§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the outturn figures were for(a)the Jobcentre Plus Customer Service Target and (b) the Jobcentre Plus Employer Outcome Target for 2002–03; and if he will make a statement; [82509]
(2) if he will place in the Library the report on the pilot of the Jobcentre Plus Job Entry Target scheme conducted by his Department. [82512]
(3) what the outturn figure was in respect of the national Jobcentre Plus Job Entry Target points score for 2002–03, broken down by client group; and if he will make a statement. [82514]
(4) what the outturn figures were in respect of the Jobcentre Plus Business Delivery Target for 2002–03; and if he will make a statement; [82520]
(5) how many job entries have been achieved in relation to each of the Jobcentre Plus priority client groups in 2002–03; and if he will make a statement. [82510]
(6) what job entry target points scores were set for each Jobcentre Plus district for 2002–03; what the latest available outturn figures in respect of the target are for each district, broken down by client group; and if he will make a statement. [82837]
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownThe administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive, Leigh Lewis. I have asked him to reply to the hon. Member.
Letter from L. Lewis to Mr. Oliver Heald, dated 28 November 2002:
As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions concerning Jobcentre Plus performance. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
You raised a number of detailed questions about Jobcentre Plus performance against our Performance and Resources Agreement (PRA), which I will cover in this reply. You also asked a number of questions about the criteria applied to how job entry points were 570W allocated to specific client groups. I understand the Secretary of State will be responding separately to these as they relate to the underlying policy.
Before turning to your specific questions it may be helpful if I explain that the Jobcentre Plus Performance and Resource Agreement is a formal annual agreement between the Secretary of State and Chief Executive of the Agency. It sets out clearly the aim, purpose and objectives of the Agency and the targets to be met in this operational year. There are five high level targets and details of these were laid before the House on 19th March 2002.
I am pleased to say that Jobcentre Plus has made a good start. To the end of October we were 10.6% ahead of our job entry points target profile. This equates to helping 786,116 people into work in our first seven months. You asked for a breakdown of job entries by priority client group:
- Priority Client Group 1: 87,078
- Priority Client Group 2: 207,727
- Priority Client Group 3: 177,219
- Priority Client Group 4: 222,670
- Priority Client Group 5: 91,422
At the mid year stage we were 5.3 and 1.7 percentage points respectively above our Customer Service and Employer Outcome targets. However, the latest interim figures for the Business Delivery target are showing that we are around two percentage points below the target of 93.4%. This is an area where we are making special efforts to improve performance.
You have specifically asked for the latest outturn figures, by Jobcentre Plus District, for Job Entry points and latest national outturn figures for Customer Service, Employer Outcomes and Business Delivery. This information is set out in the tables which will be placed in the Library.
You also asked whether the the report on the pilot of the Jobcentre Plus Job Entry Target structure will be placed in the House Library. We have undertaken a series of studies examining the piloting, and the national implementation, of job entry points. A comprehensive summary report combining findings from the three research studies has been commissioned. This report will be published in March 2003 and a copy will be placed in the Library.
I hope this is helpful.