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Dept for Work and Pensions;Jobcentre Plus

Answer

Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) where crisis loans will be paid when Webster House in Kirkby is closed; [199156] (2) how much his Department has allocated to the WIN scheme for Kirkby; which parts of the town are covered by the scheme; how many people have taken part in it; what the scheme's targets are; what its results against targets are to date; how many staff work on the scheme; and from where it will be administered when Webster House closes. [199157] Jane Kennedy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member. Letter from David Anderson to Mr. George Howarth, dated 18 November 2004: The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions concerning the delivery of the Working Neighbourhoods pilot in Knowsley and the issue of Crisis Loan processing. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus. It may be helpful if I explain how the overall funding has been distributed for the pilot. The Employment Development & Modernisation Fund provided £77m for the 12 pilot sites operating in some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country for the period 2004/05 to 2005/06. Of this, £5m was allocated for set up and evaluation costs. Of the remaining £72m, each pilot site will receive £3m per year of which £1m is discretionary funding to allow personal advisers, working with Local Strategic Partnerships, the flexibility to meet individual and community needs. The Working Neighbourhood pilot for Knowsley delivers to selected parts of the Northwood and Towerhill wards. The postcode boundary for the site contains around 6,000 residents, with approximately 2,000 in receipt of working age benefits. The most recent statistics produced for 31 October 2004 indicate the Knowsley pilot has engaged with 879 customers of which 188 are volunteers to the programme. With regard to the pilot's targets, there will be overall monitoring of performance and objectives which will then be evaluated. The evaluation of the objectives aims to test the extent to which the programme of local intensive work focussed action is effective in addressing long-standing barriers to work experienced by residents of deprived areas; the number of individuals moving into work and by how much it decreases the overall workless rate within the pilot area. Whilst Jobcentre Plus job entry targets relate to movement into full time employment all who enter full time, part time and voluntary employment will count as successes for evaluation of the pilot. Retention figures will be gathered for those residents remaining in full time employment for 4, 13 and 26 weeks. Turning to the results the Knowsley pilot has achieved to date I am able to inform you as of 31 October 2004 229 residents from the pilot have moved into employment. To clarify this further the table below gives a breakdown of the benefit groups involved. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Number Incapacity benefit 30 Invalid care allowance 0 Income support 63 Jobseekers' allowance 133 Other benefits 1 None 2 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Twenty staff have been allocated to deliver the Knowsley pilot. The majority of them are personal advisers. The intended closure of Webster House should have no impact on the Working Neighbourhoods pilot as it has never been delivered from Webster House. The pilot and associated mandatory work focussed interviews have been conducted form the Jobcentre Plus office at St. Chads House, Kirkby. It is also being delivered in the community to voluntary customers from partner's premises and most recently from a Working Neighbourhoods portakabin sited in Northwood. With regard to the issue of Crisis Loan processing currently undertaken in Webster House, I can confirm that we are looking at the delivery of all of the services in Webster House and the future delivery of Crisis Loans will be included in this. We will consult on our proposals with our staff, trade unions and local partners as soon as plans are fully developed. I have asked the District Manager for Greater Mersey to keep you updated on all developments. She can be contacted on 01704 306078. I hope this is helpful.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

426 c1898-900W;426 c1903-4W; 199156;199157

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Staff Disadvantaged Administration Closures Finance Employment schemes Jobcentre Plus Pilot schemes Standards Offices Knowsley Crisis loans Employment Development Fund

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk