| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
17 Dec 2003 : Column 980W—continued
Jobcentre Plus Premises
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will list the (a) number, (b) location and (c) size of Jobcentre Plus premises due to be disposed of; and what (i) costs and (ii) savings he expects from the disposal over the life of the disposal contract; [141198]
- (2) if he will place the terms of reference of the external benchmarking exercise carried out on the disposal of Jobcentre Plus premises in the Library. [142183]
Mr. Browne: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to my hon. Friend.
17 Dec 2003 : Column 981W
Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Jim Cousins, dated 15 December 2003:
- As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the disposal of Jobcentre Plus premises. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
17 Dec 2003 : Column 982W
- Rollout of the Jobcentre Plus service across the country is a four year programme, planned for completion in March 2006. We are not yet halfway through the implementation of the Jobcentre Plus service and detailed information on disposals for the whole programme is not yet available. However from the information currently available I can tell you that so far we have disposed of 48 sites, totalling 30,548 square metres and a saving to Jobcentre Plus of £6,249,418 per annum. Those sites are listed in the table:
| Region | District | Address | Metres(27) | Total saving per annum (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East of England | Hertford | Hitchin Crown House | 175 | 22,581 |
| East of England | Suffolk | Sudbury PCO The Old bakery King St | 81 | 57,205 |
| East of England | Suffolk | Bury St Edmonds The Cornhill | 647 | 171,007 |
| East of England | Suffolk | Ipswich Jobshop Museum Street | 86 | 12,892 |
| East Midlands | Greater Nottingham | Carlton Rd Jobshop | 744 | 0 |
| East Midlands | Leicestershire | Leicester 90 Highcross Street | 851 | 27,079 |
| London | Brent | Burnt Oak 93–95 Burnt Oak Broadway | 325 | 62,968 |
| London | Brent | Cricklewood Broadway | 1634 | 356,217 |
| London | Central London | Holbom JC Celco House 289/293 High Holborn | 503 | 116,344 |
| London | NE London | Stoke Newington | 919 | 311,036 |
| London | NE London | Leyton Grosvenor Park | 723 | 64,617 |
| North East | Newcastle | Roxborough House Whitley Bay PCO | 76 | 36,564 |
| North West | East Lancs | Barnoldswick PCO | 62 | 26,775 |
| North West | Salford & Traff | Washington House Salford | 204 | 41,228 |
| Scotland | Dumfries | Annan High Street | 107 | 6,470 |
| Scotland | Fife | St Andrews CSP 43 South Street | 88 | 44,586 |
| Scotland | Lanarkshire | Larkhall 27 Union Street | 118 | 15,485 |
| South East | Hampshire | Havant 33 East Street | 790 | 125,703 |
| South East | Hampshire | Romsey 3–4 Duke Mill Centre | 118 | 21,264 |
| South East | Hampshire | Eastlight 42/50 High Street | 250 | 32,138 |
| South West | Cornwall | Isles of Scilly Caller Off Buzza St | 41 | 14,980 |
| South West | Devon | Barnstable 4 Maxham Court | 90 | 6,155 |
| South West | Dorset | Bournemouth Garage 9 | 14 | 3,284 |
| South West | Gloucestershire | Coleford JC Lords Hill | 134 | 7,401 |
| South West | Somerset | Frome North Parade PCO | 264 | 56,746 |
| South West | Somerset | Street The Cross | 423 | 23,369 |
| South West | West of Eng | Bristol Hartcliff Symes Avenue | 56 | 5,493 |
| Wales | Nth West Wales | Pwllheli Penlan Street | 26 | 24,555 |
| Wales | Nth West Wales | Swansea Ystradgnynlais PCO | 41 | 16,373 |
| Wales | Swansea Bay | Pontardawe 25 High Street PCO | 17 | 11,028 |
| Wales | West Wales | Neyland 36 High Street | 30 | 2,679 |
| Wales | Wrexham & NW | Mold St Davids Lane | 65 | 2,401 |
| Wales | Wrexham & NW | Llandudno Chapel Street | 53 | 1,988 |
| Wales | Wrexham & NW | Brecon Canal Bank | 80 | 3,944 |
| Wales | Wrexham & NW | Denbigh PCO | 61 | 30,776 |
| Wales | Wrexham & NW | Shotton PCO | 76 | 25,804 |
| Wales | Wrexham & NW | Holywell PCO | 63 | 31,283 |
| Wales | Wrexham & NW | Llangollen PCO | 15 | 6,831 |
| West Midlands | Coventry | Kenilworth 7 Abbey Court | 135 | 23,763 |
| West Midlands | Coventry | Coventry Park Court | 1455 | 188,343 |
| West Midlands | Shropshire | Ludlow Jobcentre | 168 | 8,920 |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | Sheffield | Sheffield Rockingham Court | 2221 | 480,470 |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | Sheffield | Sheffield Peel House 1 West Bar | 1461 | 245,442 |
| North West | Liverpool | 58 Brackfield Road South, Liverpool 6 | 2559 | 486,725 |
| North West | Lancashire West | Maxford House Blackpool | 3271 | 1,041,420 |
| North East | Tees Valley | Tees Building | 3142 | 561,777 |
| West Midlands | Birmingham & Solihull | 2140 Coventry Road, Sheldon, Birmingham B26 3JQ | 3041 | 684,273 |
| East of England | Norfolk | Baltic House, Mountergate, Norwich | 3045 | 701,037 |
Strategic, high-level planning has been undertaken for the remaining two years of the programme, 2004–2006, but I am not yet able to provide firm details of premises disposals or surrenders due for that period. Similarly, information on costs and savings from future disposals is unavailable.
