Technology: Companies
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the (a) access to finance for UK tech companies and (b) relative competitiveness of the UK as a base for securing finance and initial public offerings for tech companies. [164905]
Michael Fallon: The Information Economy Strategy, published on 14 June 2013, considered the barriers potentially faced by technology start-ups including accessing finance. The Information Economy Council will work with the various tech clusters in the UK to identify common barriers to growth. This work will include consideration of access to finance issues. On initial public offerings, the Government are helping to increase companies' access to funding from the public equity markets by:
working with the London Stock Exchange to develop its new ‘high growth' segment;
allowing shares from growth markets to be included in ISAs; and
announcing in the March Budget the intention to remove stamp duty from the trading of shares on growth markets.
15 July 2013 : Column 555W
York College
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding was allocated to York College by the Skills Funding Agency and the Young People's Learning Agency in (a) cash and (b) real terms in each year since 2010-11. [163900]
Matthew Hancock: The Skills Funding Agency is responsible for the allocation of funding to further education colleges for post-19 education and training, and for apprenticeships for people aged 16 and over. The Young People's Learning Agency has been replaced by the Education Funding Agency (EFA) which provides funding for education for learners between the ages of three and 19. The following tables provide the information requested.
15 July 2013 : Column 556W
Real terms figures: These figures have been calculated using HM Treasury deflators at 2012/13 prices, last updated 27 June 2013.
Table 1 details the allocation of funding to York College from the Young People Learning Agency (YPLA) and the Education Funding Agency (EFA) since 2010/11. Funding is based on historic student numbers, therefore when student numbers fall the funding allocation will also fall. It is this figure that the EFA uses to calculate transitional protection and funding formula protection. These additional funding elements are used to protect a college's funding allocation when new funding methodologies and policies are introduced.
| Table 1 | |||||
| Student numbers (16 to 18 and 19 to 24) | YPLA/EFA allocation (excludes bursary funding)—Cash (£) | Funding per student(2 )(£) | YPLA/EFA allocation (excludes bursary funding) at 2012/13 prices—Real terms (£) | Funding per Student at 2012/13 price(2)—Real Terms (£) | |
| (1) 16 to18 students/allocation/funding only; 19 to 24-year-old data not available. (2) Funding per student excludes bursary funding, transitional protection funding, formula protection funding and high needs funding. (3) 2010/11 detailed data are not available to recalculate funding per student for the new methodology. This figure will include high needs funding. | |||||
Table 2 sets out funding allocations for 2012/13 and 2013/14 to York College by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) for post-19 FE and skills.
| Table 2 | |||
| Academic year | 19+ Cash allocation(1) (£) | Real terms 2013/14(2)()(£) | |
| (1) Skills Funding Agency allocation data for 19+ participation, additional learning support and discretionary learner support. (2) These figures have been calculated using HM Treasury deflators, last updated 27 June 2013. (3) 24+ Advanced learning loans were introduced in 2013/14. (4) Previous PQs provided data up to 2011/12 academic year. | |||
Cabinet Office
Average Earnings: Clwyd
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average weekly gross earnings of full-time employed (a) men and (b) women in Vale of Clwyd constituency was in each year since 2006-07 (i) in cash terms and (ii) at constant prices. [165171]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated July 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions. Parliamentary Question 165170 asks the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate the UK Statistics Authority has made of the median gross weekly earnings of (a) men and (b) women employed (i) full-time and (ii) part-time in (A) Denbighshire Local Authority and (B) Vale of Clwyd constituency in each year since 1997 (1) in cash terms and (2) at 2013 prices. Parliamentary Question 165171 asks the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average weekly gross earnings of full-time employed (a) men and (b) women in Vale of Clwyd constituency was in each year since 2006-07 (i) in cash terms and (ii) at constant prices.
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Weekly levels of earnings are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence.
