§ Mr. RooneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many claimants on the project work pilots in Hull and Medway had benefit reductions of (i) two weeks or less and (ii) two to four weeks for failure to attend or complete work placement; and, of these, how many applied(a) successfully and (b) unsuccessfully for hardship payments. [13591]
§ Mr. Forth[holding answer 30 January 1997]: 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 Robert Horne to Mr. Terry Rooney, dated 12 February 1997:
The Secretary of State has asked Leigh Lewis to reply to your question about the number of people involved in the Project Work pilots in Hull and Medway who have had their benefit cut and about how many of those have applied for hardship payments. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to Leigh Lewis as Chief Executive of the Agency. I am replying in his absence.The latest information, up to 31 January 1997, shows that 108 Project Work clients had been sanctioned for a period of 2 weeks and 16 for a period of 4 weeks in the Hull pilot area. Over the same period, in the Medway and Maidstone pilot area, 92 clients were sanctioned for a two week period and 11 for a 4 week period.229WThese sanctions were given following decisions by adjudication officers that the clients had, without good cause, failed to attend a Project Work place, refused a place, left a place early or lost a place through misconduct.Peter Mathison, Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency has agreed to write to you separately on issue on the number of clients who made a claim for a hardship payment.I hope this is helpful.