§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the dismissal of 350 temporary staff by Jobcentre Plus London Region in February and March, with particular reference to the number who were re-employed by Jobcentre Plus within 13 weeks of their dismissal on(a) temporary contracts and (b) permanent contracts; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for their dismissal. [145351]
§ Mr. BrowneThe administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Andrew Dismore, dated 21 January 2004:
As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning re-employment of temporary staff within 13 weeks in London whose contracts of employment ended in February and March 2003. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.1340WOf the 350 staff on temporary contracts who left employment with Jobcentre Plus during February and March 2003, two people were re-employed within 13 weeks of the end of their temporary contract, one on a permanent contract and one on a new temporary contract.Jobcentre Plus employs temporary staff specifically to fill short-term needs. This may be for a variety of reasons, for example to help manage peaks of work or to facilitate the release of staff for training during the rollout of the integrated Jobcentre Plus service. Any temporary employees ending their employment in February/ March 03 were released as their contracts had ended and the services/roles for which they were engaged had also finished.While there will be an on-going need to employ a small percentage of temporary staff for the reasons I have set out above, it remains the intention in London to reduce reliance on temporary employees and to recruit and maintain a stable permanent workforce.I hope this is helpful and clarifies matters.