§ Paul HolmesTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much money has been spent on the Pulling Together programme within the Department, broken down by region; and if he will make a statement. [133498]
§ Mr. BrowneThe administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
220WLetter from David Anderson to Paul Holmes, dated 28 October 2003:
As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the amount of money spent on the Pulling Together programme. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.The Pulling Together programme is a highly successful initiative, unique to Jobcentre Plus within the Department. It was launched in April 2002 with the formation of Jobcentre Plus which combined two distinct businesses; the Employment Service and the working age parts of the Benefits Agency. This involved bringing together around 80,000 staff, almost 1,000 Jobcentres, over 400 social security offices and many different jobs and roles whilst simultaneously introducing an entirely new way of doing business.We introduced Pulling Together to support all our staff through this period of great business change, cementing the new organisation together through harnessing the ideas and energy of our staff. The response was enthusiastic and activities spanned a broad range from estates work to improve offices for both customers and staff, to putting active labour market information points in social security offices, to instigating a new recognition award and many, many more.The amount spent on the Pulling Together programme, broken down by region, including the amount allocated for this year is shown in the table:
Region/country Total North West 2,240,000 North East 1,040,000 Yorkshire & Humberside 1,540,000 East Midlands 1,040,000 East of England 1,040,000 West Midlands 1,390,000 South East 1,240,000 South West 1,090,000 London 2,290,000 Wales 1,140,000 Scotland 1,890,000 Pulling Together central team 860,000 Total 16,800,000 Source:
Jobcentre Plus Financial Management and Control Division
The largest portion of this spend was incurred last year in the setting up of new processes and different ways of working that had to happen in order for us to deliver our new business in the most customer focused and joined-up way possible.I hope this is helpful.