§ Chris RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has had on the issue of security at the new Jobcentre Plus offices. [42526]
§ Mr. Nicholas Brown[holding answer 12 March 2002]: Health and safety arrangements in the new offices have been the subject of over 60 hours of discussions between officials and the Public and Commercial Services Union. Members of the public and staff have also written to Ministers and officials in the Department to express their views.
§ Chris RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which Benefits Agency offices have experienced the most incidents of violence in the UK in the last three years. [42533]
§ Mr. Nicholas Brown[holding answer 12 March 2002]: Data are not held centrally broken down by individual office and the information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Chris RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many(a) deaths, (b) serious injuries and (c) recorded incidence of verbal abuse there have been in the Jobcentre Plus pilot projects. [42532]
§ Mr. Nicholas Brown[holding answer 12 March 2002]: There have been no deaths or serious injuries in the Jobcentre Plus pathfinder offices since their launch. Since the launch of the first Pathfinder offices in October 2001 there have been four incidents involving actual but minor physical contact, six incidents involving attempted physical contact, and 198 incidents of verbal abuse. During that period it is estimated that around a million people have visited the pathfinder offices.