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To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the Answers of 26 November 2008, Official Report, columns 1996-7W, on jobseeker's allowance, whether his Department has compiled data on the amount of time jobseeker's allowance claimants have received the allowance or other out of work benefits...

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

16 December 2008

Reference

485 c619-20W; 242769

House

House of Commons

Jobseeker's Allowance

(2) what data his Department holds in respect of repeat jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants on (a) the periods between different claims, (b) whether a claimant finds employment between different claims of JSA and (c) when people spent time on the New Deal Training Allowance between claims.

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

13 November 2008

For answer on

17 November 2008

Answered on

26 November 2008

The source of much of the published data on benefit claims is the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS). It links benefit and programme information from administrative datasets held by DWP on its customers with employment records from Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC), and is used within the Department in a wide range of projects for example research, policy evaluation, modelling and forecasting, and in the Job Outcome Target to measure how many people JobCentre Plus have helped into work. Further details on WPLS and its uses are published at"http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/longitudinal_study/ic_longitudinal_study.asp."The amount and quality of information held on the WPLS varies by benefit group; the datasets themselves are complex, and can be complicated to analyse and quality assure. Where quality assurance has been carried out to National Statistics standards, statistics from the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study are published on the Department's website via the Tabulation Tool (www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/tabtool.asp) and the Nomis website, the Office for National Statistics website of official labour market statistics (www.nomisweb.co.uk), both of which allow users to construct their own tables.The preferred source of information on JSA claimants is the monthly claimant count which is published on Nomis. This includes a breakdown of destination for claimants leaving JSA, but this information is incomplete and should be treated with caution. The percentage of claimant off-flows with no destination recorded has increased over the last 10 years, which should be taken into account when interpreting these statistics. For example, 25 per cent. of off-flows in December 1998 had no destination recorded, compared to 38 per cent. of off-flows in December 2007.Statistics on new deal are published on the Tabulation Tool, including information on immediate destination on leaving, whether employment, benefits or other destinations.Work is continuously ongoing to improve the range of published information.The published data does not include information on the amount of time each jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimant has received JSA in the last (a) two and (b) five years; or, in respect of repeat jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants, on (a) the periods between different claims, (b) whether a claimant finds employment between different claims of JSA and (c) when people spent time on the new deal training allowance between claims. It could be obtained only after a complex analysis of the available data and a comprehensive assurance process to ensure that the data was correct. As a result it could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Date

26 November 2008

Reference

483 c1997W; 236868

House

House of Commons

Unemployment Benefits: Disqualification

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people had their benefit reduced as a consequence of not taking a reasonable job offer in each of the last 10 years.

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

7 October 2008

For answer on

9 October 2008

Answered on

26 November 2008

The available information is in the table.

Number of varied length Jobseekers Allowance referrals, sanctioned for refusal of employment—1 April 2000 to 31 March 2008
	Sanctions
2000-01	23,040
2001-02	32,250
2002-03	36,020
2003-04	24,610
2004-05	19,580
2005-06	12,260
2006-07	6,270
2007-08	12,470
Notes:
1. Definitions and conventions: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Data prior to April 2000 is not available.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate: Jobseekers Allowance Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database.

During the period in question, the decline in decisions to apply sanctions to those who have either not done enough to find work or who are unreasonably restricting their availability for work.

Date

26 November 2008

Reference

483 c2039W; 226168

House

House of Commons

Jobseeker's Allowance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of people flowing off jobseeker's allowance moved (a) into employment, (b) onto other benefits and (c) to an unknown destination in each year since 1997.

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

7 October 2008

For answer on

9 October 2008

Answered on

26 November 2008

The total number of people flowing off Jobseeker's Allowance is decreasing in line with the numbers claiming Jobseeker's Allowance. The percentage of people leaving with an unknown destination recorded has increased over the last 10 years. This is because the completion levels of the JSA40 form (forms filled in by people leaving Jobseeker's Allowance) have decreased over this period. This should be taken into account when interpreting these statistics, as many of these 'unknown' leavers will have moved into employment.The available information is in the tables.

Numbers of people leaving Jobseeker's Allowance by year and destination
	Employment	Other Benefit	Other reason	Not known or not recorded	Total
1998	1,661,115	247,965	362,095	765,630	3,036,805
1999	1,620,690	241,315	404,580	842,535	3,109,120
2000	1,513,330	233,530	395,650	848,380	2,990,890
2001	1,365,610	209,605	333,440	823,180	2,731,835
2002	1,290,665	199,425	364,155	866,775	2,721,020
2003	1,207,220	194,900	364,050	869,690	2,635,860
2004	1,078,390	180,815	344,215	857,735	2,461,155
2005	957,985	169,355	311,640	886,720	2,325,700
2006	957,400	180,790	316,135	1,013,985	2,468,310
2007	931,615	193,025	363,450	1,065,035	2,553,125
2008¹	738,870	150,300	318,350	888,390	2,095,910
¹ January to October.

Percentage distribution by destination of all people leaving Jobseeker's Allowance
	Employment	Other Benefit	Other reason	Not known or not recorded
1998	54.7	8.2	11.9	25.2
1999	52.1	7.8	13.0	27.1
2000	50.6	7.8	13.2	28.4
2001	50.0	7.7	12.2	30.1
2002	47.4	7.3	13.4	31.9
2003	45.8	7.4	13.8	33.0
2004	43.8	7.3	14.0	34.9
2005	41.2	7.3	13.4	38.1
2006	38.8	7.3	12.8	41.1
2007	36.5	7.6	14.2	41.7
2008¹	35.2	7.2	15.2	42.4
¹ January to October.

Percentage distribution by destination of people leaving Jobseeker's Allowance to known destinations
	Employment	Other benefit	Other
1998	73.1	10.9	15.9
1999	71.5	10.6	17.8
2000	70.6	10.9	18.5
2001	71.5	11.0	17.5
2002	69.6	10.8	19.6
2003	68.4	11.0	20.6
2004	67.3	11.3	21.5
2005	66.6	11.8	21.7
2006	65.8	12.4	21.7
2007	62.6	13.0	24.4
2008¹	61.2	12.4	26.4
¹ January to October.
Notes:
1. Figures are for Great Britain and are rounded to the nearest 5.
2. The percentage of claimant off-flows with no destination recorded has increased over the last 10 years, which should be taken into account when interpreting these statistics.
3. This information is published on the Nomis website at www.nomisweb.co.uk
Source:
Count of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus computer systems (computer held cases only).

Date

26 November 2008

Reference

483 c1994-5W; 226187

House

House of Commons

Jobseeker's Allowance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what information his Department holds on the amount of time each jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimant has received JSA in the last (a) two and (b) five years;

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

13 November 2008

For answer on

17 November 2008

Answered on

26 November 2008

Date

26 November 2008

Reference

483 c1997W; 236860

House

House of Commons

Jobseekers Allowance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2008, Official Report, column 1233W, on jobseeker's allowance, how many of those jobseekers allowance claimants aged 25 years or over who terminated their claim more than 17 months but less than 18 months...

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

18 July 2008

For answer on

22 July 2008

Answered on

24 November 2008

The following answer was provided to the hon. Member on 17 September 2008, however, due to a departmental procedural error it was not published in the Official Report. The answer is as follows:The available information is in the following tables.

Number of jobseeker's allowance terminations aged 25 or over, who terminate their claim between 17 and 18 months, then flow on to incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance
Quarter ending	Number of jobseeker's allowance terminations	Flowed on to incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance
		All	Within 1 week	More than a week but less than l month	More than a month but less than 3 months	More than 3 months but less than 6 months	More than 6 months but less than a year	More than l year
2005
August	1,700	400	200	100	0	0	0	100
November	1,200	400	200	0	0	0	100	0

2006
February	1,000	300	200	0	0	0	0	n/a
May	1,700	500	300	0	100	0	100	n/a
August	1,800	500	300	0	0	100	100	n/a
November	1,900	300	200	0	0	0	0	n/a

2007
February	1,800	300	200	100	0	0	n/a	n/a
May	2,000	400	300	0	0	n/a	n/a	n/a
August	2,000	200	200	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Notes:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
2. Data commence in 2005 to ensure capture of information on people flowing on to incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance up to 12 months after the termination of their claim.
3. Figures for the latest quarter do not include any late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters. Figures for previous quarters may also be subject to revisions in future quarters.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample and 5 per cent. terminations dataset

Number of jobseeker's allowance terminations aged 25 or over, who terminate their claim between 17 and 18 months, then flow on to income support
Quarter ending	Number of jobseeker's allowance terminations	Flowed on to income support
		All	Within 1 week	More than a week but less than l month	More than a month but less than 3 months	More than 3 months but less than 6 months	More than 6 months but less than a year	More than l year
2005
August	1,700	400	100	100	0	0	0	100
November	1,200	300	200	0	0	0	0	100

2006
February	1,000	300	200	0	0	0	0	n/a
May	1,700	500	200	0	100	0	100	n/a
August	1,800	400	200	0	0	100	0	n/a
November	1,900	300	200	100	0	0	0	n/a

2007
February	1,800	300	200	0	0	0	n/a	n/a
May	2,000	400	300	0	0	n/a	n/a	n/a
August	2,000	100	100	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Notes:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
2. Data commence in 2005 to ensure capture of information on people flowing on to income support up to 12 months after the termination of their claim.
3. Figures for the latest quarter do not include any late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters. Figures for previous quarters may also be subject to revisions in future quarters.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample and 5 per cent. terminations dataset

Date

24 November 2008

Reference

221725; 483 c995-8W

House

House of Commons

Jobseeker's Allowance: Disqualification

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claiming jobseeker's allowance were sanctioned in each of the last 60 months; and for what reasons.

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

17 November 2008

Reference

483 c82W;483 c81W; 226167

House

House of Commons

Jobseeker's Allowance: Employment

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of jobseeker's allowance claimants have been (a) referred and (b) sanctioned for not accepting a reasonable job offer in each of the last five years.

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

3 September 2008

For answer on

10 September 2008

Answered on

17 November 2008

[holding answer 10 September 2008]: The available information is in the table.

Percentage of varied length jobseeker's allowance referrals, sanctioned for refusal of employment—1 April 2003 to 31 March 2008 as a proportion of all jobseeker's allowance claims
Percentage
	Refusal of employment
Year ending (April to March)	Referrals	Varied sanctions
2003-04	2.0	0.7
2004-05	1.8	0.6
2005-06	1.1	0.4
2006-07	0.4	0.2
2007-08	0.8	0.4
Note:
Individuals may have had more than one referral or more than one sanction applied against them and therefore be counted more than once, similarly individuals can have more than one jobseeker's allowance claim during the year.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate: Jobseeker's Allowance Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database.

During the period in question, the decline in decisions to apply sanctions for refusing employment coincides with an increase in decisions to apply sanctions to those who have either not done enough to find work or who are unreasonably restricting their availability for work.

Date

17 November 2008

Reference

483 c82W;483 c81-2W; 223248

House

House of Commons

Jobseekers Allowance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2008, Official Report, column 1232W, on jobseekers allowance, how many of those jobseeker's allowance claimants aged 16 to 24 years who terminated their claim more than five but less than six months after...

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

18 July 2008

For answer on

22 July 2008

Answered on

29 October 2008

The available information is in the following tables.

Number of jobseeker's allowance terminations aged 16 to 24, who terminate their claim between 5 and 6 months, then flow on to incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance
		Flowed on to incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance
Quarter ending	Number of jobseeker's allowance terminations	All	Within 1 week	More than a week but less than 1 month	More than a month but less than 3 months	More than 3 months but less than 6 months	More than 6 months but less than a year	More than 1 year
August 2005	10,600	2,100	600	100	100	200	400	700
November 2005	11,000	1,800	500	100	200	200	300	500
February 2006	8,600	1,600	500	100	100	100	400	n/a
May 2006	13,000	1,900	600	100	200	300	500	n/a
August 2006	11,900	1,500	500	100	100	300	400	n/a
November 2006	11,000	900	500	0	100	100	200	n/a
February 2007	9,600	700	400	100	100	100	n/a	n/a
May 2007	11,900	800	500	100	200	n/a	n/a	n/a
August 2007	10,400	800	600	100	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Notes:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
2. Data commence in 2005 to ensure capture of information on people flowing on to incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance up to 12 months after the termination of their claim.
3. Figures for the latest quarter do not include any late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters. Figures for previous quarters may also be subject to revisions in future quarters.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample and 5 per cent. terminations dataset.