We have not carried out an external benchmarking exercise on the disposal of Jobcentre Plus premises. Because of the diversity of the districts, service delivery planning for Jobcentre Plus is a locally-driven activity. In undertaking such exercises local managers have to take account of a wide range of factors relevant to the local community before any changes are made to the premises available to them.
I hope this is helpful.
Jobseeker's Allowance Appeals
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to centralise (a) jobseeker's allowance and (b) labour market appeals; and what the implications of the plans are for (i) appellants and (ii) staff. [142983]
Mr. Browne: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
17 Dec 2003 : Column 983W
Letter from David Anderson to Dr. Jones, dated 17 December 2003:
- As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply direct to your question on what plans he has to centralise (a) Jobseekers Allowance and (b) Labour Market Appeals; and what the implications of the plans are for (i) appellants and (ii) staff. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
- Jobcentre Plus was formed in 2002 from the Working Age elements of the former Benefits Agency and the Employment Service. Since that time, the organisation has undergone an unprecedented rollout programme, bringing together both parts of the formerly separate operations.
- An internal review recommended that appeals would be delivered more efficiently through teams of appeals staff covering all Jobcentre Plus benefits, and also for appeals teams to be organised on a district basis and accountable to the District Manager. This work is now underway and is being led by the Deputy field Director of East of England, supported by district, regional and national tiers throughout Jobcentre Plus.
- Improvements to Jobcentre Plus decision making and appeals processes are to be further supplemented following recommendations from the recent National Audit Office report "Getting It Right, Putting It Right—Improving Decision Making and Appeals In Social Security Benefits". It was their view that the centralisation of appeals work, reconsiderations and complex decision making, would achieve financial savings for the organisation and lead to improved standards, better communications and better customer service.
- Pressures on staff to achieve demanding targets will be relieved as more resource is freed when these plans are implemented. Centralisation and a more defined management, training apd communications structure will also lead to improved skills of and support to those staff employed to process complex decisions, handle reconsiderations and write appeals. This will provide a better service for Jobcentre Plus customers.
- I hope this is helpful.
Pension Credit
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the number of pensioners who are not receiving pension credit but are receiving housing benefit and council tax benefit. [144701]
Mr. Pond: Our latest estimate for the number of pensioner households who are not receiving Pension Credit but are receiving Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit is around £900,000.
Households claiming Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit may be a single person, a couple or a family. More than one benefit household can live in one property, for example two or more adults in a flat or house share arrangement.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for West Derbyshire (Mr. McLoughlin) of 9 December 2003, Official Report, columns 416–17W, on Pension Credit, how many pensioner households in each Government Office region he estimates are eligible for Pension Credit. [144702]
Malcolm Wicks: The number of pensioner households eligible for Pension Credit at the end of November 2003 by region is set out in the following table.
17 Dec 2003 : Column 984W
| Government office region | Estimated number of households eligible for Pension Credit |
|---|---|
| North East | 250,000 |
| North West and Merseyside | 500,000 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | 350,000 |
| East Midlands | 300,000 |
| West Midlands | 350,000 |
| Eastern | 300,000 |
| London | 450,000 |
| South East | 350,000 |
| South West | 300,000 |
| Wales | 250,000 |
| Scotland | 400,000 |
| Total (GB) | 3,800,000 |
Notes:
1. Estimates are done on a benefit unit basis (single pensioner or pensioner couple).
2. Figures do not include care home cases.
3. Figures are rounded to the nearest 50,000.
Source:
Policy simulation model 2003–04, based on data from the Family Resources Survey 2000–01.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |