| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
18 Apr 2006 : Column 137W—continued
Departmental Staff
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were employed by the (a) Rent Service, (b) Health and Safety Executive, (c) Department for Work and Pensions, (d) Child Support Agency, (e) JobcentrePlus and (f) Pension Service in each region in each of the last 12 months for which information is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each month. [51167]
Mrs. McGuire: The figures requested are published in Civil Service Statistics. Table A of this publication covers staff numbers (on a full time equivalent and headcount basis) for each organisation as at 1 April 2004. The more recent data does not include a breakdown of DWP staff numbers by agency.
Information on The Health and Safety Executive, part of the Department since June 2002, is available in the same publication.
Civil Service statistics are available in the Library and at the following address on the Cabinet Office Statistics website: http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/index.asp
Information on the number of vacant posts is not collected.
Household Income
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what methodology was used to produce the charts of income distribution for the total population published in each edition of Households Below Average Income; and whether corresponding figures and charts are available for particular sectors of the population. [60607]
Margaret Hodge: The latest Department for Work and Pensions' statistical publication Households Below Average Income (HBAI), published on 9 March 2006 provides charts showing the number of individuals living in Great Britain by ten pound equivalised income bands. Figure 2.1 (BHC)" shows income measured before housing costs were deducted from household income, and Figure 2.1 (AHC)" shows income after housing costs were deducted from income.
The McClements equivalence scale was used to adjust for household income and household size and composition. Details of this and other factors included in the HBAI methodology can be found in Chapter 1 and Appendix 2 of the latest edition of HBAI, copies of which are available in the Library.
Corresponding charts for children, working-age adults with and without children, and pensioners, are in Chapters 4, 5, and 6 respectively.
Job Search Appointments
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what arrangements are in place in jobcentres for dealing with clients arriving late for Job Search appointments; [54246]
(2) what the average waiting time is between a request for a Job Search appointment and the actual appointment in each Jobcentre Plus contract centre area. [54247]
18 Apr 2006 : Column 138W
Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked me to reply to your questions asking what arrangements are in place in jobcentres for dealing with clients arriving late for Job Search appointments and what the average waiting time is between a request for a Job Search appointment in each Jobcentre Plus contact centre area. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
People claiming working age benefits are usually required to attend regular appointments to discuss opportunities for work and to see what help Jobcentre Plus can provide. Those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance are normally required to attend fortnightly job search reviews and more in-depth appointments with a personal adviser at key stages of their claim if they are unable to find work quickly. Customers who attend on the correct day, but who are late, are told about the need to attend future appointments on time and that failure to do so might affect entitlement to benefit. Those who subsequently fail to attend on time or fail to attend any appointment on the correct date are required to show good cause; otherwise their benefit may be sanctioned.
Alongside these regular and scheduled appointments, people may ask, at any time, for an appointment to see an adviser at their local Jobcentre. Wherever possible, we aim to see people immediately, but a forward appointment may be made. If someone attends late, we will still try to accommodate them, but where this is not possible another appointment will be made. There are no benefit implications for people arriving late for an appointment that has been arranged at their request and we do not monitor actual average waiting times for these types of appointments.
Jobcentre Plus sets out in its Customers' Charter the standards of service we aim to meet. It is our stated intention to see people quickly and on time when they have an appointment. We are introducing revised service standards from 3 April 2006 and these are set out in Our Service Standards" leaflet. A copy of the Customers' Charter and Our Service Standards" can be found in the Library.
Jobcentre Plus
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on planned Jobcentre Plus closures; and what (a) financial and (b) headcount implications are expected from each closure. [51978]
Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking if he will make a statement on planned Jobcentre Plus closures and what (a) financial and (b) headcount implications are expected from each closure. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Following the creation of Jobcentre Plus in 2002 a detailed service delivery planning exercise was carried out in each District, in consultation with local stakeholders, to identify the sites from which new processes and services would be best delivered. Jobcentre Plus inherited a network of around 1,500 offices from
- the former Employment Service and Benefits Agency, many of which were unsuitable due to the fabric of the building, or location or both. I have placed in the Library a list of the remaining sites to be closed as part of the Jobcentre Plus rollout. (Annex A).
As a result of our decision in September 2004 to centralise the processing of benefits, 35 sites were identified for closure and I have placed in the Library a list of those 35 sites. (Annex B).
We continuously evaluate our services and the network from which they are delivered. If it becomes clear that some of our offices are less cost efficient and that services can be more effectively delivered from an alternative location we will reconfigure our network. Reducing expenditure on our office network is part of our wider strategy for focusing resources more effectively on frontline advisory services to help our customers move into work. All closure proposals are agreed by the Minister of State and I have placed a list of those sites for closure as a result of the Jobcentre Plus implementation programme in the Library. (Annex C)
Details of the annual running cost savings for each of the site closures are shown in each of the three lists placed in the Library. The planned closures will lead to a saving of £73.9 million for each year of the contract we have with Land Securities Trillium for management of the Departmental estate. The cost of delivering these savings is £38.9 million. This sum includes one off costs, which will be incurred between now and 2008, associated with decommissioning the offices, making any alterations back to the original condition where it is a condition of the lease and contractual fees payable to Land Securities Trillium under our contract with them.
Closing Jobcentre Plus offices does not of itself produce headcount reductions. When planning the shape of the office network staff implications are considered fully, and it is our policy to make every effort to redeploy staff locally where possible.
Overpayments
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has accrued in unrecovered overpayments in each quarter since Q2 2001; and what is the total level of accrued overpayments. [52501]
Mr. Plaskitt: The details requested are in the following table.
18 Apr 2006 : Column 140W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |