§ Mr. Alan HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what monitoring of former invalidity benefit claimants and ex-incapacity benefit claimants who have signed on as unemployed is being undertaken(a) by her Department and (b) on behalf of the Department of Social Security. [6192]
§ Mr. ForthThe Employment Service records the number of people leaving incapacity benefits due to the all work test who subsequently inquire at jobcentres. Records cover the numbers: who claim unemployment benefits during each month; who start a job with Employment Service help; who take a place on an Employment Service programme or training for work; who Employment Service staff know leave unemployment to claim another benefit, including family credit; who leave unemployment for any other reason known to the Employment Service; and those whose claim is referred to an adjudication officer, with the outcome of that adjudication. The Employment Service also counts the number who are 249W unemployed on one particular day each month and the number each month who inquire about unemployment benefits but do not pursue a claim. No distinction is made in any of these records between former invalidity benefit and ex-incapacity benefit claimants. Summaries of this information at national level are provided to the Department of Social Security and the Benefits Agency each month. The following table sets out the latest information.
ES record of incapacity benefit leavers1 Flow figures (since April 1995) Cumulative since April 1995 Number of IB leavers claiming at ES jobcentres 72,564 Number starting a job2: with ES Mainstream help 1,134 with PACT help 1,249 Numbers starting on DfEE employment and training programmes (including TfW): Mainstream 4,684 PWDs on mainstream programmes 989 PWDs on specialist provision 1,359 Adjudication Decisions Allowed 28 Disallowed 248 Number starting on other benefits (includes family credit) 2,418 Number signing off for other reasons as a result of ES adviser action 1,778 Number enquiring but not pursuing a claim 9,682 Stock information ES report that on 13 September there were 25,616 IB leavers claiming unemployment benefits (compared with 27,223 on 9 August3) 1 Incapacity Benefit Leavers are defined as those disallowed IB by the All Work Test, or for declining to take the AWT, or failing to complete the preliminary questionnaire. 2 Figures shown are where ES advisers were involved in the placing. They do not include any who found work themselves, who often do not inform ES, or those who found work from Jobcentres vacancies without going through an ES adviser. 3 The figure for the stock in any month is lower than the cumulative inflow since April 1995 because, in common with all unemployed people, some IB leavers leave unemployment each month. This table shows the destinations of those leaving where it is known to the Employment Service. Again as is the case with all unemployed people many leave unemployment for a job or other destination without informing the Employment Service.