Drugs: Crime
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answers of 25 April 2013, Official Report, columns 1298-1302W, if he will provide the latest data available on the number of offenders cautioned for and found guilty of (a) possession of drugs offences and (b) cannabis possession offences in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [169781]
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Damian Green: The number of cautions given for drugs offences has fallen as has the number of those being given for the offence of cannabis possession. The overall use of cautions is also declining.
The decision whether to offer a caution is an operational matter for the police and in some circumstances the CPS depending on the circumstances of the offence and offender. The Government are clear that serious offences should always be brought to court, and to ensure that there is increased public confidence in the justice system, recently announced changes will stop the use of cautions for indictable-only offences and certain serious either way offences unless there are exceptional circumstances and a senior police officer, as well as the CPS for certain cases, has agreed that a caution should be administered. We are making these changes to ensure that those who admit to serious offences are dealt with appropriately.
Data detailing the number of offenders cautioned for all drug offences and for cannabis possession offences in England and Wales, from 2007 to 2012 can be viewed in Table 1. Data detailing the number of offenders convicted of all drug offences, together with separate data for those convicted of possession of cannabis in England and Wales, 2007 to 2012 can be viewed in Table 2.
| Table 1: Offenders cautioned for possession of drugs offences, England and Wales, 2007-121, 2, 3 | ||||||
| Offence | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| 1 The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When an offender has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence. 2 From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These figures have been included in the totals. 3 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 4 Data includes S.5(2) and schedule 4 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971—“Having possession of a controlled drug—Cannabis or cannabis resin”. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. | ||||||
| Table 2: Offenders found guilty at all courts of possession of drugs offences, England and Wales, 2007-121, 2 | ||||||
| Offence | 2007 | 20083 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
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| 1 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 2 The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 3 Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. 4 Data includes S.5(2) and schedule 4 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971—“Having possession of a controlled drug—Cannabis or cannabis resin”. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. |
Legal Aid Scheme
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the effects of changes to legal aid on small and medium-sized firms of solicitors. [170294]
Mr Vara: On 5 September 2013 the Government published their response to the ‘Transforming Legal Aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system’ consultation, and, simultaneously, published proposals for further consultation on a modified model of procurement for criminal legal aid and two options for revising the criminal advocacy fee scheme. This response, ‘Transforming Legal Aid; Next Steps’, and the seven accompanying impact assessments outline our assessment of the impact on micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (as defined under the Companies Act 2006), which constitute the majority of current legal aid providers.
Although we have decided to proceed with the proposed reforms to civil fees, this is in the context of the outcome of the 2013 civil legal aid tender process for contracts, which reflected the scope reforms introduced by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). Overall, this tender was significantly oversubscribed which indicates that there currently remains a strong appetite among providers to do legal aid work. This does not tell us whether there will be a sufficient number of providers in the market in the long term, or the actual current viability of any contracted firm or how this might be impacted by the fee changes. However, it does suggest that there is currently competition for work and therefore scope for at least some providers to withdraw from the market while still maintaining a sustainable market supply.
We have been clear we must continue to bear down on the cost of legal aid, including around £1 billion of taxpayers' money spent on criminal legal aid a year, to ensure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayer. Even after these latest proposals we will have one of the most generous legal aid systems in the world, costing around £1.5 billion a year.
Legal Profession: Complaints
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many complaints the Legal Ombudsman decided not to investigate because they were submitted out of time in each year since 2010; [170232]
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(2) what recent representations he has received on the late submission of complaints to the Legal Ombudsman; and if he will make a statement. [170245]
Mr Vara: The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) agrees the scheme rules for the legal ombudsman with the Legal Services Board and Lord Chancellor. The scheme rules include time limits. In 2012 the OLC consulted on changes to its scheme rules including proposals to extend time limits. As a result, from 1 February 2013, time limits for accepting a complaint were extended from a year to six years from the date of act/omission, or three years from the date the complainant should reasonably have known there were grounds for complaint. This is in line with the time limits operated by the courts and other ombudsmen.
The legal ombudsman's records show that the total “out of time” closures were as follows:
2010-11: 819 (2.15% of total contacts)
2011-12: 2,106 (2.79% of total contacts)
2012-13: 1,662 (2.33% of total contacts)
April 2013 to September 2013: 376 (1.06% the total contacts).
Complaints which had received a jurisdiction check prior to 1 February 2013 were dealt with under the old scheme rules and all new complaints which had not had a jurisdiction check prior to 1 February fell under the new scheme rules.
There has not been a significant growth in number of complaints received by the legal ombudsman following the scheme rules changes. Numbers of out-of-time complaints are 55% down on the previous year's figures.
One representation has been received in the last six months on the late submission of complaints to the legal ombudsman.
Prisoners
Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to reduce offender behaviour programme waiting lists. [168065]
Jeremy Wright: We are taking steps to ensure these programmes have the maximum possible impact on reoffending.
The introduction of commissioning from 2012 has enabled the better targeting of programme provision to meet risk and need using a segmentation tool. This approach, together with other specific risk-of-harm data, helps guide the commissioning of programmes to best meet the need of each prison and region.
We have implemented changes in operating models, such as the regionalisation of psychological services to ensure that referrals are identified and managed in a consistent manner across sites, rather than historically site by site.
In relation to interventions for sex offenders in particular, a national review of sex-offender provision aims to produce a strategic plan for the management of sex offenders that will be applied nationally.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners remained in custody beyond the end of their sentence because of an error by his Department in each of the last five years. [170030]
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Jeremy Wright: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost through a trawl of individual records of prisoner releases.
Prisoners’ Release
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what proportion of prisoners were released having served less than half their sentence in prison in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement; [165411]
(2) what estimate he has made of the proportion of offenders who were sentenced to a (a) two weeks, (b) four weeks, (c) thee months, (d) six months, (e) one year, (f) two years and (g) four years custodial sentence who served the minimum amount of time in prison in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [165412]
Jeremy Wright: The release of determinate prisoners is governed by statute. Under section 244 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, all standard determinate sentenced prisoners are subject to automatic release at the halfway point of their sentence, and serve the balance of their sentence in the community. Prisoners sentenced to 12 months or more are released on licence under supervision, and can be recalled to prison at any time if they breach the conditions on their licence.
There is no statutory entitlement for any prisoner to be released before they have served half of their sentence. For a minority of prisoners, who are low risk, there is the possibility of the final stage of the custodial half of their sentence being served on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) in the community, subject to an electronically monitored curfew enforced by wearing a tagging device. Of those within the eligible sentence range, only around 25% are, in fact, released on HDC.
For indeterminate sentence prisoners, the sentencing judge sets a minimum tariff to be served or may impose a whole-life tariff. No indeterminate sentence prisoner can expect to be released before they have served the tariff period in full. Release on expiry of the tariff period is not automatic and some prisoners will never be released. Release will only take place once this period has been served and the Parole Board is satisfied that the offender can be safely released on life licence. Whole life prisoners are not eligible for Parole Board release.
The Government keep sentencing under review and is committed to ensuring offenders face tough sentences which protect and command the confidence of the public and are subject to supervision when they are released. The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 introduced Extended Determinate Sentences under which all prisoners must serve at least two-thirds of their custodial term and some prisoners may serve their full custodial term in prison if they remain a risk to the public. The Act also introduced mandatory life sentences for a second very serious sexual or violent offence. The Offender Rehabilitation Bill seeks to introduce release on licence, supervision and recall for those serving short sentences. The Government are also considering toughening eligibility for Home Detention Curfew to ensure that offenders earn their consideration for HDC by actively engaging with the prison regime.
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Data on the average time served by sentence length band and the number of offenders released on HDC are published within the discharge tables section of the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly bulletin which can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/offender-management-statistics-quarterly--2
Security
Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many departmental identity cards or passes have been reported lost or stolen by staff in his Department since May 2010. [168614]
Jeremy Wright: This information is available from 1 January 2011 to 31 August 2013. During this period there were a total of 781 lost or stolen identity cards or passes. This covers the Department's HQ offices and its delivery partners HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and National Offender Management Service (NOMS). Information prior to this at HMCTS was not captured centrally and it would incur disproportionate cost to obtain it.
