Search Results

1-20 of 734 results for answeredby:"Employment Service"

Show detailed: On Off

Results: 10 20 50 100

Sort by: Newest first Oldest first

Dept for Work and Pensions;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons Ms Y. Allen of Salcombe, Devon was not informed when undertaking a two year therapeutic counselling course under the New Deal Scheme that funding would be awarded for the first year only and that only outline sources...

Asked by

Anthony Steen (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

26 March 2002

Reference

31181; 382 c991-2W;382 c985W

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many vacancies are on the ES Job Bank; and how many people access the Learning and Work website each day. - Inc text of letter from Mark Neale of the Employment Service and figures. (Holding answer 3 May 2001).

Asked by

Lord Willetts (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

8 May 2001

Reference

368 c106W; 160217

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many job vacancies were notified to the Chelmsford Job Centre in each of the last six months. - Text of letter from Mark Neale of Employment Service, April 2001. (Holding answer 23 April 2001).

Asked by

Simon Burns (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

9 April 2001

For answer on

27 April 2001

Answered on

27 April 2001

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many job vacancies were notified to the Chelmsford Job Centre in each of the last six months. [158189] Ms Jowell: [holding answer 23 April 2001]: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Mark Neale to Mr. Simon Burns, dated April 2001: As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State for Education and Employment has asked Leigh Lewis to reply to your question about the number of job vacancies notified to the Chelmsford Jobcentre in each of the last six months. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Mr Lewis as Chief Executive of the Agency. I am replying on Mr Lewis' behalf. Vacancies notified to Chelmsford Jobcentre were as followed: _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Number October 2000 469 November 2000 770 December 2000 311 January 2001 651 February 2001 706 March 2001 915 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. I hope this is helpful.

Date

27 April 2001

Reference

367 c440W; 158189

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many people were awarded postal status due to hardship incurred by travel expenses to sign on at the nearest job centre in the last five years, broken down by region. - Inc text of letter from chief executive of...

Asked by

Roseanna Cunningham (Scottish National Party)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

19 March 2001

For answer on

28 March 2001

Answered on

28 March 2001

Ms Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people were awarded postal status due to hardship incurred by travel expenses to sign on at the nearest job centre in the last five years, broken down by region. [155094] Ms Jowell: [holding answer 26 March 2001]: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Clare Dodgson to Ms Roseanna Cunningham, dated 28 March 2001: As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked Leigh Lewis to reply to your question about the number of people awarded postal status due to hardship incurred in attending Jobcentres. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Mr Lewis as Chief Executive of the Agency. I am replying as Chief Operating Officer for the Employment Service. I am afraid it is not possible to provide a count of the number of people being awarded postal status due to hardship incurred by travel expenses to sign on at the nearest Jobcentre. People are required to attend the Jobcentre each fortnight as part of maintaining their claim for Jobseeker's Allowance. However, depending on circumstances, some people are allowed to maintain their claim by post--those who would have to spend an unreasonable amount of time travelling to the Jobcentre, and those who have a mental or physical disability which restricts their mobility. Postal status is not usually awarded on the basis of costs incurred for attending the Jobcentre. However, Jobcentre Managers do have some discretion in offering this facility if someone's journey would involve the use of a form of transport which they could not be expected to use on a regular basis, for example, a ferry. I hope this is helpful.

Date

28 March 2001

Reference

155094; 365 c677W;365 c677-8W

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what extra resources will be made available to the South Devon Employment Service as a consequence of the redundancies announced by Nortel Networks, Paignton. - Including text of letter from Richard Foster of Employment Service.

