Written question asked by Baroness May of Maidenhead (Conservative) on Thursday, 26 March 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 30 March 2009. It was answered by Lord Knight of Weymouth (Labour) on Monday, 13 July 2009 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Jobcentre Plus: Recruitment

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many vacancies for front-line staff in Jobcentre Plus have been advertised since 1 January 2009; how many have been filled (a) internally from within Jobcentre Plus, (b) from another Government Department or agency and (c) from elsewhere; and for each vacancy that has been filled, what the length of the contract was.

Answer: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.Letter from Mel Groves:"The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many vacancies for front-line staff in Jobcentre Plus have been advertised since 1 January 2009; how many have been filled internally from within Jobcentre Plus, from another Government Department or agency and from elsewhere; and for each vacancy that has been filled what the length of the contract was. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.""I can confirm that there were from 1 January 2009 to 29 May 2009 11,856 front-line vacancies advertised across the whole of Jobcentre Plus and that 7,146 posts were filled, broken down as follows:""Internally from within Jobcentre Plus: 481""From other government departments or agencies: 214""From elsewhere: 6,451""For each appointment made within this period, the appointment type and length of the contract is as follows:""Permanent staff: 3,202""Temporary and Fixed Term Appointments: 3,249"

Secondary information