Written question asked by Lord Grayling (Conservative) on Tuesday, 5 February 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 7 February 2008. It was answered by James Plaskitt (Labour) on Monday, 31 March 2008 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average duration is of a claim for jobseekers allowance when the claimant maintains their claim (a) in person once a fortnight and (b) by post.

Answer: No such breakdown is available because the normal expectation is that people will maintain their claim in person.For jobseeker's allowance claims ending in January 2008, the median duration of claim was 9.4 weeks (Great Britain)."Notes:""1. Figures are based on computer held cases only.""2. The median indicates that half of the clams ending in January 2008 were shorter than 9.4 weeks and half were longer.""Source:""100 per cent count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus Computer Systems."

Secondary information