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76545

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2014
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Flexible Support Fund
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor uptake of the Flexible Support Fund available to Jobcentre Plus managers.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Thomas of Winchester
	uin	HL889
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The Flexible Support Fund (FSF) provides additional support to Jobcentre Plus Districts to address local issues. In monitoring this, FSF spend is broken down nationally by claimant groups and Districts may further break this down if they determine this is a local priority.</p><p> </p><p>All spending decisions are assessed against established criteria including value for money. Payments are encouraged on an outcome basis linked to employment.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 14/07/2014 14:51:47 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	3785 label Biography information for Baroness Thomas of Winchester

50280

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2014
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many staff were employed at Jobcentre Plus in each year from 2005 to 2013.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL6998
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The total number of staff employed by Jobcentre Plus in March of each year from 2005 to 2011 is shown in the table below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Jobcentre Plus Staffing (Full Time Equivalents)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2004/2005</p></td><td><p>73,406</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2005/2006</p></td><td><p>71,222</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006/2007</p></td><td><p>67,946</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007/2008</p></td><td><p>66,416</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008/2009</p></td><td><p>69,479</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/2010</p></td><td><p>82,647</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/2011</p></td><td><p>72,939</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Jobcentre Plus was re-structured and absorbed into a revised Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Operations structure in October 2011. Since that point, it has no longer existed as a separate organisation.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 13/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

50224

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2014
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what provisions exist to safeguard monies identified by the Independent Living Fund (ILF) as needed to meet the critical and substantial need of recipients; and whether such funds will be ring-fenced by local authorities to ensure monies are used exclusively for continuation of care when the ILF ceases.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Uddin
	uin	HL6942
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>All the funding that would have been allocated to the ILF in 2015/16 to support its users from July 2015 onwards will be transferred to local authorities in England and to the devolved administrations in other parts of the UK. Local government social care funding is not ring-fenced, allowing local authorities the flexibility to manage their budgets locally in line with local needs and priorities. Local authorities have a statutory duty to assess and fund the eligible care needs of all disabled people, including former users of the Independent Living Fund. The Public Sector Equality Duty applies to local government in the same way as it does to central government.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 14/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	1827 label Biography information for Baroness Uddin

50213

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2014
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, as part of the requirement to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010, accessible toilets at Jobcentre Plus offices are available for the use of claimants with disabilities.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Thomas of Winchester
	uin	HL6931
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>Where there is a medical need, our policy is to allow claimants to use toilet facilities in our Jobcentres, subject to constraints in certain locations caused by the layout of the building and keeping people safe. We consider that this policy complies with the requirement under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 13/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	3785 label Biography information for Baroness Thomas of Winchester

50212

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2014
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Jobcentre Plus: Training
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what training is provided on disability awareness to staff in Jobcentre Plus offices as part of the public sector equality duty; and what steps are being taken to ensure that awareness by staff of obligations under the duty is improving.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Thomas of Winchester
	uin	HL6930
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>DWP, in partnership with Civil Service Learning, provides a wide range of diversity and disability learning opportunities for staff.</p><p> </p><p>The ‘Equality and Diversity Essentials' package provides an overview of the Equality Act 2010, the Public Sector Equality Duty and covers disability for customers and employees. The learning is targeted at all new employees as part of induction and as a refresher for other staff.</p><p> </p><p>DWP offers a follow up ‘Disability Awareness' course. This aims to build the confidence of managers to give effective support to disabled employees.</p><p> </p><p>DWP customer facing staff are trained in the skills required to support a range of claimants and to respect their individual needs. This approach ensures they are skilled to deal with a diverse set of circumstances, whilst treating everyone as individuals. Jobcentre Advisers, in particular, have access to a comprehensive training programme which focuses on raising awareness of the individual's personal circumstances, including disabilities, and also recognises that those circumstances can affect individuals in different ways.</p><p> </p><p>The Department regularly participates in external benchmarking activity to measure and improve performance for disabled staff, customers and service users. 2013 results showed a significant improvement in performance from 2012.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 14/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	3785 label Biography information for Baroness Thomas of Winchester

50211

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2014
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to close the employment gap for disabled people since the ending of the quota system in 1995; and how progress is being monitored.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Thomas of Winchester
	uin	HL6929
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>The disability employment gap has reduced. The Quarterly Labour Force Survey data is used to measure the employment rate gap between working age disabled people and the total working age population.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to ensuring that all disabled people have the opportunities and support that they need to get a job and to remain in work. There is a range of provision to provide this support including the Work Programme, Access to Work and Work Choice programmes. Further, in December 2013, the Government published ‘the disability and health employment strategy: the discussion so far'.</p><p> </p><p>A new Health and Work Service (HWS) is being developed to provide occupational health advice and support for employees, employers and GP's to help individuals with a health condition to stay in or return to work.The intention is to introduce the service by the end of 2014.</p><p> </p><p>In July 2013, The Prime Minister launched the Disability Confident Campaign to help increase employer confidence in recruiting and retaining disabled people as part of a diverse workforce, and to provide opportunities for employers and organisations to share learning and good practice.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 14/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	3785 label Biography information for Baroness Thomas of Winchester

49977

	registered interest
	date	06/05/2014
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in the implementation of the Health and Work Service; and whether that implementation is being taken in stages.
	tabling member printed	Lord Luce
	uin	HL6925
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>We have made good progress towards the implementation of the Health and Work Service.</p><p> </p><p>The tendering process closes on 9 May 2014 and we will formally announce the successful supplier for England and Wales in July 2014. Implementation will begin in late 2014 and the details will be confirmed when the chosen supplier has been appointed.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 14/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	908 label Biography information for Lord Luce

49813

	registered interest
	date	06/05/2014
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether data on the provision of discretionary housing payments by local authorities are collected centrally.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL6829
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The Department asks local authorities to provide data on their use of Discretionary Housing Payments on a twice yearly basis. Information regarding April to September 2013 can be found at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/268411/use-of-discretionary-housing-payments-dec13.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/268411/use-of-discretionary-housing-payments-dec13.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>The Department is currently gathering and quality assuring information regarding end of year spend from local authorities for 2013/14</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 12/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

49812

	registered interest
	date	06/05/2014
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial impact on people on low incomes of uprating most cash benefits and tax credits by one per cent from April 2013 rather than in line with inflation.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL6828
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>For 2013/14, the main rates of working-age benefits, statutory payments and tax credits were up-rated by one per cent in the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2013. The Welfare Benefits Up-rating Act 2013 provided for the one per cent increase to apply for 2014/15 and 2015/16. Both of these were accompanied by Impact Assessments.</p><p> </p><p>As part of his ongoing public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010 to monitor impacts on ‘protected groups', the Secretary of State continues to monitor the impacts of the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Act 2013 in light of any changes to the underlying rate of inflation. The underlying rate of inflation for increases in 2014/15 is similar to that forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility and used in the Impact Assessment. It is therefore likely that the impacts on affected households will be broadly similar to those detailed in the Impact Assessment.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 12/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

47775

	registered interest
	date	08/04/2014
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how they ensure that claimants of benefits who are subject to sanctions know that they may apply for hardship payments; and what is the median time between such applications being made and cash payments being received.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
	uin	HL6723
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>Where a benefit doubt is identified and the case is being referred to a decision maker, claimants are given information (verbally and in writing) about the doubt in question, what happens next, what they can do if a sanction is applied and the availability of hardship provision. Once a decision is made and a sanction applied, a formal notification is issued to the claimant, which includes information about how to apply for hardship.</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not record information about the length of time it takes to make a Hardship payment following receipt of an application.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 16/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton