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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of vacancies in each region and nation of the UK which were advertised on Universal Jobmatch in the most recent month for which figures are available were for part-time jobs.

Priti Patel

Official statistics on Universal Jobmatch (UJ) vacancies by region and type of job are not available. This reflects that UJ is an online aggregator of job adverts, and adverts can be posted on the system from more than one source.

Real-time information on Universal Jobmatch is available at https://jobsearch.direct.gov.uk/register.aspx?redirect=http%3a%2f%2fjobsearch.direct.gov.uk%2fhome.aspx.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken since 2012 to evaluate the effectiveness of the application of the work-preparation requirements which have applied to single parents who are in receipt of income support and whose youngest child is aged three or four.

Priti Patel

There is currently no evaluation on the effectiveness of the application of this requirement, however, we have this under review. Statistics show that the employment rate for lone parents has increased from 57% in June 2010 to 64.4% in June 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of vacancies advertised on Universal Jobmatch in the last three months which offered flexible working arrangements for lone parents.

Priti Patel

The information requested is not available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what statutory provision exists to ensure that the claimant commitments of universal credit claimants with dependent children include adequate protections for the wellbeing of the children.

Priti Patel

The Welfare Reform Act 2012 and Universal Credit Regulations 2013 set out the types of requirements which may be imposed depending on the circumstances and characteristics of the claimant. Regulations also make clear the circumstances in which requirements should be limited or even lifted entirely for a temporary period. For example, Regulations 98 and 99, which provide provisions for suspension of requirements where children are in distress.

All claimant commitments are tailored to the individual and through a discussion between the Work Coach and the claimant, requirements are tailored for a broad range of circumstances – including for matters relating to the wellbeing of children. These reasonable requirements, including any limiting or lifting and the reasons, are recorded within the claimant commitment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of vacancies in each region and nation of the UK which were advertised on Universal Jobmatch were advertised as paying the National Minimum Wage in the most recent month for which figures are available.

Priti Patel

As part of the terms and conditions which employers must agree to in order to be able to post their vacancies on Universal Jobsmatch, it states that employers must ‘provide a rate of pay equal to, or more than the National Minimum Wage, unless a lawful exemption applies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people stopped claiming (a) jobseeker’s allowance and (b) employment and support allowance in the most recent month for which figures are available; and what proportion of such people ended their claim after moving into work.

Priti Patel

The available information which shows the number of off-flows from the Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) claimant count is published here:

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp

Guidance for users can be found at:

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

The available information which shows the number of off-flows from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is published here:

http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/flows/flows_off/tabtool.html

Guidance for users is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance

Individuals ending a claim for JSA are not required to inform the Department of their destinations and hence the destination information published on the NOMIS website is incomplete.

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