There are no records of lost or stolen cards being used in attempted unauthorised entry to our sites. Ministry of Justice staff are required to report lost or stolen passes to security as soon as possible and building access rights are then disabled immediately.
Sexual Offences: Victim Support Schemes
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the availability of services to support male victims of sexual abuse and violence. [169954]
Damian Green: This Government are committed to supporting all victims of rape and sexual violence. In 2013-14 we are providing nearly £4 million to support victims of rape and sexual violence. This is more than ever before. In addition to this, over £460,000 is dedicated to supporting male victims of rape and sexual abuse and over £110,000 funds dedicated to specialist male IDVA services to help these victims to recover and move on with their lives. We are also actively looking at future provision to support male victims of rape and sexual violence.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Grand Committee
6. Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the recent meeting of the Northern Ireland Grand Committee. [900424]
Mrs Villiers: The Northern Ireland Grand Committee is a valuable forum for debating Northern Ireland issues.
The recent meeting in Belfast on 9 September provided an opportunity to reaffirm the importance the House of Commons places on Northern Ireland matters.
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Child and Family Poverty
7. Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the effects of social security reforms on levels of child and family poverty in Northern Ireland since 2010. [900425]
Mrs Villiers: When fully implemented, the introduction of universal credit will make over 3 million low to middle-income households across the UK better off.
Our reforms will ensure work always pays and help lift people out of poverty by moving them into work.
Fuel Poverty
8. Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how credit unions are being used to combat fuel poverty in Northern Ireland. [900426]
Mrs Villiers: Credit unions have a valuable role to play in the provision of affordable credit.
Tackling fuel poverty is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive but the Government are working to relieve pressure on family budgets by, for example, freezing fuel duty, increasing the state pension by the biggest cash rise in history, and continuing to provide winter fuel payments.
Economic Development
9. Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions she has had with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive on economic development. [900427]
Mrs Villiers: I have regular discussions with Northern Ireland Ministers on a range of economic matters. Last Tuesday, I chaired the first meeting of a Task Force on Banking and Access to Finance. The task force comprises the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Sajid Javid), the Minister for Skills and Enterprise, my hon. Friend the Member for West Suffolk (Matthew Hancock), and the Northern Ireland Ministers for Finance and for Enterprise, Trade and Investment.
Cross-border Co-operation
10. Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment she has made of co-operation between the UK and Irish Governments in relation to cross-border issues. [900428]
Mrs Villiers: The relationship between the UK and Ireland has never been better, as emphasised by the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach at their summit in March.
We work closely with the Irish Government on a range of matters, including security co-operation. Further cross-border co-operation takes place between the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government.
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Derry/Londonderry
11. Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans she has to support Derry/Londonderry following the city’s year as UK city of culture. [900429]
Mrs Villiers: Derry/Londonderry is having a spectacular year. I have visited the city on a number of occasions to support city of culture events including the All Ireland Fleadh in August.
Good Friday Agreement
12. Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the Government’s implementation of their responsibilities under the Good Friday agreement. [900430]
Mrs Villiers: The Government are fully supportive of the Belfast Agreement and its successors and the institutions they established.
These institutions have delivered unprecedented political stability in Northern Ireland and we will continue to work enthusiastically with the Executive on rebalancing the economy and building a cohesive and shared society.
Security Situation
14. Andrew Stephenson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment she has
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made of the security situation in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement. [900432]
Mrs Villiers: The threat level in Northern Ireland remains Severe, with persistent planning and targeting by terrorists. However, action by the PSNI and its partners continues to keep the pressure on these terrorist groups.
Scotland
Personal Income
Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the average disposable income is in each constituency in Scotland. [171020]
Mr Alistair Carmichael: The only sustainable way to raise living standards is to tackle the country's economic problems head on. We appreciate that times are tough and budgets are squeezed, and that is why we have taken continued action to help with the cost of living, including the increase of the tax-free personal allowance to £10,000 from April 2014—saving a typical taxpayer £705 a year.
The Office for National Statistics publishes official annual data on regional disposable income. This official statistic provides data for Gross Disposable Household Income (GDHI) estimates at current prices for the 12 regions and countries of the UK at NUTS 3 level. A table for the latest available year 2011 follows.