The following tables show estimates of median gross weekly earnings in the Denbighshire local authority and Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency from 1997 to 2012, the latest period for which results are available. Figures are provided for full-time males, full-time females, part-time males and part-time females and are given separately in cash terms and in 2013 prices.
This answer therefore provides the information requested in both Parliamentary Questions.
15 July 2013 : Column 557W
15 July 2013 : Column 558W
| Median gross weekly earnings for employees(1) in Denbighshire local authority and Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency between April 1997 and April 2012 | ||||
| £ cash prices | ||||
| Full-time males | Full-time females | |||
| Denbighshire local authority | Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency | Denbighshire local authority | Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency | |
| Part-time males | Part-time females | |||
| Denbighshire local authority | Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency | Denbighshire local authority | Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency | |
| 1 Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. 2 2004 results excluding supplementary survey for comparison with 2003. 3 2004 results including supplementary survey designed to improve coverage of the survey (for more information see ONS website: www.ons.gov.uk). 4 2006 results with methodology consistent with 2005. 5 2006 results with methodology consistent with 2007. 6 2011 results based on Standard Occupational Classification 2000. 7 2011 results based on Standard Occupational Trusted Classification 2010. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an average of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population average to be within the range 180-220. Key CV < = 5% * CV > 5% and <= 10% ** CV > 10% and <= 20% X Unreliable due to small sample sizes Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics | ||||
Charities Act 2006
Mr Carswell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Charities Act 2006 for the purpose of derogating provisions currently used to limit the activities of religious groups. [164643]
Mr Hurd:
Religious charities of all faiths have an important role to play in building a bigger, stronger
15 July 2013 : Column 559W
society. The vast majority of religious organisations have no difficulty meeting the requirements of charity status.
The Public Administration Select Committee's Third Report of Session 2013-14: “The role of the Charity Commission and ‘public benefit’: Post legislative scrutiny of the Charities Act 2006” recommended that the removal of the presumption of public benefit in the Charities Act 2006 be repealed, along with the Charity Commission's statutory public benefit objective. The Government will publish their response to the report shortly.
Consultants
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how much (a) he and (b) officials in his Department spent on external assistance to prepare for (i) appearances before select committees and (ii) contact with the media in (A) 2011-12 and (B) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement; [164659]
(2) how much (a) the Deputy Prime Minister and (b) officials in his Office spent on external assistance to prepare for (i) appearances before select committees and (ii) contact with the media in (A) 2011-12 and (B) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement; [164663]
(3) how much (a) the Prime Minister and (b) officials in No. 10 Downing Street spent on external assistance to prepare for (i) appearances before select committees and (ii) contact with the media in (A) 2011-12 and (B) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [164675]
Mr Maude: The Prime Minister's Office and the Deputy Prime Minister's Office are integral parts of the Cabinet Office and therefore the answer given is for the whole of the Cabinet Office.
The information requested is not held centrally. However, I am not aware of any costs relating to external assistance in preparing for Select Committees or contact with the media being incurred within the Department.
Crown Prosecution Service
Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many applicants shortlisted for the role of Director of Public Prosecutions were (a) women and (b) from a minority ethnic background. [164517]
15 July 2013 : Column 560W
Mr Maude: As was the case under the previous Administration, when the number of applicants were few such breakdowns are not normally provided.
Dual Mandate
Nigel Mills: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the contribution of the Minister of State for Northern Ireland on 9 July 2013, Official Report, column 311, on the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, what his policy is on whether a Member of the European Parliament should be able to be a member of (a) the Northern Ireland Assembly, (b) the Scottish Parliament and (c) the Welsh Assembly. [165365]
Miss Chloe Smith: There is no restriction on Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly, standing for election to become a Member of the European Parliament. The Government have no plans to change this policy.
Employment: Females
Jessica Morden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of women were working in the (a) public sector and (b) private sector in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012. [165289]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated July 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what proportion of women were working in the (a) public sector and (b) private sector in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012. (165289)
The table shows Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates of the number and proportion of women working in the public and private sector, for the period 2010 to 2012.
