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90882

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2014
	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	Written Questions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of named day written questions were answered by his Department within the prescribed period in the (a) 2012-13 session, (b) 2013-14 session and (c) 2014-15 session to date.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	208435
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p /> <p /> <p>In the 2014-15 session, as at the end of August 2014, the department had answered 89% of named day questions on the named day</p><p> </p><p>Departmental performance information, for ordinary and named day Parliamentary Questions, is collated by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and submitted to the Procedure Committee. This is published on a sessional basis by the committee, and includes evidence regarding departmental performance. The monitoring report relating to the 2012-13 session was published on 13 February 2014 as HC1046. The report covering statistics relating to performance during the 2013-14 session will be published very shortly by the Procedure Committee.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 10/09/2014 12:19:46 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

45379

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2014
	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	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the planned changes to pensions on the investment strategy of the National Employment Savings Trust.
	tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
	tabling member printed	Gregg McClymont
	uin	193950
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p /> <p /> <p>The investment strategy for the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) is the responsibility of the NEST Trustees who will consider, if in the best interests of their members, there needs to be any change in NEST's investment approach.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 01/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3949 label Biography information for Gregg McClymont

90886

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2014
	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: Staff
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the median length of service of Jobcentre Plus staff was in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	208415
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p /> <p>The median length of service of Jobcentre Plus staff in 2009/10 and 2010/11 is recorded in the table below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Median Length of Service</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>11 years, 8 months</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>15 years, 1 month</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. This means the information beyond September 2011 is not available.</p><p> </p><p>For completeness, I have included the median length of service of all Department for Work and Pensions staff for the past 5 years.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Median Length of Service</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>12 years, 3 months</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>15 years, 5 months</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>18 years, 1 month</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>17 years, 3 months</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>18 years, 7 months</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Length of service is measured as length of service within the Civil Service rather than the Department. The Department’s personnel systems record when an employee joined the Civil Service rather than an individual department or agency.</p><p> </p><p>The increase in the median length of service between 2009/10 to 2011/12 is consistent with the ending of a significant number of temporary contracts in this period. The removal of their low duration of service caused an increase in the median length of service for the Department.</p><p> </p><p>The decrease in median length of service between 2011/12 to 2012/13 was caused by the incorporation of the Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission in August 2012 - who had a lower median length of service than the rest of the Department.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 10/09/2014 13:21:07 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

78627

	registered interest
	date	16/07/2014
	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	Social Security Benefits: Preston
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on how many claims for benefits made by telephone by people in Preston constituency in 2014 to date were interrupted by the claimant running out of credit.
	tabling member constituency	Preston
	tabling member printed	Mark Hendrick
	uin	206310
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p /> <p>The requested information is not available from current Management Information systems as no information relating to the causes of call terminations is gathered. As such, it is not possible to distinguish between reasons for termination or to distinguish between calls terminated by agents or callers.</p><p>The current Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) policy is that all calls should be free to our 0800 numbers to claim:</p><p> </p><ul><li>State Pension;</li><li>Pension Credit;</li><li>Jobseekers’ Allowance;</li><li>Income Support;</li><li>Employment Support Allowance; and,</li><li>Personal Independence Payment.</li></ul><p> </p><p>It is free to call DWP 0800 numbers from all major landline providers.</p><p> </p><p>DWP continues to have agreements with O2, Everything Everywhere (formerly Orange and T-Mobile), Vodafone (including Cable &amp; Wireless), Three (also known as Hutchison 3G), Tesco Mobile and Virgin Mobile ahead of the OFCOM changes due in June 2015. This agreement allows many of our customers to make free mobile phone calls from their participating networks to the Department’s 0800 customer numbers.</p><p> </p><p>DWP is aware of possible concerns about call charges to enquiry and claims lines so agents will routinely offer to call a customer back if concerns are raised over the cost of the call. The Department also provides controlled access to telephones for claimants if required in support of job-searches or benefit enquiries.</p><p> </p><p>During June 2014 the average duration of a call to the Primary Benefit New Claims lines (ESA, IS and JSA) from connection to termination was 14 minutes and 43 seconds.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 22/07/2014 12:18:43 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