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Work and Pensions
Telephone Services
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0870, (b) 0845 and (c) 0800 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each number received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at the BT local rate are available in each case. [170427]
Esther McVey: The information requested is as follows:
(a) The Department does not operate any 0870 numbers;
(b) The Department currently operates 180 0845 numbers;
(c) The Department currently operates 27 0800 numbers.
There are no alternative geographic numbers for the Department's 0845/0800 service lines. A table listing the total calls received by the Department's 0800 and 0845 telephone numbers for the period September 2012 to September 2013 will be placed in the Library.
The Child Maintenance Group answered 3,340,300 calls to its main inbound service lines from July 2012 to June 2013.
Anti-slavery Day
Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what each Minister in his Department will be doing to acknowledge Anti-Slavery Day on 18 October 2013; and if he will make a statement. [171039]
Esther McVey: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Fareham (Mr Hoban), gave on 25 June 2013, Official Report, column 242W, to the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd (Chris Ruane).
Employment and Support Allowance
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claiming Employment and Support Allowance and in the work-related activity group were sanctioned on more than one occasion in each year since 2008. [171084]
Esther McVey: The sanctions regime for people on employment support allowance (ESA) in the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) changed from the beginning of December 2012. The Department aims to publish a single set of sanction statistics covering JSA and ESA, for the new sanctions regime, as soon as possible. Quality assurance by DWP statisticians of the data underpinning the sanctions statistics is progressing and at an advanced stage. The proposed date will be announced as soon as possible via the DWP statistics section of ‘gov.uk’ and via the ‘Welfare and Benefits’ community at:
http://www.statsusernet.org.uk
Employment Schemes: Young People
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many businesses in (a) the UK and (b) Bolton North East constituency have taken part in the wage incentive scheme since the introduction of the Youth Contract; [170391]
(2) how many employees in (a) Britain and (b) Bolton North East constituency have taken part in the wage incentive scheme since the introduction of the Youth Contract. [170430]
Esther McVey: In Great Britain between April 2012 up to and including May 2013 there have been 21,460 wage incentive job starts, and between June 2012 up to and including May 2013 wage incentive payments were made to employers in respect of 4,690 young people.
Information on the number of employers taking part in the scheme is not available because the Department does not routinely collect these data.
Information on payments, broken down by geography, is currently not available. The data will be developed further, in the future, as part of an Official Statistics series.
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. A job start is represented by when a form is issued to an employer when an individual, eligible for a wage incentive, starts a job (full or part time).
Funeral Payments
Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance he issues to local authorities on assessment criteria for Social Fund Funeral Payment applications. [170826]
Steve Webb: The Department does not issue guidance to local authorities; however, information on eligibility criteria is available on request in the leaflet DWP 001, and is also available on the GOV.UK website.
Local Jobcentre Plus partnership managers, as part of their regular liaison meetings with local authority colleagues, are also available to advise.
In-work Credit
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) the UK and (b) Bolton North East constituency claimed in-work credit in each of the last five years. [170390]
Esther McVey: Statistics on the number of individuals who started to receive in-work credit in Great Britain and Bolton North East constituency in each of the last five years are provided in the following table:
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| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | Jan to Mar 2013 | |
| 1 The Department does not posses data on the number of in-work credit starts in Northern Ireland, so the answer is only available for Great Britain. Notes: 1. Figures rounded to the nearest five. 2. The data for 2013 cover the period between January and March 2013. March 2013 data are the latest currently available. Source: Resource Management system | |||||
Jobseeker's Allowance
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker's allowance claimants were sanctioned on more than one occasion in each year since 2009-10. [170421]
Esther McVey: The information requested can be found in the following table.