In the LFS the distinction between public and private sector is based on respondents' views about the organisation for which they work. The public sector estimates provided do not correspond to official Public Sector Employment estimates. Those are derived directly from employers and are based on National Accounts definitions, but do not include a gender breakdown.
| Number and proportion of women in the public and private sector, four quarter averages, 2010 to 2012 | |||||||
| Thousand and percentage | |||||||
| All in employment | |||||||
| Level | As a percentage of population | ||||||
| Female population aged 16 and over | Total(1) | Public sector(2) | Private sector | Total(1) | Public sector(2) | Private sector | |
| (1 )Includes those that did not state their sector. (2) In the LFS the distinction between public and private sector is based on respondents' views about the organisation for which they work. The public sector estimates provided here do not correspond to the official public sector employment. Source: Labour Force Survey (LFS). | |||||||
Food
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of all food procured for his Department was sourced from (a) British producers, (b) small and medium-sized enterprises and (c) producers which met British buying standards in the latest period for which figures are available. [164758]
15 July 2013 : Column 561W
Miss Chloe Smith: All of the Department's meat, poultry and milk come from UK producers. Government Buying Standards (GBS) are mandatory for central Government.
Our facilities management provider on our central London estate uses SMEs for 69% of their business by cost.
Grant Thornton
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department has spent on contracts with Grant Thornton in each year since 2008. [165685]
Mr Maude: Cabinet Office has no record of payments made to Grant Thornton in the period from 2008 to date.
Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder information on the contracts they award
www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/
In addition, Departments publish details of spend in excess of £10,000.
Population
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the answer of 11 February 2013, Official Report, column 210W, on population, when he expects to publish the data requested. [164682]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Glen Watson, dated July 2013:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 11 February 2013, Official Report, column 210W, on population, when he expects to publish the data requested. 164682.
The information you have requested is not available. This will be published in September 2013.
Public Appointments
Seema Malhotra: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) when he last published statistics on the number of (a) women, (b) ethnic minorities and (c) disabled people on public boards; [165059]
(2) how many (a) women, (b) ethnic minorities and (c) disabled people were appointed to the public boards for which he is responsible in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012, (iv) 2013 and (v) in total. [165060]
Mr Maude [holding answer 12 July 2013]: The Commissioner for Public Appointments collates and publishes diversity statistics annually. The latest figures for 2012-13 in relation to diversity, ethnicity and disability can be found on his website at
http://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk
Copies are also available in the Library of the House.
15 July 2013 : Column 562W
This is also the first year that the Government have published their own statistics on the gender diversity of public appointments. In 2012-13 37% of new public appointments were women. A breakdown by Departments can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/drive-to-increase-number-of-women-on-public-boards
Senior Civil Servants: Ethnic Groups
Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to ensure that there will be at least one Black, Asian and minority ethnic permanent secretary by 2015. [165327]
Mr Maude: Appointments at permanent secretary level, as is the case for elsewhere in the civil service, must be made on merit. As part of the Civil Service Reform programme we are working to reform talent management which has been lacking.
Third Sector: Business
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will publish an evaluation of the Business Connectors pilots; and if he will make a statement. [165132]
Mr Hurd: The evaluation of the Business Connectors pilots was undertaken by Business in the Community (BITC). The evaluation is a technical document used to inform the development of the programme and was therefore not published by BITC. However, they are happy to provide it to anyone requesting a copy and have agreed to make it available on their website. I have placed a copy in the Library of the House.
Work and Pensions
Disability Living Allowance
Mr Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many infants under the age of 3 years old in England receives the care component of disability living allowance; [165149]
(2) how many children in England currently receive the (a) care and (b) mobility component of disability living allowance. [165155]
Esther McVey: The following table shows numbers of disability living allowance (DLA) recipients under three years old, by care award type, November 2012:
| DLA care component rate | Recipients |
| Notes: 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10; totals may not sum due to rounding. 2. Data shows the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and excludes cases where the payment has been suspended e.g. if they are in hospital. Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate, 100% WPLS | |
15 July 2013 : Column 563W
The latest data showing how many children under the age of 16 currently receive the care and mobility components of disability living allowance can be found at:
http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/tabtool.html
Guidance on how to use the tabulation tool is detailed on the contents page.
