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  • Rachel Reeves – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rachel Reeves – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what happens to a Remploy worker personal budget if the full amount is not used by the individual within 18 months.

    Mike Penning

    Personal budgets are an important part of the £8 million People Help and Support Package (PHSP) which was not available for those affected by the 2008 Modernisation Plan. Personal budgets provide additional support where other sources of funding are unavailable.

    There is no specific funding allocation for personal budgets within the £8million PHSP package and the budget for each former Remploy disabled employee is allocated based on individual need.

    We anticipate that all funding for the PHSP package will be utilised by the time the last People Help and Support Package period is completed.

    Latest figures as of 18 April 2014 show 1,516 disabled former Remploy workers have chosen to work with our Personal Case Workers to find another job and 727 are in work.

  • Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria his Department uses to measure the performance of each Jobcentre Plus office.

    Esther McVey

    Jobcentre Plus offices’ performance are measured in a variety of ways including in respect of how quickly they help get people off benefits and into work.

  • Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what budget is allocated to each Jobcentre Plus office to reimburse jobseekers’ travel expenses; and how each such budget is decided.

    Esther McVey

    Each jobcentre is allocated funding to support claimants move towards and into work, and this could include meeting their travel expenses. For internal planning purposes each District Manager will estimate of the likely number of claimants requiring additional support and the cost within that locality but the information is not routinely collated and reported centrally. District plans are reviewed regularly to ensure they make best use of available funding and all local priorities can be met.

  • Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department uses a working assumption for the timescale for a work capability assessment report to be processed by Atos.

    Mike Penning

    Atos Healthcare is expected to clear Work Capability Assessments within an Actual Average Clearance Target (AACT) of 35 working days. This is to handle the referral from the date it is received from the Department and includes the time for processing and completing paperwork relating to Work Capability Assessments.

  • Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in which circumstances he uses a calculation of the (a) value of preventing a fatality, (b) willingness to pay and (c) cost-per-quality adjusted life year approach to quantify the value of a policy intervention; what other tools he uses to quantify the benefit of a policy intervention; and if he will make a statement.

    Esther McVey

    The Green Book and associated supplementary guidance is publicly available on the Treasury web site. It sets out a range of approaches and methods that may be appropriate in a number of different appraisal circumstances.

  • Huw Irranca-Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Huw Irranca-Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Irranca-Davies on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many representations he has received opposing the removal of customer access phones from Jobcentre Plus offices; which Jobcentre Plus offices serving constituents of Ogmore constituency have been affected by the removal of customer access phones from such offices; and how many people in Ogmore constituency are being serviced by each such Jobcentre Plus office.

    Esther McVey

    The Department has received a number of representations on the removal of Customer Access Phones. The Department operates an Operational Stakeholder Engagement Forum, made up of charities, community organisations and customer representative groups, and this issue will be discussed at the next meeting of the Forum in May.

    Jobcentres provide face to face support for claimants. Following the removal of Customer Access Phones, claimants who require access to a phone in connection with their benefit or job search will still be given controlled access to a telephone in a Jobcentre.

    Ogmore constituents are served by several Jobcentres as the Jobcentre network does not reflect constituency boundaries. A summary follows by Jobcentre in the constituency:

    Bridgend Jobcentre

    Customer Access Phones have not yet been removed.

    Maesteg Jobcentre

    Customer Access Phones were withdrawn, replaced by a new assisted service of face to face support in 2014.

    Llantrisant Jobcentre

    Customer Access Phones were withdrawn, replaced by a new assisted service of face to face support in 2014.

    Porth Jobcentre

    One Customer Access Phone is currently available; three were withdrawn between November 2013 and January 2014, because of falling demand.

    Jobcentre boundaries do not match constituency boundaries so we can only provide a breakdown for Ogmore in total, these follow below:

    · Total JSA claimants (March 2014): 1,559

    (Source: ONS claimant count with rates and proportions)

    · Total claimants (Working-age client group – key benefit claimants (August 2013)): 10,510

    (Source: DWP benefit claimants – working age client group)

  • Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken was between an application being made and benefit paid for (a) attendance allowance, (b) bereavement benefits, (c) carer’s allowance, (d) disability living allowance, (e) employment and support allowance, (f) jobseeker’s allowance, (g) maternity benefits, (h) housing benefit, (i) council tax benefit and (j) pension credit in the most recent period for which figures are available in (i) Airdrie and Shotts constituency, (ii) Scotland and (iii) the UK.

    Mike Penning

    The information regarding when a benefit is paid is not available as this can vary from each claim depending on circumstances, payment type and frequency of payment.

    The data that is available is the Actual Average 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.

    Please see the most recent AACT data in the table below.

    Claims Actual Average Clearance Time (AACT)

    National Year-End 2013/2014

    Scotland Year End 2013/2014

    Attendance Allowance claims AACT

    14.3

    N/A

    Bereavement Benefit Claims AACT

    15.9

    N/A

    Carers Allowance claims AACT

    N/A

    N/A

    Disability Living Allowance claims AACT

    22.4

    N/A

    Employment & Support Allowance claims AACT

    8.6

    8.3

    Jobseekers Allowance claims AACT

    8.1

    7.9

    Maternity Allowance Claims AACT

    7.3

    N/A

    Pension Credit claims AACT

    7.15

    N/A

    Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit are administered by local authorities and not the DWP. Processing statistics for these benefits can be found at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?publication_filter_option=statistics

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  • Julian Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Julian Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Smith on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that the staging dates for automatic enrolment for workplace pensions are being effectively communicated to businesses in Skipton and Ripon constituency.

    Steve Webb

    The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has responsibility for educating and enabling employers in order to maximise compliance. TPR is writing to employers 12 months and 1 month prior to their staging date to alert them to their new responsibilities.

    Where an employer provides an email address to TPR they will also receive a series of emails informing them what stage they should be at and signposting guidance and tools that have been provided by the Regulator. This includes an interactive planning tool to assist employers in getting ready, a staging date tool to find out your staging date, and detailed guides. They have also established a customer support centre for employers to discuss any questions they may have.

    An advertising campaign aimed at employers has also been used to raise awareness and guide employers to the regulator’s website to help them in their preparations.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people currently receiving a UK state pension and living in the UK who would move abroad if pensions were up-rated for all UK pensioners living overseas.

    Steve Webb

    The Department has not made any estimate of the number of people currently receiving a UK state pension and living in the UK who would move abroad if pensions were up-rated for all UK pensioners living overseas.

    It would be difficult to develop a robust estimate of this, as in practice there will be a wide range of factors that determine decisions to emigrate.

  • Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2014, Official Report, columns 218-9W, on social security benefits, when he expects to make available the requested data.

    Mike Penning

    In the production of new statistics the Department works to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.

    All releases will be preannounced via the UK National Statistics publication hub at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/index.html

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