| Number1 of sanctions applied2 to jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants by year of decision3: 1 April 2009 to 21 October 2012 | ||
| Number of sanctions applied2 | ||
| Year of decision3 | One | Two or more |
| 1 Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2Sanctions applied: The number of sanctions applied is the number of Varied4, Fixed Length5 and Entitlement Decision6 referrals where the decision was found against the claimant. 3Year of Decision: The financial year in which the decision on the sanction referral was made. The latest available data are available up to and including 21 October 2012. 4Varied 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. 5Fixed 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. 6Entitlement 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 | ||
Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the regional breakdown of the number of claimants who have had their jobseeker's allowance stopped during the last year is; [170603]
(2) how many claimants have had their jobseeker's allowance stopped in the last year. [170604]
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Esther McVey: The information requested, in the latest year for which figures are available, can be found in the following table.
| Number1 of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants with a sanction applied2 by Jobcentre Plus Group3: 22 October 2011 to 21 October 20124 | |
| Jobcentre Plus Group5 | Total |
| 1 Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and will include individuals who have a sanction applied2 in more than one Jobcentre Plus Group3 eg if an individual has a sanction applied in the North East and also in the North West they will appear twice. The total for Great Britain will count these individuals once and will therefore not be the sum of all the groups. 2 Sanctions applied: The number of sanctions applied is the number of Varied5, Fixed Length6 and Entitlement Decision referrals7 where the decision was found against the claimant. 3 Jobcentre Plus Group: Formerly known as Jobcentre Plus Regions. Jobcentre Plus Groups were updated to reflect changes to the hierarchical structure of Jobcentre Plus implemented on 5 April 2011 from 11 regions to seven groups. 4The latest available data are available up to and including the 21 October 2012. 5 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. 6 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. 7 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. | |
Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to encourage jobseeker's allowance claimants to volunteer for charity work. [170987]
Esther McVey: The ‘Work Together' initiative was launched nationally by Jobcentre Plus in October 2010 with the aim of encouraging all unemployed people to consider volunteering as a way of improving their job prospects while they are looking for work. More than 800,000 people have so far been signposted to local voluntary and community sector organisations.
Jobseeker's Allowance: Blackpool
Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker's allowance claimant appeal cases against sanctions are on hold in Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency. [170593]
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Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 23 August 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Sir Gerald Kaufman) with regard to Mr S Harrison. [170627]
Esther McVey: 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. Gentleman on 10 September 2013.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 24 August 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs J Smith. [170628]
Esther McVey: 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. Gentleman on 2 September 2013.
Performance Appraisal
Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by his Department received each level of performance rating in their end- of-year performance assessment for 2012-13. [170473]
Esther McVey: The information is in the following table. Although all of our employees are encouraged to declare their disability status on the personnel computer system, declaration is voluntary.
The Department values diversity within our workforce and is committed to equality. There is a range of complementary initiatives that we are implementing to improve the overall experience of our present and future disabled employees. We have, for example, helped introduce new learning products, available to all civil servants, on disability awareness and avoiding unconscious bias and are promoting this within DWP. We are also leading a pilot to speed up the implementation of reasonable adjustments to support disabled colleagues.
We are improving the guidance and raising line manager awareness of the need to amend work objectives, when appropriate, as a reasonable adjustment for disabled people. Overall, our proactive approach means that DWP has the highest number of employees in Government participating in the ‘Positive Action Pathway' development programme for disabled employees and other under-represented groups.
| Percentage | ||
| Performance rating | Disabled staff | All other staff |
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Social Security Benefits: British Nationals Abroad
Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to prevent the claiming of benefits by people living overseas. [170734]
Esther McVey: EU social security co-ordinating regulations require us to pay social security benefits to eligible UK citizens and other nationals living elsewhere. The benefits are limited to contributory benefits for which the claimant must have paid compulsory national insurance contributions or those with specific qualifying conditions; these benefits are paid for a limited period. We do pay some non-contributory benefit, too, which include the winter fuel payment.
We have robust checks of identity and eligibility in place to protect the benefit system. An individual has to prove their identity and eligibility at the start of a claim to benefit and in any ongoing contact with the Department.