43196

	registered interest
	date	13/03/2014
	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	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on housing benefit for tenants in (a) council property, (b) housing association and registered social landlord property and (c) private sector housing in (i) Tameside and (ii) Stockport in each year since 2009.
	tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
	tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
	uin	192149
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p> </p><p>The information is in the tables below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="5"><p>Table 1: Housing Benefit spending in Tameside by accommodation type.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>£ million, nominal</p></td><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>2012/13</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Local Authority Accommodation</p></td><td><p>0.0</p></td><td><p>0.0</p></td><td><p>0.0</p></td><td><p>0.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Temporary Accommodation</p></td><td><p>0.8</p></td><td><p>0.8</p></td><td><p>1.9</p></td><td><p>1.9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Registered Social Landlord</p></td><td><p>52.5</p></td><td><p>54.6</p></td><td><p>55.8</p></td><td><p>59.2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Private Rented Sector</p></td><td><p>22.5</p></td><td><p>27.0</p></td><td><p>30.0</p></td><td><p>29.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total Housing Benefit Spend</p></td><td><p>75.8</p></td><td><p>82.4</p></td><td><p>87.7</p></td><td><p>90.9</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Source: Local authority statistical data and subsidy returns.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="5"><p>Table 2: Housing Benefit spending in Stockport by accommodation type.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>£ million, nominal</p></td><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>2012/13</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Local Authority Accommodation</p></td><td><p>23.5</p></td><td><p>24.2</p></td><td><p>26.3</p></td><td><p>28.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Temporary Accommodation</p></td><td><p>0.7</p></td><td><p>0.7</p></td><td><p>0.8</p></td><td><p>0.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Registered Social Landlord</p></td><td><p>14.8</p></td><td><p>15.6</p></td><td><p>16.5</p></td><td><p>17.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Private Rented Sector</p></td><td><p>25.3</p></td><td><p>29.2</p></td><td><p>31.0</p></td><td><p>31.6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total Housing Benefit Spend</p></td><td><p>64.2</p></td><td><p>69.7</p></td><td><p>74.6</p></td><td><p>78.6</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Source: Local authority statistical data and subsidy returns.</p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p>Figures may not sum exactly due to rounding.</p><p>Expenditure is shown for complete financial years. A breakdown of benefit expenditure for Housing Benefit can be found in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/277439/hb-ctb-la-tables-04022014.xls" target="_blank">Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit expenditure by local authority </a>tables as per the link below:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/277439/hb-ctb-la-tables-04022014.xls" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/277439/hb-ctb-la-tables-04022014.xls</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 18/03/2014 12:00:00 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

42589

	registered interest
	date	11/03/2014
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the pension entitlement is of people of pensionable age who served long sentences in prison.
	tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
	tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
	uin	191684
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>A persons entitlement to the contributory state pension is dependent on the National Insurance contributions they have paid or had credited to them over their working life (from the age of 16 upto the year before they reach State Pension age) which builds up Qualifying Years. This will also be the case for the new single tier pension, but with a requirement to have a minimum number of qualifying years.</p><p>A person who has served a long prison sentence during their working life is likely to have a below average entitlement to contributory state pension. However, Pension Credit is available where the person's (and partner's) income from all sources is inadequate.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 17/03/2014 12:00:00 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

60849

	registered interest
	date	09/06/2014
	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	Separated People: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when each of the new projects chosen in the second round of competition for funding from the Help and Support for Separated Families Innovation Fund will commence.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh East
	tabling member printed	Sheila Gilmore
	uin	199625
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/06/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>All projects successful during the second round of the Innovation Fund procurement exercise became operational during or before April 2014.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 12/06/2014 14:12:51 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3965 label Biography information for Sheila Gilmore

47739

	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	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the level of need in rural communities for discretionary housing payments beyond 2014-15.
	tabling member constituency	Arfon
	tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
	uin	195835
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>An assessment has not yet been made about the level of need in rural communities for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) beyond 2014/15. DHP funding after 2014/15 will be agreed in due course and will be informed by evidence on the use and demand for DHPs, including in rural communities. The Department is currently collecting data on the use of Discretionary Housing Payments in the 2013/14 financial year.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 10/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

77497

	registered interest
	date	11/07/2014
	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	Pensioners: Means-tested Benefits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the number of pensioners that would be lifted out of poverty if take-up of means-tested benefits was 100 per cent.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh East
	tabling member printed	Sheila Gilmore
	uin	205396
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>An up-to-date estimate of the number of pensioners that would be lifted out of poverty if take-up of means-tested benefits was 100 per cent is not available. The latest estimate available, published in 2011 (PQ 33325, Official Report, 13 January 2011, column 429W), showed that an estimated 600,000 pensioners would be lifted out of poverty if take-up of means-tested benefits was 100 per cent. It should be noted, however, that given that there have been changes to the policy context, the level of pensioner poverty, and in the wider economy over the period, this figure is likely to have changed since then.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/07/2014 11:28:57 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3965 label Biography information for Sheila Gilmore

45172

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2014
	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	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the upper limit will be of the amount of state pension top-up people can buy.
	tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
	tabling member printed	Gregg McClymont
	uin	193915
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>As announced in the Budget 2014, the maximum amount of additional State Pension that individuals can obtain under the State Pension top-up scheme (Class 3A) will be £25 per week. We intend to make details available shortly of the contribution rates by age for each £1 per week of additional pension.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 31/03/2014 12:00:00 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3949 label Biography information for Gregg McClymont