§ Mr. McCartneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received regarding the safety of Benefits Agency staff dealing with income support claims and the proposed jobseekers allowance; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Roger EvansThe administration of income support and the benefit-related aspects of the proposed jobseeker's allowance is the responsibility of Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Ian McCartney, dated 27 January 1995:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the safety of Benefits Agency staff dealing with Income Support claims and the proposed Jobseeker's Allowance.From April 1996, Jobseeker's Allowance will replace Income Support and Unemployment Benefit for those customers who are required to be available or register for employment. Other customers will still be able to claim Income Support but there are no proposals to have claims by them dealt with by Benefits Agency staff in Employment Service Jobcentres and there have been no representations about the safety of staff dealing with Income Support claims.Claims to Jobseeker's Allowance will be dealt with, as far as is possible, in Employment Service Jobcentres. To date, representations have been received from the Benefits Agency Trade Union Side about the safety of Benefits Agency staff working in 518W Employment Service Jobcentres. Discussions are taking place with the Trade Union Side following a generic risk assessment of the effects of handling the Jobseeker's Allowance in Employment Service Jobcentres. This will be followed by local risk assessments in each Employment Service Jobcentre. Benefits Agency Trade Unions will be consulted about the results of the risk assessment.I hope you find this reply helpful.