Disability Living Allowance: Females
Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people who will be moved from (a) higher and (b) middle rates of disability living allowance to the lower rate of personal independence payment in (i) the UK and (ii) Wales are female. [165309]
Esther McVey: The available information on personal independence payments is published in a reassessments and impacts briefing note. This can be found on the Government's website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/180964/pip-reassessments-and-impacts.pdf
The available information on the impact of personal independence payments by gender is published in the Equality Impact Assessment. This can be found on the Government's website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/174970/eia-dla-reform-wr2011.pdf.pdf
Food
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of all food procured for his Department was sourced from (a) British producers, (b) small and medium-sized enterprises and (c) producers which met British buying standards in the latest period for which figures are available. [164777]
Mr Hoban: Since 1998 the Department for Work and Pensions has occupied the majority of its accommodation under a private finance initiative (PFI) known as the PRIME contract. Under the terms of this PFI the Department leases back fully serviced accommodation from its private sector partner Telereal Trillium which includes the provision of all catering services through their service partner, Compass Group, trading as Eurest. They can confirm that for the year 2012-13 (to date) the percentage of food procured for the DWP catering contract that has been produced in the UK is 57%. In the previous year 2011-12 it was 36%. However, it should be noted that there are considerable volumes of non-indigenous products purchased including; tea, coffee, rice, citrus and exotic fruits. In addition they also purchase out of UK season, fruits and vegetables.
They procure food from 44 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the DWP contract and all food provided meets the British buying standards.
Industrial Health and Safety
Mr Bailey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the recommendations of the Löftstedt Report into Reclaiming health and safety for all: An independent review of health and safety
15 July 2013 : Column 564W
legislation, published in November 2011, what steps he is taking to extend the Independent Regulation Panel's remit to include COMAH related regulatory decisions. [165523]
Mr Hoban: There are specific routes to raise concerns about most of HSE's regulatory activities in higher hazard industries including those covered by COMAH. The Independent Regulatory Challenge panel considers other regulatory decisions not covered by these dispute processes.
In response to the Better Regulations Executive’s Focus on Enforcement Review of the chemicals (COMAH) sector, HSE has committed to make improvements to the regime which, among other things, will give operators greater clarity and confidence in the arrangements for challenging regulatory and cost recovery decisions.
Industrial Health and Safety: Scotland
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many workplace inspections are planned by the Health and Safety Executive for Scotland; and how many such inspections will be carried out in the (a) agricultural sector and (b) construction sector. [165380]
Mr Hoban: In 2013-14, HSE plans to undertake approximately 2,250 workplace inspections in Scotland.
HSE does not routinely proactively inspect farms as this has not been found to be the most effective intervention technique and other approaches, such as holding Safety and Health Awareness Days are used instead. Therefore, no targets have been set for the numbers of inspections in the agriculture sector for 2013-14.
HSE plans to undertake approximately 950 to 1,000 inspections in the construction sector in Scotland in 2013-14.
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many workplace inspections were carried out by the Health and Safety Executive for Scotland in each year since 2010; and how many such inspections were carried out in the (a) agricultural sector and (b) construction sector. [165382]
Mr Hoban: The figures for workplace inspections carried out by the Health and Safety Executive in Scotland in 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 are shown in the table:
| 2010-11(1) | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
| (1) Prior to 2011-12, data on the numbers of inspections were not required as part of the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) performance measures and were not directly recorded. The figures for 2010-11 are, therefore, a best estimate derived from data collected at that time. | |||
Jobcentre Plus
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has undertaken of levels of job satisfaction among staff of Jobcentre Plus. [164813]
15 July 2013 : Column 565W
Mr Hoban: DWP carries out a people survey annually in October. This covers all its staff including those in Jobcentre Plus, the public facing arm of DWP. Following re-structuring, this is now known internally as work services directorate and is supported by network services directorate and benefit directorate. The survey is part of the civil service people survey (CSPS) in which all civil service Departments and agencies participate. The survey covers a range of work related indicators including work engagement which is related to job satisfaction. Engagement improved in Jobcentre Plus (work services directorate) by 3% to 49% in 2012.
