment payment (a break is defined as when a participant leaves employment for two days or more, even if they remain off benefit). Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate (IGS) | |||
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Education
Free Schools: Yorkshire and the Humber
Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many applications to set up a free school have been made in (a) Haltemprice and Howden constituency, (b) East Yorkshire and (c) Yorkshire and Humber in the last 12 months; and how many such applications (i) have been accepted, (ii) have been rejected and (iii) are still under consideration. [157962]
Mr Timpson: The following table shows the number of applications that the Department has received to open a free school in the Haltemprice and Howden constituency, East Riding of Yorkshire local authority and the Yorkshire and the Humber region in the last 12 months:
| Numbers of free school applications | ||||
| Received | Accepted | Rejected | Under consideration | |
In answering this question we have interpreted East Yorkshire to mean East Riding of Yorkshire local authority.
Primary Education
Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the role of maintained federations in providing a staging post for small primary schools that are not immediately equipped to take on academy status. [157633]
Mr Laws: Evidence shows that all schools can benefit from formal collaboration. We have therefore ensured the regulatory framework exists to enable maintained schools to federate, should they wish to do so. We believe that the benefits of schools working together can generally be most fully realised through the freedoms and autonomy offered by academy status. Our focus is on improving guidance and resources and promoting the growth of strong academy chains and sponsors so that no school feels ill-equipped to take on academy status.
Secondary Education: Admissions
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children in (a) England and (b) Harlow constituency secured places at (i) their first choice and (ii) one of their top three choices of secondary school in each year since 1997. [157710]
Mr Laws:
The Department collects data from local authorities on how many families received an offer of a place at one of their preferred secondary schools, under the Information as to Provision of Education (England) Regulations 2008. These data were collected for the first time on National Offer Day, 3 March 2008, in relation to offers for entry into the 2008/09 academic year. The
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data have been collected, and published, annually since then. The table provided therefore gives figures from 2008 onwards.
These data are collected at local authority level only so data for Harlow parliamentary constituency are not available. Figures for England and the local authority of Essex, which includes Harlow parliamentary constituency are given as follows.
| Applications and offers for entry to secondary schools in England and Essex local authority, academic years 2008/09 to 2013/14 | ||||
| Essex LA | England | |||
| Percentage of children offered: | ||||
| First preference school | One of top three preferences | First preference school | One of top three preferences | |
| Note: Data collected from local authorities on National Offers Day each year in early March. | ||||
The figures for each year were published in an annual Statistical First Release ‘Secondary school applications and offers in England'. Those for the most recent three years can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/series/statistics-school-applications
Those for the years 2008 to 2010 can be found on the national archives website at:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151655/http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics?page=1
Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children in (a) England and (b) Harlow constituency did not secure a place at any of their choices of secondary school in the most recent application period. [157711]
Mr Laws: Data on the proportion of pupils being offered or not offered a place at one of their preferred schools are published in the annual Statistical First Release ‘Secondary school applications and offers in England’. These data are collected at local authority level only so data for Harlow parliamentary constituency are not available. Figures for England and the local authority of Essex, which includes Harlow parliamentary constituency, are given in the table:
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These figures were published on 26 March 2013 in the Statistical First Release ‘Secondary school applications and offers in England: March 2013’, which is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/secondary-school-applications-and-offers-in-england-march-2013
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Social Networking
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance he has issued to special advisers in his Department on use of Twitter to announce or discuss official government business. [157880]
Elizabeth Truss: All special advisers are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.