Social Security Benefits: Young People
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which benefits were claimed by people under the age of 25 in each of the last four financial years; and what proportion of such claimants were (a) registered as sick or disabled and (b) lone parents. [170532]
Esther McVey: Statistics on which benefits were claimed by people under the age of 25 in each of the last four financial years and what proportion of such claimants are in each statistical group e.g. jobseeker, lone parent or disabled can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/series/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool
Guidance for users is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/203439/tab-tool-guidance.pdf
Work Capability Assessment
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Fit for Work decisions in the Work Capability Assessment have been overturned on appeal in (a) Gateshead, (b) Manchester, (c) East London and (d) Guildford between 2008 and 2012. [171080]
Mike Penning: The information requested, for new claims to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), is shown in the table below.
| Number of appeals heard on Fit for Work decisions in the initial functional assessment for new claims to ESA by local authority and appeal outcome: October 2008 to May 2012 | ||
| Appeal outcome | ||
| Local authority | Initial decision overturned | Initial decision upheld |
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| Source: Department for Work and Pensions benefit administration dataset Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. | ||
The information requested for appeals heard on Fit for Work decisions in the functional assessment for repeat claims to ESA and incapacity benefit (IB) reassessments is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the recent finding of the Upper Tribunal that Work Capability Assessment places people with mental health problems at a substantial disadvantage; and if he will make a statement. [171081]
Mike Penning: In May 2013 the Upper Tribunal handed down an interim judgment in a judicial review which challenged the process of when and whether the Department obtains further medical evidence for ESA claimants with a mental health condition going through the WCA process. The Upper Tribunal clarified that the Department has not been found to be in breach of its duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010, but directed the further steps that should be taken in the proceedings in order to decide the question of whether there are reasonable steps that could be taken in order to avoid the disadvantage it had found to exist.
The Department does not agree with the judgment and the Court of Appeal has granted permission to appeal it. We welcome this as we believe we have made—and continue to make—significant improvements to the WCA process for people with mental health conditions.
This appeal will be heard on 21 and 22 October 2013. All proceedings in the Upper Tribunal have been suspended until the appeal has been decided.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what proportion of assessments in the Work Capability Assessment for individuals presenting with a musculoskeletal condition in (a) Gateshead, (b) Manchester, (c) East London and (d) Guildford resulted in a Fit for Work decision between 2008 and 2012; [171082]
(2) what proportion of assessments in the Work Capability Assessment for individuals presenting with a cardiovascular condition in (a) Gateshead, (b) Manchester, (c) East London and (d) Guildford resulted in a Fit for Work decision between 2008 and 2012. [171083]
Esther McVey: The information requested is shown in the following tables:
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Work Programme
Mr Tom Clarke:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many private sector companies
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deliver the Government's Work programme; and what the cost to the public purse has been of those companies' involvement. [170821]
Esther McVey: There are 16 Private Sector and two Voluntary and Community Sector prime providers, with c350 Private Sector subcontractors and c480 Voluntary and Community Sector subcontractors delivering the Work programme. Work programme total spend is published in the Work programme stats release:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/209260/wp-costs-to-31-march-2013.pdf
Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Government's Work programme. [170822]
Esther McVey: The Work programme is working. The programme’s performance has significantly improved since being launched in June 2011. By the end of June 2012, 24,000 people had found lasting work. By June 2013 this had increased dramatically to 168,000.
Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason it is his Department's policy not to employ Jobcentre Plus staff to implement its Work programme. [170823]
Esther McVey: Jobcentre Plus has a major role to play in supporting claimants into work—in most cases, individuals are supported through their Jobcentre Plus for one year prior to their referral to the Work programme.
However, when we looked to set up a programme for the long-term unemployed, or those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed, we took an active decision to contract the programme out to a range of private, public and voluntary sector organisations instead of asking Jobcentre Plus staff to deliver it.
This was done to make sure that we got the best results with some of our hardest to help claimants, for the best price for the taxpayer, delivered as quickly as possible.
The Work programme replaced a number of existing contracted out programmes which meant that there were already providers on the ground with expertise in the area. This meant that external providers could mobilise additional resources such as staff and buildings quickly and efficiently.
By contracting the service out, we could reform the funding of welfare-to-work provision and move to a payment-by-results structure in a short space of time.
We could also introduce competition between two different providers in an area and so drive innovative solutions to long-term unemployment.
We know that Jobcentre Plus staff successfully support many claimants back into work. But the reform that we needed in such a short space of time could be best delivered, at the best price, by asking external providers to implement the Work programme.