§ Mr. RowlandsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the number of people taken on under the New Deal arrangements by non-departmental bodies in receipt of financial support from his Department. [60519]
§ Angela EagleThis Department provides financial support to two non-departmental public bodies, the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (OPRA) and the Pensions Compensation Board (PCB). OPRA has not yet recruited anyone under the New Deal but hopes to participate in the near future. PCB does not directly employ any staff so there is no scope for them to recruit under the New Deal arrangements.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if his estimate that lone parents who take paid employment as a result of the New Deal programme and who are £40 per week better off takes account of the value of those passported benefits which are available only to those on income support. [60513]
§ Angela EagleThe "better off' figure quoted as £40 refers to the sample of around 300 lone parents who moved from Income Support into work (and onto Family Credit) following participation in the New Deal for Lone Parent prototypes. No statistics are collected on those who move off benefit completely. Included in the calculation of the £40 better off figure are Child Benefit, maintenance, Family Credit, net income from earnings, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.
Family Credit and Income Support recipients are entitled to several additional NHS benefits such as free prescriptions, dental treatment, sight tests, vouchers for glasses, refunds of travel costs to and from hospital for treatment, wigs and fabric supports, as well as dried milk 864W for babies under a year old. Income Support recipients are also entitled to additional benefits, such as free school meals for children, which are not available to those on Family Credit. None of the value of these additional benefits is included in any of the above calculations.
Notes:
- 1. Earnings are not assumed in Income Support cases.
- 2. The better off figure takes account of assumed rates of Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit for Income Support cases (set at £54.10 and £8.60 respectively) and a calculated amount for each Family Credit case.
§ Mr. Duncan SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many of the total number of lone parents who obtained employment through the New Deal for Lone Parents between July 1997 and September 1998 have subsequently left employment to claim income support. [60702]
§ Angela EagleThe information requested is not readily available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Duncan SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the average annual salary of the personal advisers in the New Deal for Lone Parents is; and what the ratio of advisers to lone parents has been in each of the pilot areas. [60744]
§ Angela EagleThe average annual salary of the personal advisers in the New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) is £20,783 gross.
The table shows the estimated total numbers of lone parents on Income Support in each of the 'pilot' areas at the commencement of Phase 1 of the New Deal for Lone Parents in July 1997 whose youngest child was aged 5 years 3 months and over.
District Estimated number of lone parents on Income Support whose youngest child was agesd 5 yrs 3 mths and over Number of advisers Estimated ratio of advisers to lone parents Cambridgeshire 4,780 11 1 to 434 Sheffield East 3,200 9 1 to 355 North Worcestershire 3,320 7 1 to 474 North Cheshire 4,330 10 1 to 433 North Surrey 6,720 15 1 to 448 Cardiff & Vale 5,020 11 1 to 456 Clyde Valley 2,710 6 1 to 451 Warwickshire 3,440 8 1 to 430 Total 33,520 77 1 to 435 (average) Notes
865W
- 1. The numbers of Advisers shown gives the numbers in post at the commencement of Phase 1 of the New Deal for Lone Parents in July 1997. There were fluctuations in these figures due to staff changing jobs etc., but the number of Advisers throughout Phase 1 of the New Deal for Lone Parents ranged between 72 and 84.
- 2. It is important to note that the number of lone parents shown in each of the Districts is the number in the target group—ie. those whose youngest child is aged 5 years 3 months and over. This group represents one half of the total number of lone parents claiming Income Support in each of the areas shown. In addition, lone parents from the non-target group (ie. those whose youngest child was aged below 5 years and three months) also put themselves forward and actually benefited from the New Deal for Lone Parents service.
§ Mr. RowlandsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many young people within his Department have been employed under the New Deal arrangements. [60374]
§ Angela EagleI refer my hon. Friend to the Written Answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, East (Mr. Mudie), the Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment with responsibility for lifelong learning, today,Official Report, column 755.
This Department has not yet recruited any young people under the New Deal arrangements. The Benefits Agency and the War Pensions Agency have recently signed New Deal contracts with the Employment Service. The other Agencies, and DSS Headquarters, expect to sign contracts shortly. With these agreements in place, we hope to begin recruiting people under the New Deal arrangements.