§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many attacks on staff have taken place at employment centres in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [33589]
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incidents of(a) physical and (b) verbal assaults have been recorded in (i) Benefit Agency offices and (ii) Employment Service offices in each year since 1997; how many have been recorded in Jobcentre Plus offices in each month since the inception of Jobcentre Plus; and how many were recorded in the equivalent offices prior to the inception of Jobcentre Plus. [32748]
§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many physical assaults there have been on Benefits Agency and Employment Service staff in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement. [32757]
§ Mr. Nicholas Brown[holding answer 5 and 6 February 2002]: The available information on the breakdown of incidents in the last five years is set out in the table. The figures reflect the improvements that have been made in recent years in gathering statistics on incidents. In recent years a possible under-reporting of incidents concerned both management and trade unions. An improved reporting form was introduced in April 1999, followed by a campaign by the Public and Commercial Services Union on reporting during 2000. The rise in reported incidents in the years from 1999 reflects this. As well as verbal abuse or threatening behaviour, non-physical incidents include cases of customers fighting or arguing with each other, in which no member of staff was involved, and occasions when only equipment or furniture was damaged. Employment Service offices are visited by around 25 million people per year and Benefits Agency offices by around 20 million.
Employment Service Benefits Agency Physical Non-physical Physical Non-physical 1997 — — 100 3,426 1998 — — 41 3,092 1999 241 3,835 129 3,561 2000 232 4,237 164 5,148 2001 222 3,637 135 4,910 Since the launch of the Jobcentre Plus pathfinder offices last October, only one case of physical contact has been recorded: a customer trod on the foot of a member of staff—possibly accidentally. There have been 148 incidents in which no physical contact was made, 145 of which involved verbal abuse and three attempted assault (attempted assaults includes cases where items are thrown but do not hit anyone, or when a customer reaches towards a member of staff but does not make contact). 1121W During this period we estimate that approximately three-quarters of a million people have visited pathfinder offices. The monthly breakdown is in the table:
Month Cases involving physical contact in Pathfinder offices Cases involving no physical contact in Pathfinder offices October 2001 1 14 November 2001 0 62 December 2001 0 32 January 2002 0 40 Total 1 148 In 2001, up to the launch of Jobcentre Plus on 22 October, there were 14 instances of physical contact between a Benefits Agency or Employment Service member of staff and a customer in the offices that subsequently became Pathfinders.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what further risk assessments have been carried out on the new Jobcentre Plus offices since their establishment; and if they have resulted in the deployment of extra security measures or staff. [32747]
§ Mr. Nicholas Brown[holding answer 5 March 2002]: Review risk assessments have now been completed in all of the Jobcentre Plus pathfinder offices that have opened since 22 October 2001. No additional security staff have been recommended as a result of these assessments.