Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help fill job vacancies in Romford constituency.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the constituency and across the London Borough of Havering, the local Romford Jobcentre team are supporting residents into work and helping those in work to progress to higher paid jobs. We are working with local and national employers to help fill vacancies quickly, delivering Sector-Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), recruitment days, Job Fairs, and work trials.
The weekly job club in Romford Jobcentre provides support on CV preparation, job applications and interview techniques, along with information sessions on a range of subjects to help customers into work, including information about different employment sectors, advice on childcare, support for those with additional health needs and motivational sessions.
The Jobcentre provides a bespoke service to employers, to match and screen candidates, and offers regular Job Fairs focussed on specific sectors and customer groups, with recent events to coincide with older workers week and national apprenticeship week. The team are also working with the London Borough of Havering to develop local support.
In partnership with the College of North East London we have recently offered SWAPs for local customers to gain skills and enhance their applications for the Logistics and Warehouse sectors. Care Provider Voices deliver a range of adult social care opportunities, with Springboard offering opportunities in the hospitality sector.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to reduce the number of veterans receiving PIP.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is intended to provide a contribution towards the extra costs of people with long-term health conditions and disabilities and is available irrespective of their past or current employment. The benefit is non means–tested, non-contributory and thus paid regardless of any income or savings. It can be paid at one of eight rates depending on the level of the individual’s needs.
Entitlement to PIP is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from a health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself. Individuals can be affected in different ways by the same condition and so the outcome of a PIP claim depends very much on individual circumstances. Where a claimant’s needs change they may see a higher or lower award or lose entitlement altogether.
As PIP is needs-based and paid in the terms outlined above, we have no initiatives which are targeted at veterans.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of active personnel on Universal Credit.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Serving armed forces personnel can claim Universal Credit in exactly the same way as any other citizen. Any entitlement will depend on a number of factors, including earnings and any other income; capital; constitution of household; and housing costs.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans received Carer’s Allowance in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not collected and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans were PIP claimants in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not collected and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help expand the support offered by Jobcentres in (a) Romford constituency and (b) the London Borough of Havering.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The local Jobcentre team are collaborating with a range of partners to support people into work and help employers fill vacancies. In addition to hosting job fairs and delivering Sector-Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs). Romford Jobcentre is working with Havering Council, local colleges, childcare providers and other organisations to provide an employment and skills offer to help meet the recruitment needs of local employers.
This includes outreach support at the Rainham Childrens Centre and Havering Council, working with family practitioners, social workers, and probation to provide a holistic approach to supporting families in the borough, as well as support with CV preparation provided through Havering Library service, a Job Fair delivered in partnership with Havering Works and SWAPs delivered with Havering Adult College.
Disability Employment Advisers offer advice and expertise on how to help disabled people and people with health conditions into work, alongside close working with Change Grow Live, Havering Talking therapies, Havering Mind, the Social Prescribing team, and Richmond Fellowship. Romford Jobcentre colleagues also attend local events to highlight the support available, as well as Access to Work and Disability Confident.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help ensure that job centres work with Further Education colleges to support adult learners to gain skills and qualifications.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
For customers in England, we have ongoing collaboration at a national and local level with the Department for Education who fund adult education via the Adult Education Budget (AEB). Learning providers, many of which are Further Education colleges, deliver training to address customer skills needs in line with labour market demand. As skills is a devolved matter, similar discussions take place with stakeholders in the Scottish and Welsh Governments.
Local Jobcentre Plus partnership teams work directly with colleges and training providers in their area to ensure claimants have access to the right skills support. In England, this partnership is facilitated in part by the Department for Education’s employer representative body led Local Skills improvement Partnerships.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of levels of in-work poverty in Poplar and Limehouse constituency.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics are not available at the constituency level.
National Statistics on the number and percentage of people in “in-work poverty”, including regional-level data, is published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. This can be found here.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help individuals out of work improve their (a) numeracy and (b) literacy skills.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches engage with customers to better understand the steps needed to support their work search. Where essential skills needs are identified as a barrier to securing or progressing in employment, customers can be referred to available local provision which can include essential maths and numeracy training available through Multiply, English (literacy and English as a Second Language, ESOL) and digital skills, as well as other key vocational focussed opportunities.
Through DWP Train and Progress the length of time Universal Credit (UC) customers can undertake work-focused training has been extended. UC claimants are now able to attend full-time work-related training for up to 16 weeks.
For customers in England, we have ongoing collaboration at a national and local level with the Department for Education who fund adult education through the Adult Education Budget (AEB). Learning providers, many of which are Further Education colleges, deliver training to address customer skills needs in line with labour market demand. As skills is a devolved matter, similar discussions take place with key stakeholders in the Scottish and Welsh Governments to help ensure the employment and skills support offered to claimants in the devolved nations is aligned.
Asked by: Liz Kendall (Labour - Leicester West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 18113 on Jobcentres: Finance, what the individual incentives are in the two incentive pilot programmes for work coaches supporting people into work.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP ran an initial incentives pilot for a 6-month period from March 2023 until August 2023. A second phase of the incentives pilot commenced 1 January 2024 and ended on 31 March 2024. The pilot was in line with existing Reward and Recognition policy, with vouchers between £95 and £250 issued to individuals working in those Jobcentres that qualify for an award.