Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what arrangements are in place at jobcentres to assist unemployed people formerly in senior management or executive positions in finding equivalent roles.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
All unemployed people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance receive help tailored to individual need. This starts with an initial appointment with a work coach to discuss and agree a Claimant Commitment, which contains some reasonable and achievable job goals, details of the claimant’s availability for work and those steps that, if taken, offer the claimant best prospects of employment. As part of this, the work coach will provide information, advice and guidance on overcoming barriers that might make finding a job more difficult. Beyond the initial appointment, claimants see their work coach regularly to review progress and to see what additional help, if any, is needed.
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the potential savings to the public purse of imposing a waiting time for school, college or university leavers to claim jobseeker's allowance equivalent to existing measures imposed on EU migrants to the UK.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The information is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will ensure that all jobcentres provide access to telephones for jobseekers to apply for jobs when no computer is required or the jobseeker is unable to use a computer.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
As part of our Jobcentre modernisation programme we have replaced all Customer Access Telephones with computers. Alongside this we provide an assisted service for claimants who require additional support while using the computers.
Claimants who require access to a telephone in connection with their benefit or job search will still be given access to a telephone in a Jobcentre.
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of rolling the value of pensioner benefits into the state pension.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Government has not made an assessment of the potential merits of rolling the value of pensioner benefits into the state pension. Means tested, disability, care and universal benefits serve different purposes alongside the state pension.
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have found employment through (a) the Work Programme, (b) the Youth Contract and (c) an apprenticeship in (i) City of Bristol and (ii) Bristol North West constituency in each year since 2010.
Answered by Esther McVey
The information requested for part (a), the number of people placed into employment from the Work Programme, is not available.
The information we do have shows the number of Work Programme Job Outcomes, by various geographies and this can be found at:
http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/WorkProg/tabtool.html
Guidance for users can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance
The data requested for (b) and (c) is not available. The latest published information on Youth Contract starts and apprenticeship starts can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the efficacy of ATOS's use of cognitive behavioural therapy for people suffering from Myalgic Encephalopathy and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Answered by Lord Harper
Atos have contracts with the Department to conduct assessments pertaining to different welfare benefits. Within these contracts, Atos do not use or conduct any form of therapy with any claimant and they do not refer claimants for any therapy.
DWP’s internal occupational Employee Assistance Programme provides the opportunity for face to face counselling with staff where it is appropriate. Some counselling practitioners may use CBT techniques in their sessions depending on the counsellor’s training and preferred therapy techniques. Employee occupational and health records are confidential and DWP has not carried out any analysis of the efficacy of the use of CBT for its employees. Our understanding is that the use of CBT is minimal and therefore any analysis would not be statistically significant.
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) the UK, (b) the South West and (c) Bristol North West constituency are unemployed but unable to claim jobseeker's allowance because they are deemed to have a sufficient level of personal savings.
Answered by Esther McVey
The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that adequate support exists for those affected by the abolition of the Independent Living Fund beyond the year of guaranteed funding made available to local authorities.
Answered by Mike Penning
Last year's Spending Review determined budgets for 2015/16 only. This applies to all aspects of government expenditure not just ex-ILF funding. Budgets for later years will be determined in a later Spending Review; the timing of this is not known but it is likely to be after the next general election.
Following the closure of the ILF it will be the responsibility of the Department of Health and the devolved administrations to ensure that they reflect the needs of ILF users in future funding bids.
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department takes into account the differences in the positions of men and women in preparing for retirement when devising its policy on pensions.
Answered by Steve Webb
Yes. The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to fully meeting our legal obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty, which is part of the Equality Act 2010. We have embedded equality analysis into the processes we use to develop, deliver and evaluate our policies, practices and services. This ensures that we continue to assess the likely and actual effects of what we do on people with protected characteristics to help inform our decision making processes.
Asked by: Charlotte Leslie (Conservative - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support people with the rising cost of funerals.
Answered by Steve Webb
The Social Fund Funeral Payment scheme continues to provide help towards a simple, respectful, low-cost funeral. In 2012/13, over 35,000 awards were made worth £42.7 million, with an average award of £1,225.
Social Fund Budgeting Loans are also available to those on income related benefits to cover costs relating to funeral expenses.
In addition, any arrears of benefit which were due to the deceased at date of death are disregarded. This means that such arrears are no longer deducted from the funeral payment award.