HC Deb 17 July 2003 vol 409 cc544-5W
Adam Price

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is in cases of individuals claiming Jobseeker's Allowance refusing a job on grounds of conscientious objection; and if he will make a statement. [125239]

Mr. Pond

Individuals are sanctioned when they refuse to take up employment, unless they can show good cause for doing so. Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations specify that a person is considered to have good cause where, among other things, they have a sincerely held religious or conscientious objection to taking up the employment being offered.

Paul Holmes

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions(1) how many fixed period sanctions have been applied in the income-related jobseeker's allowance in each year since the sanctions were first applied, broken down by whether claimants have without good cause (a) failed to carry out a reasonable jobseekers directive, (b) failed to apply far a compulsory training scheme or employment programme where this has been notified to them, (c) given up a place on, or failed to attend, a compulsory training scheme or employment programme, (d) neglected a reasonable opportunity of a place on a training scheme or employment programme and (e) lost a place on a compulsory training scheme or employment programme because of misconduct; if he will break down these figures according to whether (i) two and (ii) four weeks' sanction was applied; and if he will make a statement; [125912]

(2) how many claimants sanctions have been taken since the introduction of the jobseekers allowance broken down by whether (a) they lost their job through misconduct, (b) left their job voluntarily without just cause, (c) failed to apply for or to accept a job notified by the Employment Service without just cause, (d) neglected a reasonable opportunity of a job without good cause and (e) suffered sanctions for other reasons, and by whether the claimants were (i) men and (i) women, and the age of the claimants, noting for each category the average length during which the sanction applied; and if he will make a statement. [125913]

Mr. Pond

Information on sanctions broken down by gender, age, length of sanction or type of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) is not collected centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Information is only recorded on the number of sanctions imposed. It is not possible to say how many individuals have been sanctioned as an individual could be subject to more than one sanction.

The available information on the number of sanctions imposed for the periods requested is published in the quarterly publications Labour Market Statistics Analysis of Adjudication Officers Decisions and, from the quarter ending 30 June 2002, the Labour Market Statistics Analysis of Sector Decision Making. Copies of these publications are available in the Library. Fixed period sanctions are listed at decision numbers 713 to 718, the New Deal sanctions decision numbers 713(E to V) to 717(E to V) are also fixed period sanctions.

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