Asked by

Adrian Sanders (Liberal Democrat)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

14 March 2001

For answer on

23 March 2001

Answered on

23 March 2001

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what extra resources will be made available to the South Devon Employment Service as a consequence of the redundancies announced by Nortel Networks, Paignton. [154292] Ms Jowell: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Richard Foster to Mr. Adrian Sanders, dated 20 March 2001: As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked Leigh Lewis to reply to your question concerning what extra resources will be made available to the South Devon Employment Service as a consequence of the redundancies announced by Nortel Networks. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Mr. Lewis as Chief Executive of the Agency. I am replying on Mr. Lewis' behalf. In answer to your specific question, all the local agencies, including the Employment Service, the Regional Development Agency and the Government Office are working closely with Nortel to establish the specific help that is needed by the employees. Following a meeting held on 23 February these agencies are in the process of preparing a bid for additional funding via the Rapid Response Fund. By way of background the Rapid Response Fund is held centrally by the Department for Education and Employment and was set up by the Government in 1998. The specific purpose of the Fund is to provide the additional resources necessary to support Large Sale Redundancies in situations such as this. In the longer term the Employment Service may also be able to offer additional support to Nortel employees through the Job Transition Programme. This service is being developed from April to assist employees facing redundancy and is intended to supplement the help available under the Rapid Response Fund. May I take this opportunity to assure you that the Employment Service in South Devon will continue to work with Nortel to provide every assistance to the company and their employees. I hope this is helpful.

Date

23 March 2001

Reference

154292; 365 c409-10W;365 c409-11W

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will undertake a review of the contract awarded by the Employment Service for Adult Training for 1st April; and if he will make a statement; what estimate he has made of the number of chamber of commerce-run training...

Asked by

Hilton Dawson (Labour)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

19 March 2001

For answer on

23 March 2001

Answered on

23 March 2001

Mr. Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) if he will undertake a review of the contract awarded by the Employment Service for Adult Training for 1 April; and if he will make a statement; [155019] (2) what estimate he has made of the number of chamber of commerce-run training programmes which are likely to close after the takeover of contracting arrangements by the Employment Service. [155020] Ms Jowell: [holding answer 22 March 2001]: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Mark Neale to Mr. Hilton Dawson, dated 22 March 2001: As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked Leigh Lewis to reply to your questions about the contracts which we are awarding for adult training from April 2001 and the number of Chamber of Commerce training programmes which are likely to close after the take-over by the Employment Service of contracting arrangements for the Government's Work Based Learning for Adults (WBLA) programme. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Mr. Lewis as Chief Executive of the Agency. I am replying on Mr. Lewis' behalf. It may help if I explain that the White Paper "Learning to Succeed" announced that responsibility for the Government's WBLA programme would transfer to the Employment Service from Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) with effect from April 2001. At the same time the Government has also taken the opportunity to redesign WBLA, in order to better align the training it provides with the needs of employers in each local area. The objective is of course to increase the programme's effectiveness in helping unemployed people to improve their employability and to secure jobs. To deliver the best possible training provision of local relevance, the Employment Service ran a full scale competitive tendering round for contracts to deliver WBLA. At the same time, in order to ensure continuity of training for all those unemployed people who are participating in WBLA at the point of its transfer to the Employment Service in April, we have offered all existing providers contracts to support the completion of those courses. Clearly, any competitive tendering round will result in winners and losers. I am aware of instances where organisations currently involved in the delivery of WBLA training programmes have not been successful in winning new contracts. I am however confident that, where this has happened, there are sound reasons for it. We have evaluated tenders submitted by organisations wishing to contract for WBLA using clear national criteria which are intended to ensure that successful tenderers are those organisations which can demonstrate the highest quality and who can offer our clients the best opportunities for progression into employment. In regard to the Chamber of Commerce training programmes, we are currently in the process of notifying those bidders who have succeeded in winning contracts and offering those who have not the opportunity to seek feedback on the reasons why other organisations have been selected ahead of them. We do not as yet have a full picture of all the outcomes of the contracting round. That said, we are aware that Chambers of Commerce, like other organisations with a national presence, will have been successful in some areas of the country and unsuccessful in others. Where Chambers have not succeeded in winning contracts for the areas in which they currently deliver WBLA, they will have been offered contracts which enable them to complete training courses for those people who are participating in WBLA on 26 March 2001. We appreciate that it will be disappointing for those organisations who have not won contracts. As an accountable organisation we will always respond fully and fairly when such organisations write to us to state their case. As I have said, I am confident that the contracting process has been properly conducted, but we would re-examine any individual case raised by an unsuccessful organisation. If we were not satisfied both that the contracting process had been fairly conducted and that the outcomes were reasonable in all the circumstances, we would take appropriate action. I should however make clear that the Employment Service's approach is intended to ensure that those organisations who do succeed in winning contracts are those best placed to deliver the highest quality service for our clients and maximise their changes of finding work. I hope this is helpful.

Date

23 March 2001

Reference

365 c405-7W; 155019;155020

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what representations he has received on the accuracy of the figures relating to the official total of vacancies held by Jobcentres. - Text of letter from Clare Dodgson of the Employment Service.

Asked by

Lord Field of Birkenhead (Labour)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

13 March 2001

Reference

151841; 364 c556-7W

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what the cost to the Employment Service has been of, and how many Employment Service staff have been attributable to, the administration of jobseeker's allowance. - Including text of letter from Mark Neale of Employment Service. (Holding answer 6 March...

Asked by

Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

12 March 2001

Reference

152450; 364 c444W

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, under what circumstances asylum seekers are able to access Programme Centre facilities. - Inc text of letter from Leigh Lewis of Employment Service Agency.

Asked by

Terry Rooney (Labour)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

1 February 2001

For answer on

7 February 2001

Answered on

7 February 2001

Mr. Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment under what circumstances asylum seekers are able to access Programme Centre facilities. [149213] Ms Jowell: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Leigh Lewis to Mr. Terry Rooney, dated 7 February 2001: As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the circumstances under which Asylum Seekers are able to access Programme Centre facilities. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency. In answer to your specific question, access to Programme Centre facilities depends on the date which individuals applied for political asylum. Following the Introduction of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the eligibility criteria for Asylum Seekers who wish to participate in Programme Centre provision have changed. For those people who applied for asylum prior to 3 April 2000, non-EEA Overseas Nationals who are subject to employment restrictions and/or a time limit on their stay in the UK are not eligible to join Programme Centres with the following exceptions: Refugees with indefinite, limited or exceptional leave to stay in the UK; and Asylum Seekers who have applied for political asylum and who are awaiting a decision to stay in the UK, but have been given permission to work and train in this country by the Home Office. Both Refugees and Asylum Seekers must then satisfy the usual eligibility conditions that apply to citizens in the UK. For those people who applied for political asylum after 3 April 2000, Asylum Seekers cannot participate in Programme Centre provision until their application has been processed by the National Asylum Seekers Support (NASS). If the Asylum Seeker is then granted either Refugee Status, or exceptional leave to remain in the UK, they can make a claim for Jobseeker's Allowance and, subject to meeting the normal eligibility conditions, access Programme Centre facilities. The usual eligibility conditions for access to Programme Centre provision are that participants should be aged 25 or over, unemployed for over 26 weeks, and continuously in receipt (either directly or indirectly) of Jobseeker's Allowance or most other Social Security benefits for those of working age. However, some people who are judged to be at a particular disadvantage in the labour market can have access to Programme Centre provision from day one of unemployment and this flexibility already covers most Asylum Seekers. From 1 April this year this flexibility will be further extended so that all Asylum Seekers aged 25 or over who are entitled to claim Jobseeker's Allowance will be eligible for immediate access to Programme Centre provision. For those aged 18-24 similar provision will be available through the New Deal. I hope this is helpful.

Date

7 February 2001

Reference

149213; 362 c593-4W

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what additional resources he will provide to the Employment Service in Lymington and the New Forest to assist with redundancies consequent upon the reorganisation of the FACCENTA Group. - Including text of letter from Leigh Lewis of Employment Service. (Holding...

