Tag: Stephen Timms

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the withdrawal of the Youth Contract Wage Incentive Scheme on youth unemployment; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey

The wage incentive was always intended to be a time limited measure. It was designed to support employers during the recession. It has provided nearly 100,000 job opportunities for young people. The economy is recovering; the UK has witnessed the largest annual drop in youth unemployment since records began.

Our focus now is to make sure young people have the skills they need to take up these vacancies. The reinvestment of money from the wage incentive scheme into other areas has enabled us to continue to drive down youth unemployment with the most recent figures showing youth unemployment down 188,000 in the last year and by nearly 200,000 since 2010. During 2014 youth unemployment recorded its largest annual fall on record and long-term youth unemployment has also fallen by more than 50,000 in the last year.

Since the wage incentive was introduced, take up by employers has been lower than expected. Employers found it less attractive than other elements of the scheme. DWP listened to businesses and responded to their needs, as such we reinvested money into those groups who are hardest to help to:

· Provide additional advisor time for young people in areas of high youth unemployment and for disadvantaged 18-19 year old NEETs;

· Provide additional funding for BIS to support young people further away from the labour market by providing education and training activities intended to lead initially to traineeships or equivalent provision and subsequently employment.

· Support the 16-17 NEET pilots and BIS 18-21 Work Skills pilots

· Provide additional funding for City Deals;

· Extend the New Enterprise Allowance scheme to December 2014 and provide funding for BIS for start up loans

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 24 March 2015 to Question 228133, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2015 to Question 748 and pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2015 to Question 9414, why information on the number of hardship applications and the amount claimed in hardship payments will now no longer be available; and if he will make a statement.

Priti Patel

Information on the number of hardship applications and awards is available and will be published. Information on how much has been claimed in hardship payments is not available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the skills level of jobseeker’s allowance claimants aged between (a) 18 and 21 and (b) 22 and 24 years.

Esther McVey

All jobseeker’s are assessed at the beginning of their claim to Jobseeker’s Allowance for potential skills needs that are a barrier to them finding work. Where a skills need is identified, claimants are referred to courses.

This Government is committed to ensuring jobseekers have the skills they need to get into work. In 2012/13 171,100 young people aged 19-24 and claiming benefit started a learning course, an increase of 30% over 2011/12.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 32 of Work Programme Evaluation: Operation of the commissioning model, finance and programme delivery, published by his Department in December 2014, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policy of the finding that Jobcentre Plus managers’ views on the effectiveness of the Work Programme tended to be fairly negative.

Esther McVey

Recognising the importance of Jobcentre Plus involvement, the Department has piloted a new closer working approach. Jobcentres have reported that closer working with providers in support of our hardest to help customers is assisting the removal of barriers and building greater trust for all parties.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in youth unemployment between June to August and September to November 2014.

Esther McVey

Unemployment figures from the Labour Force Survey are based on a sample of individuals and normal sample variation means the estimated level of youth unemployment can fluctuate from any one period to the next. The number of young people in work is increasing, up by over 100,000 in the last year and by over 125,000 since 2010.

The underlying trend has seen falling youth unemployment and during 2014 overall youth unemployment recorded its largest annual fall on record. The number of unemployed 16-24 year olds fell 171,000 in the year to September – November 2014 and is down nearly 200,000 since 2010. Long-term youth unemployment has also fallen by more than 50,000 over the last year. The number of young people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, which is more up to date and not affected by sampling issues, fell by 118,400 in the year to January 2015. It continued to fall in the latest month, down 10,700 between December 2014 and January 2015. This is the 38^th consecutive monthly fall and means the youth claimant count is at its lowest level since the 1970s.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2015 to Question 10000, whether the milestone set in autumn 2014 of reaching 100,000 universal credit claims by May 2015 was achieved; and if he will make a statement.

Priti Patel

The Universal Credit programme has hit, or is on target to achieve, all of the milestones the Secretary of State set out in Autumn 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many jobseeker’s allowance claimants aged 18 to 24 years have home addresses in each region of the UK; and what proportion of all young people in each such region that figure represents.

Mr Nick Hurd

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to improve employment support for Work Programme participants claiming employment and support allowance who have a 12 month prognosis of a return to work.

Esther McVey

The Work Programme performance is improving for Employment and Support Allowance claimants with a 12 month prognosis, but we do want it to do better. To this end we have asked all providers to come to us with a clear plan setting out the steps they are going to take to improve performance further.

Of those completing a year on the programme, 1 in 10 ESA New Claimants have had at least three months in work since joining the scheme – this compares to 1 in 25 for the earliest cohorts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Oral Answer of 8 December 2014, Official Report, column 638, what progress his Department has made in raising awareness among benefit claimants of interim payments.

Esther McVey

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 January 2015 to Question UIN 218961

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2014, Official Report, column 247W, on Jobcentre Plus, whether Jobcentre Plus is required to obtain the consent of a voluntary employment support project which receives no statutory funding before issuing a jobseeker’s direction requiring a jobseeker’s allowance claimant’s engagement with that project.

Esther McVey

In return for receiving benefits we expect jobseekers to do everything they can to find work. This could include engaging with an employment support project. We expect districts to work in partnership with organisations that offer opportunities which will help improve a claimant’s employment prospects, but they are not legally obliged to gain their consent before issuing a Jobseeker’s Direction.