The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-05-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people on (a) employment and support allowance and (b) jobseeker’s allowance have moved from the Work Programme to Work Choice since June 2011.
Esther McVey
The information requested is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support for the payment of mortgage interest will be available for universal credit recipients in low paid work; and if he will make a statement.
Steve Webb
Under the current system, low paid workers are able to supplement their earnings by claiming support from tax credits. However, tax credits do not make any allowance for mortgage interest payments. Similarly, when Universal Credit replaces the tax credit system, there will be no entitlement to help with mortgage interest during any period in which the claimant is in paid work.
However the earnings rules are far more generous in Universal Credit. This means that most people, particularly those on low incomes, have a significantly greater incentive to move into work than under the current system.
The vast majority of people claiming UC will be better off in work: even if they work part-time and even if they receive a low hourly rate of pay. For example, a lone parent receiving the average amount of mortgage interest who takes up a job that pays the national minimum wage will be better off than under the current system if he or she works just 7hours a week.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department takes to investigate whistleblowers’ allegations of impropriety relating to employment support contracts.
Esther McVey
The Department treats any allegation of fraud by contractors very seriously, regardless of where these emanate from. Any fraud is completely unacceptable. Where we identify, or are notified of, allegations of contractor fraud, these cases are investigated thoroughly by the Department’s professionally trained and experienced investigators to a standard required to support reference to the Police whenever evidence of criminal offences is discovered.
All contracted employment providers are required to have whistleblowing procedures that support their employees in reporting suspected wrongdoing at work and ‘making a disclosure in the public interest’. If they consider that they cannot raise suspicions of abuse of government funds with their employer, they should contact the Comptroller and Auditor General of the National Audit Office (NAO). This route is used to escalate whistleblower concerns and DWP Internal Investigations work with the NAO to investigate these matters and take appropriate action where issues are identified. This is an important channel in ensuring that employees can raise concerns and that they can be protected legally when doing so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of partners in small businesses who will apply for universal credit; and what steps such people need to take to establish their monthly income in order to do so.
Esther McVey
We have not produced estimates of the numbers of partners in small businesses who will apply for Universal Credit.
Guidance on self-employment issued for Universal Credit decision makers can be found in the Advice for Decision Makers, which is available online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advice-for-decision-making-staff-guide
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the extent of (a) fraud, (b) duplication of job entries and (c) entries for non-existent jobs in the Universal Jobmatch website.
Esther McVey
Today, many jobs are only advertised on the internet. That’s why we are doing everything we can to give those looking for work the skills and the opportunities to access them. Universal Jobmatch is a powerful tool for successfully connecting people to jobs, and it is delivering.
The website launches a public service into the digital age, allowing people to search for work from their home, handheld devices, local libraries, as well as the traditional Jobcentre. It allows employers to match jobseekers to their vacancies and gives our customers access to a greater number of opportunities. It puts them on an equal footing with everyone else seeking a new job in the UK. With over 6 million job searches per a day, the service is clearly popular, successful, and value for money.
At 18 March 2014, there were 507,474 vacancies on the service.
All internet job sites face the issue of duplicate vacancies. We take this issue very seriously, and whenever we have a doubt about the validity of a job offer we will intervene, suspend the vacancy and investigate. If an employer breaches our terms and conditions we remove their right to advertise. Our continuing removal of such employers or jobs demonstrates that our system of checks works.
Since Universal Jobmatch was launched in November 2012, we have removed 1216 employer accounts that did not comply with our terms and conditions. That figure is equivalent to 0.2% of the total number of registered employer accounts.
Universal Jobmatch has revolutionised the way we deliver the public employment service. With over 6,000,000 job searches per day at a cost of far less than 1 pence each, it represents excellent value for money.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-04-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to publish revised statistics on the number of people who have successfully appealed a sanction decision.
Esther McVey
DWP statisticians identified an error in the JSA sanctions appeal outcomes data. In line with normal practice for official statistics the Department has withdrawn this particular set of information. The data will be made available again as soon as possible pending investigations by DWP statisticians who will, if necessary, make corrections to this data.
For further information see here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/jobseekers-allowance-sanctions
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what requirements were placed on a Work Programme participant who finds a job without help from their provider to supply proof of employment to the provider; and what sanctions there are for failing to do so.
Esther McVey
DWP and its providers encourage Work Programme participants to share their employment details because, even where an individual has secured work themselves, the provider may be able to offer the claimant both initial support in starting work and ongoing in–work support to help sustain employment. There is, however, no direct requirement for a Work Programme participant to supply proof of employment to a provider once they find a job and they will not be sanctioned for failing to do so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-04-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff of his Department’s staff worked in a Jobcentre Plus Rapid Response team in each year since 2004.
Esther McVey
We do not hold this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-04-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Youth Contract in the 20 designated areas of high youth unemployment.
Esther McVey
The Department has carried out an evaluation of the Youth Contract, to assess the effectiveness of the programme at a national level. The evaluation does not provide results for specific geographical locations, but the Youth Contract Official Statistics provides regional, Jobcentre Plus district, local authority and Parliamentary Constituency level data for work experience and sbwa.
The information can be found at:
Published evaluation reports
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/youth-contract-wage-incentive-wave-2-research
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/youth-contract-customers-experiences
Official Statistics
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/youth-contract-official-statistics-february-2014
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-05-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent by the universal credit project on (a) staff travel and (b) overnight accommodation and allowances in each month of 2014 to date.
Esther McVey
Universal Credit is being developed and delivered across the UK. As expected with a programme of this size, some travel is needed to ensure effective delivery of the programme. DWP has clear policies on travel and accommodation expenses to ensure costs are minimised
It is not possible, on the grounds of disproportionate cost, to separate out this expenditure between DWP staff and contractors working on the Universal Credit project.