Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people her Department plans to migrate from employment support allowance to universal credit in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Birmingham, Edgbaston in (i) 2019-20, (ii) 2020-21, (iii) 2021-22 and (iv) 2022-23.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The requested information is not available by constituency or region.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with her African counterparts on support for the International Labour Organisation convention to end violence and harassment in the world of work.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Government supports the adoption of an ILO Convention on ending violence and harassment in the world of work. The Government is fully engaged in discussions in the ILO on the scope and content of the proposed Convention and as part of that is in regular contact with other states on this issue. The text of the Convention under negotiation includes informal workers and, if universally ratified, would apply to the world’s poorest workers. The Government’s position on the definitions and scope of the Convention is that it should provide broad coverage, whilst being ratifiable by as large a number of the ILO’s membership as possible.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2018 to Question 174137 on Vacancies: West Midlands, what assessment she has made of trends in the number of vacancies on (a) Find a Job and (b) Universal Jobmatch for (i) permanent and (ii) contract positions since 2013.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Vacancy Survey, run by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) is the source used to estimate the number of vacancies available. Further information is available on the ONS website at https://www.ons.gov.uk/.
‘Find a job’ is a live, self-service website which is constantly being used by employers to upload, edit and end job vacancies. As such, this means that numbers can change from minute to minute. As of 25 October 2018 there are over 184,000 vacancies available on this site.
Whilst management Information from the ‘Find a job’ website is useful for the Department and used to improve the service and ensure we’re providing the best service to employers and jobseekers, this information is not intended to represent labour market statistics and trends.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2018 to Question 176531 on Carers: Unemployment, what (a) data and (b) methodology her Department uses to determine decisions on those interventions.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The data that the Department uses on Carers unemployment comes from the Family Resources Survey. The latest Family Resources Survey data is for 2016/17. This report and the carers data tables can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-201617
For Carers on Universal Credit who carry out caring duties for over 35 hours per week there are no mandatory interventions for them to attend. For Carers on Universal Credit who carry out caring duties under 35 hours a week they will be subject to mandatory interventions. These interventions will vary in frequency taking into account their household circumstances.
Carers on Income Support have a mandatory intervention every three years which is a work focussed intervention with a work coach. Where a carer has agreed to undertake some work focussed activity, then DWP will offer appropriate interventions to help them get back to work. These will be tailored to reflect the needs and circumstances of the carer, the local labour market and other relevant factors
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of (a) carers and (b) parents that have (a) not entered work (b) reduced their working hours and (c) left the workforce as a result of caring responsibilities.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The requested information is not available.
DWP continues to invest in supporting carers to return to work through Jobcentre Plus which could include adviser support, access to the Flexible Support Fund, and payment for replacement care, childcare, travel and course costs to allow the carer to undertake approved activity or interview with Jobcentre Plus, providers or employers.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of effect of caring responsibilities on carers (a) retaining, (b) entering and (c) progressing in work.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Government is committed to continuing to support carers, who are vital partners in the health and care system, and continues to support carers in a way that supports their own health & wellbeing, employment and other life chances.
Many carers struggle to find good jobs that are appropriate for their level of skill and experience after taking time out for caring for children and other relatives. This is a loss to the economy, to employers, and to those individuals.
In the 2017 Spring Budget, the Government allocated £5 million to support people to return to paid work in the public and private sector. The returner programmes will support carers who have taken an extended career break. Best practice guidance has also been published to help employers of all sizes and across sectors to increase the quantity and quality of work opportunities they offer returners.
The Government has extended the right to request flexible working for all with 26 weeks of continuous employment. A Flexible Working Taskforce has also been established to look at ways to support employers to improve flexible working practices which could help carers to stay in work and return to work.
The Government is exploring dedicated employment rights for carers, alongside existing rights, such as the right to request flexible working and the right to time off for family and dependents. Department for Work and Pensions are collaborating closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on this area to help support carers in overcoming the practical challenges of balancing work and caring responsibilities.
The Government also continues to invest in supporting carers to return to work through Jobcentre Plus which could include adviser support, access to the Flexible Support Fund, and payment for replacement care, childcare, travel and course costs to allow the carer to undertake approved activity or interview with Jobcentre Plus, providers or employers.
To support carers to remain in the labour market, the Department for Work and Pension is leading on a project to explore how to improve online information and signposting to wider information and support for carers at the start of their caring journey. This Carers Employment Digital Discovery Project is mapping the information needs of working carers in order to identify opportunities for government and others to improve the available information.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of vacancies in the West Midlands for (a) permanent and (b) temporary positions.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Work and Pensions provides a service to offer vacancies which are available on Gov.uk (‘Find a Job’). Current data sourced from this website in respect of vacancies for the West Midlands is below:
Total Jobs – 19,465
Permanent – 10,570
Contract – 8,361
The above data was obtained from Find a Job on 9th October 2018.
(Note: vacancies showing as live on ‘Find a Job’ may have now passed their closing date.)
There are many other job search sites available advertising vacancies, such as indeed.co.uk and reed.co.uk. Vacancies which appear on other sites may or may not appear on ‘Find a Job’; as such the numbers quoted above will not accurately reflect the total job market.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the provision of maternity allowance for self-employed people.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Maternity Allowance is paid by the Department to eligible self-employed and employed women who are not entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay.
The standard rates of payment are reviewed annually during the uprating of social security benefits.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the timeline is for the launch of the Pensions Dashboard.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On Tuesday 4 September 2018, I published a written statement providing an update on pensions including the pensions dashboard. This can be found here: : https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-09-04/HCWS933/
We will shortly report on the findings of the Feasibility Study, and will engage with industry, consumer groups and other stakeholders to agree timelines for delivery.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to roll out the Pensions Dashboard.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On Tuesday 4 September 2018, I published a written statement providing an update on pensions including the pensions dashboard. This can be found here: : https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-09-04/HCWS933/
We will shortly report on the findings of the Feasibility Study, and will engage with industry, consumer groups and other stakeholders to agree timelines for delivery.