Mining: Pensions
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to ensure that miners being made redundant as a result of UK Coal going into administration receive 100% of their pensions. [165386]
Steve Webb: Members with accrued rights in the two large occupational pension schemes that existed before privatisation in 1994 have their rights safeguarded up to the point of privatisation by solvency guarantees from Her Majesty's Government. Alternative schemes have been established since 1994.
If an employee of UK Coal is made redundant they will become a deferred member of their current pension scheme. What the member will get from their scheme when they take their pension will depend on which scheme they are a member of and the benefits that scheme provides.
If they are a member of the money purchase scheme they will receive the value of their benefits at that point. If they are a member of the defined benefit scheme and that scheme transfers to the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), they will receive pension compensation in place of their pension.
The PPF is a compensation scheme, whose aim is to pay a meaningful level of compensation to members. In general, the PPF pays the 100% level of pension compensation to those who have reached their scheme's normal pension age at the start of a PPF assessment period, and the 90% level of pension compensation for those below their scheme's normal pension age, subject to the compensation cap. There are other restrictions on compensation payments, such as limited indexation.
New Enterprise Allowance
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what proportion of (a) jobseeker's allowance recipients currently eligible for the new enterprise allowance (NEA), (b) people referred to the NEA in the last year, (c) recipients of the NEA in the last year and (d) NEA recipients have established a business to date who are over 50 years old; [165385]
(2) how many people over 50 years old have been referred to the new enterprise allowance scheme in the last 12 months; and what proportion this figure is of all jobseeker's allowance recipients over 50 years old; [165389]
(3) what proportion of eligible jobseeker's allowance recipients have been referred to the new enterprise allowance scheme in the last 12 months. [165390]
15 July 2013 : Column 566W
Mr Hoban: All JSA claimants who are not currently mandated to the Work programme are eligible for the new enterprise allowance (NEA).
The Department does not publish data on referrals to NEA. The number of mentor starts and allowance starts, broken down by age group is available on:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/195957/pwp_gbw_feb13.pdf.pdf
The data cover the period April 2011 to the end of November 2012 and includes a monthly breakdown.
The age breakdown of NEA participation shows that between April 2011 and November 2012, the over 50s represent 22% of all mentor starts, and 24% of all allowance claims.
Social Security Benefits
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time taken for a benefit applicant to receive written notification of the outcome of an application was in each of the last three years. [164812]
Mr Hoban: As benefit decisions are written to the customer, details of the additional time it takes these decisions to be processed through the Royal Mail are not held. Therefore, the only information that can be provided is the average time taken to process the application, which ends when the decision is finalised.
This is referred to as the actual average clearance time (AACT). Data for last three years are shown in the following table.
| Claims actual average clearance time (AACT) | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 |
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time taken by his Department and its agencies to consider an application for benefit was (a) in 2008 and (b) in the most recent period for which figures are available. [164814]
Mr Hoban: The data available are the Average Actual Clearance Time (AACT) which is the average time taken between an application being made and the date the customer was notified of the decision on their claim.
Data are available by operational year so the figures shown for 2008 are for the operational year 2008-09. The latest data available are for the current year to date to June.
15 July 2013 : Column 567W
| Claims Actual Average Clearance Time (AACT) | 2008-09 | 13/14 June YTD |
Unfortunately no data for pension credit or state pension was available back to 2008.
