§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what support schemes for employees who take early retirement, early severance or voluntary redundancy are currently being operated by the Employment Service in the London region; how long these schemes have been in operation; and what plans there are to extend the cover of operation of these schemes. [21046]
559W
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange a reply to be given.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Ms Harriet Harman, dated 26 April 1995:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about early retirement, early severance and voluntary redundancy schemes in the London Region.Schemes are operated on a regional basis and the majority of the following information therefore relates to the London and South East region of the Employment Services (ES).Voluntary early retirement and early severance schemes have been operated for a number of years by the Department of Employment (ED), such schemes being offered when the prevailing circumstances justify them and are not run separately for the ES. The need for schemes is considered each year by ED, on a regional basis. Schemes are operated where it is clear that staff surpluses will occur that cannot be accommodated in other ways.During the current financial year 89 staff in the ED Group in London and the South East left on early retirement. Of these 58 were from the ES. The staff involved were mainly from the more junior grades and in outlying locations (only three were from the Greater London area) for whom redeployment into other alternative posts elsewhere was not a realistic alternative.With unemployment continuing to fall sharply in the region, a similar scheme has just been announced for the current financial year. This will provide ED Group staff London and South East with 170 retirement opportunities. Most of these opportunities are likely to affect ES staff.
Staff allocation 1994/95 Staff usage 1994/95 Grade Permanent Casual Total Permanent Casual Total 4 1.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 5 1.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 6 4.0 0.0 4.0 3.9 0.0 3.9 7 26.0 0.0 26.0 26.4 0.0 26.4 SEO 69.0 0.0 69.0 74.8 0.0 74.8 HEO 543.0 0.0 543.0 459.0 0.0 459.0 EO 3393.0 0.0 3393.0 3276.3 3.5 3279.8 AO 8048.0 365.0 8413.0 8187.7 611.0 8798.7 AA 829.0 1.0 830.0 367.0 109.0 476.0 Others 158.0 12.0 170.0 107.8 7.9 115.7 Total 13072.0 378.0 13450.0 12505.8 731.4 13237.2 560W
Staffing levels and associated resource levels are determined largely, though not exclusively, by levels of unemployment. In LASER, unemployment fell by 15% between April 1994 and March 1995, although the fall was much sharper in some parts of South East England (up to 25%) than in the Region as a whole. This meant that staffing had to be reduced in LASER in phase with this and in fact staffing fell from 14,329 in April 1994 to 11,820 in March, or 17.5% As it is not possible to forecast with any reliability monthly changes in unemployment levels, ES Regions are not allocated staffing resources on a monthly basis.It is also not possible to say with any precision how staffing will move in the year ahead, although during the 1980s unemployment rose more rapidly in London and the South East than in other Regions. That trend is now being matched by a more rapid decline in LASER, particularly outside London, although it is not possible to forecast with confidence whether this will continue. LASER is currently resourced on the basis that it will need an average of 11,650 staff during the current financial year.As in all ES Regions, staffing levels are managed so as to keep as close a match as possible through the year between the levels of
Staff who take retirement under these schemes are offered retirement seminars to advise on financial planning and other matters. At this stage there are no plans for further schemes which would affect ES staff.I hope this is helpful.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the number of staff actually employed in the region and the number of established positions which allocated resources allow for in the region, for the Employment Service in the London region, for each of the past 12 months, expressing the data by staff grade; and if he will make a statement about the staffing levels of the Employment Service in the London region. [21045]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange a reply to be given.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Ms Harriet Harman dated 26 April 1995:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the levels of staffing in the London region of the Employment Service (ES) over the past 12 months.The information you have requested is recorded on an ES Regional basis rather than for specific geographic areas. I have therefore provided the following information for the ES London and South East Region (LASER).In common with all ES regions, LASER was allocated resources for the 1994/95 financial year on the basis of expected business volumes. The staff allocation for this twelve month period was 13,450. This is shown by grade and compared with actual usage in the following table.business to be performed and the staffing resources allocated. That this has been done successfully has been borne out by the fact that LASER placed 487,000 clients into jobs during the last financial year, 9.5% above target. Of these 37.8% were long term claimants (against a target of 36.0%) and 4.1% people with disabilities, against a target of 3.6%I hope this is helpful.