Asked by

Desmond Swayne (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

9 January 2001

For answer on

18 January 2001

Answered on

18 January 2001

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what additional resources he will provide to the Employment Service in Lymington and the New Forest to assist with redundancies consequent upon the reorganisation of the FACCENTA Group. [145015] Ms Jowell: [holding answer 15 January 2001]: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Leigh Lewis to Mr. Desmond Swayne, dated January 2001: As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question regarding the additional resources which will be made available to the Employment Service in Lymington and the New Forest to assist with redundancies consequent upon the reorganisation of the Faccenda Group. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency. The Employment Service in our London and South East Region made contact with the company immediately that these redundancies were announced on 10 January. As a result: a `Job Shop' will be set up on the company's premises from 15 January which will provide information on available vacancies and the support available to individual employees; the employees affected will be given immediate access to Work Based Training to update their skills. They will also have immediate access to help with jobsearch and CV preparation; the local Jobcentre will offer a personal adviser service to every one of the employees affected to ensure that they can be matched against suitable vacancies prior to redundancies taking effect; information sessions for those affected will be run jointly with the Benefits Agency to provide advice and guidance about benefits and jobsearch. These seminars will be provided on-site at times convenient to the working pattern of the company. The necessary resources to provide these services will be made available from the Employment Service locally supplemented by whatever additional resources are necessary from the Employment Service's London and South East Region. In addition, the Region's Rapid Response Team, which exists to lend additional support in the case of large-scale redundancies, will be made available as necessary. I hope this is helpful.

Date

18 January 2001

Reference

361 c330W; 145015

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what estimate he has made of the cost of reimbursing the travel costs of those people in rural areas who have had to travel to jobcentres to sign on and claim benefits in the last three years; how much was...

Asked by

Roseanna Cunningham (Scottish National Party)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

9 January 2001

For answer on

18 January 2001

Answered on

18 January 2001

Ms Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what estimate he has made of the cost of reimbursing the travel costs of those people in rural areas who have had to travel to jobcentres to sign on and claim benefits in the last three years; [145135] (2) how much was spent in the most recent year for which figures are available on reimbursing those on jobseeker's allowance, travelling to an interview at the jobcentre other than on their normal day of attendance. [145126] Ms Jowell: [holding answer 15 January 2001]: Responsibility for the subject of the questions has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Leigh Lewis to Ms Roseanna Cunningham dated January 2001: As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about the costs of reimbursement of travel expenses for people attending Jobcentres. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency. I am afraid that it is not possible to estimate the cost of reimbursing travel expenses for people living in rural areas who have to travel to Jobcentres to sign on and claim benefits. People are usually required to attend the Jobcentre fortnightly as part of maintaining their claim for Jobseeker's Allowance. There are, though, circumstances in which people may make their fortnightly declaration that they are available for and actively seeking work-- by post. These circumstances allow people who would have to spend an unreasonable amount of their time travelling to the Jobcentre, and those who have a mental or physical disability which restricts their mobility, to make their fortnightly declarations by post. You also ask how much was spent last year on reimbursing the travel expenses of people who had travelled to an interview at the Jobcentre other than on their normal day of attendance. The total amount paid to people to reimburse travel expenses in the operational year 1999-2000 was just over £447,000. That figure includes travel expenses reimbursed in a variety of circumstances, for example the fares incurred by people taking part in the New Deal programmes who have travelled to see their personal advisers or to attend work trials with employers. I hope this is helpful.

Date

18 January 2001

Reference

361 c329W; 145135;145126

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what progress has been made in the relocation of the jobcentre in Carlisle; and if he will make a statement. - Including text of letter from Richard Foster of the Employment Service.

Asked by

Eric Martlew (Labour)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

14 November 2000

Reference

356 c599W; 137709

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what steps he is taking to inform small and medium sized enterprises about the Access to Work scheme. - Inc text of letter from Mark Neale of the Employment Service and figures.

Asked by

Lord Boswell of Aynho (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

26 October 2000

For answer on

14 November 2000

Answered on

14 November 2000

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to inform small and medium sized enterprises about the Access to Work scheme. [135841] Ms Hodge: [holding answer 31 October 2000]: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Mark Neale to Mr. Tim Boswell, dated 14 November 2000: As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State for Education and Employment has asked Leigh Lewis to reply to your question concerning the steps being taken to inform small and medium sized enterprises of the Access to Work scheme. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Mr Lewis as Chief Executive of the Agency. I am replying on his behalf. In answer to your specific question, it is encouraging to know that half of the employees who apply for support from the Access to Work scheme work for organisations which employ fewer than 500 people. The Employment Service already invests around £300,000 per year in marketing and publicising its disability services and programmes, through a variety of media including external advertising, exhibitions and marketing events, video and information leaflets, which are available through all Jobcentres. This includes leaflets specifically aimed at employers. Our own promotion is reinforced by a wide range of other organisations, particularly in the voluntary sector, who represent disabled people. We collaborate with them to help publicise Access to Work and our other support for disabled people and employers seeking to employ people with disabilities. I am also pleased to be able to tell you that the Employment Service is relaunching its website this autumn. This relaunch will include fuller information about disability services, including much more information about Access to Work for employers and individuals. Our promotion of the Access to Work scheme is reflected in growing demand for it. In round figures, 13,000 disabled people were supported in 97-98, 16,000 in 98-99, and 21,000 in 99-2000. I hope this is helpful.