Universal Credit
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of covering (a) 75 per cent and (b) 80 percent of eligible childcare costs for all recipients of universal credit. [162779]
Mr Hoban: The information is as follows:
Covering 75% of eligible child care costs for all families in receipt of universal credit where both parents (or a single parent) work is estimated to cost around £100 million;
Covering 80% of eligible child care costs for all families in receipt of universal credit where both parents (or a single parent) work is estimated to cost around £300 million.
All figures are additional to the costs of universal credit set out in the autumn statement of 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-882, which included coverage of 70% of eligible child care costs for all families where both parents (or a single parent) work:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/185454/as2012_policy_costings.pdf.pdf
As set out in the Budget 2013, the Government will spend an additional £200 million on child care support through universal credit, which is equivalent to providing support for 85% of eligible child care costs where the lone parent or both earners in a couple work and pay income tax. This will be introduced from April 2016.
All figures refer to universal credit in steady state, when migration has been completed and universal credit has been fully rolled out, and are rounded to the nearest £100 million.
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of decreasing the universal taper rate to (a) 60 per cent and (b) 55 per cent. [164520]
Mr Hoban: The aim of universal credit is to encourage work. The current taper rate maximises the financial reward of working each extra hour, while remaining affordable.
15 July 2013 : Column 568W
Decreasing the taper rate from 65% to 60% is estimated to cost an additional £1.5 billion.
Decreasing the taper rate from 65% to 55% is estimated to cost an additional £3.3 billion.
All costs refer to universal credit in steady state, when migration has been completed and universal credit has been fully rolled out, are rounded to the nearest £0.1 billion and are expressed in 2014-15 prices.
This analysis has been modelled using the Department's Policy Simulation Model, using the Family Resources Survey data, 2010-11.
These figures do not take account of any potential increase in employment as a result of a decreased taper rate and are in line with the Universal Credit Impact Assessment published in December 2012.
Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who are financially disadvantaged in (a) the UK and (b) Wales as a result of the introduction of universal credit; and what proportion of such people are female. [165310]
Mr Hoban: Transitional protection will be offered to claimants who are moved from legacy benefits to universal credit where their circumstances have otherwise remained the same, to ensure that they do not receive less as a result of their move to universal credit.
Further details of the impacts of universal credit can be found in the most recently published impact assessment (December 2012), available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/174996/universal-credit-wr2011-ia.pdf.pdf
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the scalability for national roll-out of the initial IT system being used to support the delivery of universal credit in the current pathfinders. [165383]
Mr Hoban: Performance testing undertaken as part of the implementation of Pathfinder has confirmed that the existing universal credit infrastructure can support the progressive national roll-out announced to Parliament on 10 July 2013. We will set out more details of our development plan in the autumn.
Work Programme
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged over 50 and in receipt of employment and support allowance were referred to the Work programme in its first two years; and how many such people have secured a sustained job outcome. [165384]
Mr Hoban: The information requested is given in the following table:
15 July 2013 : Column 569W
15 July 2013 : Column 570W
| Number(1) of Work programme referrals(2) and job outcomes(3,4) for claimants aged over 50(5) and in the employment support allowance (ESA) payment groups(6):1 June 2011 to 31 March 2013(7) | |
| Total | |
| (1) Figures are cumulative and are rounded to the nearest 10. (2) Referrals: Referrals shown are ‘net’ referrals which do not include rejections, cancellations or referrals to ESA information sessions. (3) 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: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/series/work-programme-statistics--2 (4) A job outcome payment can be claimed when there has been a either a continuous or cumulative period of employment of at least 13 weeks for the ESA payment groups. (5) Age: Age is fixed at the time of referral. (6) Payment group: Payment groups are assigned by Jobcentre Plus, on the basis of a claimant's circumstances, and benefit they receive. For more information on the payment groups, when they commenced and inconsistencies please see the information note available on the WP landing page. (7) Data to 31 March 2013 are the latest information available. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate (IGS) | |