§ Mr. FlookTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were claiming jobseeker"s allowance in(a) Somerset and (b) Taunton Deane at the end of each fiscal quarter since January 2000. [127824]
§ Mr. PondThe information is in the table:
342W
Number of people claiming Jobseeker"s Allowance Month Taunton Deane Local Authority Area County of Somerset January 2000 1,308 6,398 April 2000 1,173 5,447 July 2000 1,077 5,046 October 2000 954 4,651 January 2001 996 5,153 April 2001 979 4,836 July 2001 899 4,335 Where a decision maker considers that further medical evidence is necessary to establish whether someone meets the criteria for an award of benefit they can request a report from the customers General Practitioner, or other health care professional, or a report may be requested based on an examination by an Examining Medical Practitioner, who is trained specifically in the effects of disability.
It is of course open to the customer at any time to provide such additional evidence, both medical and non-medical, as they may choose to submit in support of their claim or appeal.