Date

14 November 2000

Reference

356 c596W;356 c596-7W; 135841

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what response he has made to the RADAR report on awareness of the Access to Work Scheme among small employers; and what plans he has to increase (a) their awareness and take-up of the Scheme and (b) the resources available...

Asked by

Lord Boswell of Aynho (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

31 October 2000

For answer on

6 November 2000

Answered on

6 November 2000

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what response he has made to the RADAR report on awareness of the Access to Work Scheme among small employers; and what plans he has to increase (a) their awareness and take-up of the Scheme and (b) the resources available for it. [136301] Ms Jowell: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Mark Neal to Mr. Tim Boswell, dated 6 November 2000: As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked Leigh Lewis to reply to your question concerning the RADAR report on awareness of the Access to Work scheme among small employers and what plans there are to increase their awareness and take-up of the scheme and the resources available for it. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Mr Lewis as Chief Executive of the Agency. I am replying on Mr Lewis' behalf. I have read the RADAR report and was encouraged to see that 74% of small business respondents to the Jobs Worth Survey reported a relatively high awareness of disability issues. However, I recognise that these respondents also indicated a low level of awareness of the Disability Service, and particularly Access to Work. Employment Service invest around £300,000 each year in marketing and publicising its disability services and programmes, including Access to Work, through a variety of media such as external advertising, exhibitions, marketing events and video. A major process review of Access to Work is currently underway to improve the responsiveness of the programme to disabled people and their employers. A new Employment Service Website is due for launch during November and will contain information on all programmes and services provided to disabled people and their employers, including information for individuals and employers on Access to Work. In 1999-2000, the Employment Service spent £24.39 million on providing Access to Work support to disabled people in paid employment. During 2000-2001, the Employment Service has £25.6 million to spend on providing Access to Work support. I hope this is helpful.

Date

6 November 2000

Reference

356 c45-6W; 136301

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what Employment Service guidelines exist in respect of making disabled clients aware of the access to work scheme; and if he will make a statement. - Inc text of letter from Leigh Lewis of the Employment Service.

Asked by

Lord Allan of Hallam (Liberal Democrat)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

28 July 2000

Reference

354 c1050W; 131566

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many disabled persons are employed through government supported employment schemes in the North West region. - Inc text of letter from Richard Foster of the Employment Service and figure.

Asked by

Lord Fearn (Liberal Democrat)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

28 July 2000

Reference

354 c1054W; 132089

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what research his Department has carried out on the level of awareness of the Access to Work scheme amongst (a) employers and (b) disabled people. - Includes text of letter from Leigh Lewis of Employment Service Agency. (Holding answer 21...

Asked by

Lord Allan of Hallam (Liberal Democrat)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

18 July 2000

For answer on

24 July 2000

Answered on

24 July 2000

Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what research his Department has carried out on the level of awareness of the Access to Work scheme among (a) employers and (b) disabled people. [131820] Ms Hodge: [holding answer 21 July 2000]: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Leigh Lewis to Mr. Richard Allan, dated 24 July 2000: As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about research on the level of awareness of the Access to Work programme among employers and disabled people. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency. We have not undertaken any specific research into the level of awareness of Access to Work. However, in 1998 the Institute of Employment Studies carried out an independent evaluation of Access to Work for the Employment Service. They found that recipients had learnt about Access to Work from a wide range of sources, indicating that knowledge of Access to Work is widespread among agencies helping disabled people, including family doctors, social services departments, health services, hospitals, employment agencies, employers and organisations and support groups for disabled people. We have recently contracted for an independent survey of Access to Work recipients to be undertaken later this year. The survey will ask how recipients found out about the Access to Work programme and about their knowledge of what it can provide for disabled people. I hope this is helpful.

