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176632

registered interest
date	29/01/2015
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	Occupational Health
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made with the establishment of the Health at Work Assessment and Advisory Service.
tabling member printed	Lord Luce
uin	HL4541
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Fit for Work, previously known as the Health and Work Service, is comprised of two elements:</p><p> </p><p>i) Free, expert and impartial work-related health advice via a website and telephone line</p><p>ii) Referral to an occupational health professional for employees who are, or are expected to, undergo a period of sickness absence from work lasting four weeks or more. The Fit for Work occupational health professional will identify obstacles preventing the employee from returning to work and produce a Return to Work Plan tailored to the employee’s needs.</p><p> </p><p>The advice element of Fit for Work went live in England and Wales in December 2014.</p><p> </p><p>From January 2015 some GPs in the Sheffield area had the opportunity to try the assessment service. This will be expanded across the country over a period of months from spring, building on this experience and learning.</p><p> </p><p>Fit for Work Scotland is being delivered by the Scottish Government; the advice element went live in December 2014 and the referral element went live, initially in three NHS Board areas, in January 2015. As with England and Wales, this will be expanded across Scotland from the spring.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 04/02/2015 15:06:55 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	908 label Biography information for Lord Luce

176260

registered interest
date	28/01/2015
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
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made to implement the changes announced in December 2014 to provide more information about Short Term Benefit Advances online and in Jobcentres and to update the guidance on Short Term Benefit Advances for Jobcentre advisers.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL4518
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Rt. Hon. Iain Duncan Smith, set out on 8 December 2014 (Official Report, column 633) how the Department for Work and Pensions will be doing much to raise awareness of Short Term Benefit Advances (STBAs). This will include providing more information to claimants about STBAs online and in Jobcentres. Staff guidance on STBAs will also be updated and staff reminded of the process for considering an STBA.</p><p> </p><p>The department has already undertaken testing of the posters and messaging with a small number of staff and claimants. We have also asked the Social Security Advisory Committee to review these customer communication products before they are introduced.</p><p> </p><p>Once the products have been introduced we will, of course, closely monitor their effectiveness and impact, including on the number of requests for STBAs.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud grouped question UIN HL4519 HL4520 HL4521 question first answered 04/02/2015 15:06:07 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

176261

registered interest
date	28/01/2015
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
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what procedures they have put in place to monitor the effectiveness of changes to the information and guidance provided on Short Term Benefit Advances in helping to raise awareness of Short Term Benefit Advances among potential claimants.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL4519
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2015 answer text <p>The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Rt. Hon. Iain Duncan Smith, set out on 8 December 2014 (Official Report, column 633) how the Department for Work and Pensions will be doing much to raise awareness of Short Term Benefit Advances (STBAs). This will include providing more information to claimants about STBAs online and in Jobcentres. Staff guidance on STBAs will also be updated and staff reminded of the process for considering an STBA.</p><p> </p><p>The department has already undertaken testing of the posters and messaging with a small number of staff and claimants. We have also asked the Social Security Advisory Committee to review these customer communication products before they are introduced.</p><p> </p><p>Once the products have been introduced we will, of course, closely monitor their effectiveness and impact, including on the number of requests for STBAs.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud grouped question UIN HL4518 HL4520 HL4521 question first answered 04/02/2015 15:06:07 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

176262

registered interest
date	28/01/2015
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
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will evaluate the effectiveness of changes to the information and guidance provided on Short Term Benefit Advances in helping to raise awareness of Short Term Benefit Advances among potential claimants.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL4520
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2015 answer text <p>The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Rt. Hon. Iain Duncan Smith, set out on 8 December 2014 (Official Report, column 633) how the Department for Work and Pensions will be doing much to raise awareness of Short Term Benefit Advances (STBAs). This will include providing more information to claimants about STBAs online and in Jobcentres. Staff guidance on STBAs will also be updated and staff reminded of the process for considering an STBA.</p><p> </p><p>The department has already undertaken testing of the posters and messaging with a small number of staff and claimants. We have also asked the Social Security Advisory Committee to review these customer communication products before they are introduced.</p><p> </p><p>Once the products have been introduced we will, of course, closely monitor their effectiveness and impact, including on the number of requests for STBAs.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud grouped question UIN HL4518 HL4519 HL4521 question first answered 04/02/2015 15:06:08 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

176263

registered interest
date	28/01/2015
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
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether changes to the information and guidance provided on Short Term Benefit Advances have led to an increase in the number of applications for Short Term Benefit Advances.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL4521
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2015 answer text <p>The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Rt. Hon. Iain Duncan Smith, set out on 8 December 2014 (Official Report, column 633) how the Department for Work and Pensions will be doing much to raise awareness of Short Term Benefit Advances (STBAs). This will include providing more information to claimants about STBAs online and in Jobcentres. Staff guidance on STBAs will also be updated and staff reminded of the process for considering an STBA.</p><p> </p><p>The department has already undertaken testing of the posters and messaging with a small number of staff and claimants. We have also asked the Social Security Advisory Committee to review these customer communication products before they are introduced.</p><p> </p><p>Once the products have been introduced we will, of course, closely monitor their effectiveness and impact, including on the number of requests for STBAs.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud grouped question UIN HL4518 HL4519 HL4520 question first answered 04/02/2015 15:06:08 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

175451

registered interest
date	23/01/2015
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	Offshore Industry: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Health and Safety Executive about backlogs of safety-critical maintenance work on offshore installations in the North Sea.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	221872
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2015 answer text <p>DWP ministers have had no such discussions with the Health and Safety Executive.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 28/01/2015 16:03:02 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

175523

registered interest
date	23/01/2015
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	Disability Living Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls were made to the disability living allowance helpline, 08457 123456 in each of the last five financial years; how much revenue was generated from these calls; and by when he expects to end the use of this number.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Mr Frank Field
uin	221919
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2015 answer text <p>The following table details the number of calls received on the Disability Living Allowance Helpline, 08457 123456 for each of the last five financial years as reported on OPMIS (Operational Management Information Statistics) system.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial year</p></td><td><p>Calls rec’d on 08457123456 helpline</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><em>2009/10</em></p></td><td><p><strong>5,289,494</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><em>2010/11</em></p></td><td><p><strong>4,980,340</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><em>2011/12</em></p></td><td><p><strong>4,760,016</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><em>2012/13</em></p></td><td><p><strong>4,523,861</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><em>2013/14 </em></p></td><td><p><strong>3,631,121</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>DWP received no revenue for calls to this number for the financial years 2009/10 to 2013/14. The DLA Helpline service can also be accessed by dialling 03457 123456. Callers to 08457 123456 are informed of the availability of the 0345 option and are signposted to their telephony provider for advice on which number is cheaper. The use of 0845 numbers were inherited from previous Government and this Department has since introduced 0345 numbers because they are cheaper under most operators’ packages and where they are not, we have kept 0845 numbers.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Any charges that apply to these calls will be set by the customer’s telephone or mobile operator. Charge variations will occur due to operator packages and individual price plans. We are aware of possible concerns about call charges to our enquiry lines so we will offer to call a customer back if concerns are raised over the cost of the call.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 28/01/2015 16:32:17 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

175330

registered interest
date	22/01/2015
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: Disciplinary Proceedings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Jobcentre Plus staff were subject to disciplinary action in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	221791
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/01/2015 answer text <p>The number of Jobcentre Plus staff subject to disciplinary action in 2010 and 2011 is recorded in the table below. For completeness, I have included the total number of Department for Work and Pensions staff subject to disciplinary action in each of the past five calendar years.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Total number of staff subject to disciplinary action</p></td><td><p>Attributable to Jobcentre Plus</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>2,051</p></td><td><p>1,546</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>2,521</p></td><td><p>1,484</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>2,055</p></td><td><p>-</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>1,951</p></td><td><p>-</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>1,411</p></td><td><p>-</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Jobcentre Plus ceased to exist as a separate organisation in October 2011 and was consumed within the wider Department for Work and Pensions. Information for Jobcentre Plus is therefore not available beyond September 2011 and Jobcentre Plus information for 2011 is a part year figure only.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 27/01/2015 14:54:25 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

175331

registered interest
date	22/01/2015
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	Unemployment
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 reasons for the change in the inactivity rate recorded in the Office of National Statistics Labour Market statistics issued on 21 January 2015.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	221787
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/01/2015 answer text <p>Latest figures show that for the period September to November 2014, excluding those not looking for work because they are students, inactivity was 16.6% of the 16-64 population. This was unchanged compared to the same period in 2013 and down 1.3 percentage points compared to 2010.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 27/01/2015 12:40:46 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

175332

registered interest
date	22/01/2015
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's policy is on the use of Braille to communicate with benefit claimants.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne East
tabling member printed	Mr Nicholas Brown
uin	221682
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2015 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and which promote equality of opportunity. We will always provide the best tailored service possible. If claimants express a preference for receiving the information in Braille, this will be provided.</p><p> </p><p>Guidance on how to get documents for claimants or customers in Braille using the contracted provision the Department has in place is available for all staff via the Department’s intranet.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 29/01/2015 14:43:30 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	523 label Biography information for Mr Nicholas Brown