HC Deb 28 June 1995 vol 262 cc735-7W
Mr. Berry

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, what is the annual cost of the access to work programme; and for how many people it secures employment. [31224]

Miss Widdecombe

Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from M. E. G. Fodgen to Mr. Roger Berry, dated 28 June 1995: The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the annual cost of the Access to Work programme and for how many people it secures employment. The Access to Work programme was introduced in June 1994 to provide support to help disabled people overcome work-related obstacles caused by their disability so that they are able to compete for and in employment on an equal basis with non-disabled colleagues. In the first year of operation, Access to Work programme expenditure, including transitional and in-year expenditure from the previous schemes, was £15.7 million. Final statistical information on the number of people who received support will not be available until August, but interim figures show that over 7,500 disabled people were helped through Access to Work in the period, together with over 1,300 on transitional arrangements from previous schemes. Monitoring information is not kept centrally on the number of unemployed people who received help and secured employment as a result. However, we are undertaking a review of Access to Work, and research to support the review will examine in detail the operation of the programme. A report of the research will be published in the normal way. I hope this is helpful.

Mr. Livingstone

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what are the target timescales for placing, assessment and counselling teams, dealing with a request for specific support under the access to work scheme; what percentage of cases were dealt with within this target-time; how this policy operates in respect of identification of particular need; and what percentage of people requesting specific types of support actually have their needs met. [30659]

(2) how many deaf and hard of hearing people have been provided with personal notetakers since the new employment support measures were introduced to cover this kind of support; what was the average time taken to provide assistance; and how many cases are outstanding. [30660]

Miss Widdecombe

[holding answer 27 June 1995]: Responsibility for the subject of the questions has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 28 June 1995: The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about how effectively Placing, Assessment and Counselling Teams (PACTs) identify and provide support through the Access to Work programme and how many deaf and hearing people were helped by PACTs through this programme. The Access to Work programme was introduced in June 1994 to provide support to help disabled people overcome work-related obstacles caused by their disability so that they are able to compete for and in employment on an equal basis with non-disabled colleagues. PACTs work with disabled people to identify the specific help they need, taking specialist and technical advice when necessary. PACTs complete an action plan, which is agreed with the client, recording the details of the support the PACT will provide and specifying what the PACT is doing to provide it. I have set PACTs a target of completing action plans for 80% of Access to Work clients within 3 weeks of their applying. If the actual provision of the support is likely to take some time, PACTs seek alternative ways of helping the client. Provisional figures for the period 6 June 1994 to March 1995 show that PACTs helped 2476 deaf and hard of hearing people through Access to Work. Some of these people will have had more than one disability. Help included the provision of aids and equipment, adaption of premises, assistance with fares to work and help at job interviews. Of these, 221 people specifically had the help at work of a support worker provided through the programme. Local managers are responsible for monitoring the operation of Access to Work and for achieving the set targets. This level of detail of monitoring information is not kept centrally, and I cannot therefore say what percentage of applications are dealt with within the target time, or what percentage of applicants get what they ask for. However, we are undertaking a comprehensive review of Access to Work that will examine in detail the operation of the programme. The review will be completed by December and will be published in the normal way. Research to support the review is currently in the field with a first report due in September. I hope this is helpful.

Mr. Livingstone

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what additional resources are likely to be given to placing assessment and counselling teams in order to meet increased demand arising from the introduction of the current anti-discrimination legislation; what training is given to team members in respect of quality standards within their service; and how quality is monitored. [30661]

Miss Widdecombe

[holding answer 27 June 1995]: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 28 June 1995: The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent question about what additional resources are likely to be given to Placing Assessment and Counselling Teams (PACTs) in order to meet increased demand arising from the introduction of the current anti-discrimination legislation; the training given to team members in respect of quality standards within their service; and how quality is monitored. On the future resourcing of PACTs, it might be helpful if I explain that the resource for PACTs, or any other part of ES, is subject to discussions within the current Public Expenditure Survey. Any changes in resources will not be known until the budget statement in November. Turning to PACT training, Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) undertake a programme of key skills training covering induction and basic disability service skills. The programme includes three weeks of centrally provided training in addition to individually structured induction and learning plans. The Key Skills programme is supported by a Training and Development Record and Learning Support Officers to ensure that learning is validated and embedded into work practices. DEAs receive one to one coaching and mentoring from experienced staff in a range of disciplines: for example, from occupational psychologists and managers. Managers work closely with DEAs to enable them to perform to locally agreed standards. The programme is available for use by other PACT staff. All PACT staff are encouraged to acquire additional knowledge and skills and enhance existing skills in line with the ES commitment to Investors in People. The quality of our specialist services for people with disabilities is monitored by line managers, by the annual customer satisfaction survey and by a more detailed satisfaction survey available locally specifically to support Access to Work, and by the ultimate success of PACTs in helping people to get or keep jobs. I hope this is helpful.

Mr. Berry

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the cost to the Exchequer if those employed as a result of the access to work programme were in receipt of benefit instead of in work. [31223]

Mr. Roger Evans

The information requested is not available. Any estimate of the benefit costs would require details of the personal circumstances of the individual concerned.