Date

24 July 2000

Reference

354 c440-1W; 131820

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what research his Department has completed, commissioned or co-operated which estimates the take-up of Access to Work grants in each of the last five years. - Inc text of letter from Richard Foster of the Employment Service. Inc table and...

Asked by

Andrew George (Liberal Democrat)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

11 July 2000

For answer on

18 July 2000

Answered on

18 July 2000

Mr. Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what research his Department has completed, commissioned or co-operated which estimates the take-up of Access to Work grants in each of the last five years. [130755] Ms Hodge: [holding answer 17 July 2000]: Responsibility for the subject of this question has been delegated to the Employment Service under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Richard Foster to Mr. Andrew George, dated 18 July 2000: As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked Leigh Lewis to reply to your question regarding what research his Department has completed, commissioned or co-operated in which estimates the take up of Access to Work grants in each of the last five years. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Mr Lewis as Chief Executive of the Agency. I am replying in his absence. The Employment Service commissioned independent research into Access to Work in 1996 and 1998. On both occasions the research focused on a wide range of issues within Access to Work including types of disability, age and gender of applicant, employment type, time taken to provide support and general satisfaction with the programme. Copies of both research reports have been placed in the libraries and their titles are; The Access to Work Programme - A Survey of Recipients, Employers, Employment Service Managers and Staff, the Social & Community Planning Research 1996; and Evaluation of Access to Work, the Institute for Employment Studies, 1998. Neither report was commissioned to look specifically into the take up and spend of the Access to Work programme but we do collect management information that gives us this information. The table shows you how many disabled people have been helped and how much has been spent through Access to Work between April 1995 and March 2000. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Year Number of beneficiaries Total spend (£ million) 1999-2000 20,729 24.3 1998-99 16,094 19.5 1997-98 12,825 14.6 1996-97 10,119 12.5 1995-96 13,577 19.9 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. I hope this is helpful.

Date

18 July 2000

Reference

354 c128-9W; 130755

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what guidance his Department has given to jobcentres regarding the advertising of jobs in the sex industry; and what definition of the sex industry is used in the guidance; what his Department's policy is regarding the use of public funds...

Asked by

Tim Loughton (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

29 June 2000

For answer on

13 July 2000

Answered on

13 July 2000

Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what guidance his Department has given to jobcentres regarding the advertising of jobs in the sex industry; and what definition of the sex industry is used in the guidance; [129110] (2) what his Department's policy is regarding the use of public funds to subsidise job placement schemes with firms in the sex industry. [129835] Ms Jowell: [holding answers 4 and 10 July 2000]: Responsibility for the subject of these questions has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Richard Foster to Mr. Tim Loughton, dated 12 July 2000: As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State for Education and Employment has asked Leigh Lewis to reply direct to your questions, about the guidance given to Jobcentres on the advertising of jobs in the sex industry; and what definition of the "sex industry" is used in the guidance and about what the Departments' policy is about the use of public funds to subsidise job placement schemes with firms in the sex industry. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Leigh Lewis as the Chief Executive of the Agency, I am replying in his absence. Jobcentres are instructed not to deal with job vacancies associated with the sex industry. The guidance dates from 1996 and does not seek to define precisely the boundaries of the sex industry but has as its prime aim the need to avoid causing genuine offence or embarrassment to jobseekers. All job placement subsidies provided by the Government require there to be a vacancy or opening with an employer. As the Employment Service does not deal with vacancies in the sex industry the question of subsidies does not arise. I hope this is helpful.

Date

13 July 2000

Reference

353 c656-7W;353 c654-5W; 129110;129835

House

House of Commons

Dept for Education and Employment;Employment Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what is the estimated capital value of jobcentre sites in the United Kingdom. - Text of letter from Leigh Lewis of the Employment Service Agency; inc figures.

Asked by

John Bercow (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Education and Employment

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

10 July 2000

Reference

129087; 353 c413W;353 c411W

House

House of Commons

Librarians' tools

Type

House

Session

Year

Department

Member

Primary member

Answering member

Legislative stage

Legislation

Subject

Publisher