Number of jobseeker's allowance terminations aged 16 to 24, who terminate their claim between 5 and 6 months, then flow on to income support
		Flowed on to income support
Quarter ending	Number of jobseeker's allowance terminations	All	Within 1 week	More than a week but less than 1 month	More than a month but less than 3 months	More than 3 months but less than 6 months	More than 6 months but less than a year	More than 1 year
August 2005	10,600	2,300	600	200	200	200	400	700
November 2005	11,000	2,000	700	200	100	200	200	500
February 2006	8,600	2,100	800	200	200	200	400	n/a
May 2006	13,000	2,000	700	100	200	300	400	n/a
August 2006	11,900	1,700	600	100	200	200	500	n/a
November 2006	11,000	1,300	800	100	100	100	100	n/a
February 2007	9,600	1,000	700	100	0	100	n/a	n/a
May 2007	11,900	1,000	600	100	200	n/a	n/a	n/a
August 2007	10,400	1,000	800	200	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Notes:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
2. Data commence in 2005 to ensure capture of information on people flowing on to income support up to 12 months after the termination of their claim.
3. Figures for the latest quarter do not include any late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters. Figures for previous quarters may also be subject to revisions in future quarters.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample and 5 per cent. terminations dataset.

Date

29 October 2008

Reference

221726; 481 c1075-6W;481 c1073-4W

House

House of Commons

Jobseekers Allowance

(4) what mandatory treatment programmes there were for a person with (a) a drug addiction or (b) an alcohol addiction claiming jobseeker's allowance.

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

28 April 2008

For answer on

30 April 2008

Answered on

6 October 2008

A person must be available for and actively seeking work in order to be eligible for jobseeker's allowance. A person can restrict his or her availability for work on grounds of a medical condition. This restriction could, for example, relate to the type of work or the hours they are available, but active search for employment must continue. When, as the result of a health problem, someone cannot meet these conditions, their claim for jobseeker's allowance cannot continue and he or she would normally claim incapacity benefit instead, or other benefits appropriate to their individual circumstances.Jobcentre Plus Disability Employment Advisers work with customers who need more extensive support because of their health condition. They can offer help in finding work and advise customers about a range of specialised support available such as Workstep, Work preparation and Residential Training colleges and Access to Work.Jobseeker's allowance customers with a history of drug and alcohol misuse can volunteer for early access to the new deal gateway in order to take advantage of the more intensive support on offer. Under the flexible new deal, which will replace the mandatory new deals from October 2009, service providers can decide to offer condition management programmes as part of the tailored back to work action plans drawn up for longer term jobseeker's allowance customers.We do not currently require drug or alcohol abusers to seek treatment as a condition of receiving benefit.In our Welfare Reform Green Paper ““No-one written off: reforming welfare to reward responsibility”” (column 7363) we announced that we will explore the case for introducing a new regime for problem drug users which provides more tailored and personalised support than is currently provided by the existing incapacity benefit or jobseeker's allowance regimes. In return for benefit payments, claimants will have a responsibility to move successfully through treatment and into employment.Currently people with a drug addiction have access to support through the ““progress2work”” initiative which is a national programme for those on any working-age benefit recovering from drugs misuse. Participants are helped with the range of their problems, such as debt, housing or family breakdown. For alcohol misusers we offer ““progress2work linkup”” in about half of Jobcentre Plus districts.

Date

6 October 2008

Reference

480 c67-8W; 203274

House

House of Commons

Jobseekers Allowance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assistance is available to a person claiming jobseekers allowance with (a) a mental health condition and (b) a drug or alcohol addiction;

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

28 April 2008

For answer on

30 April 2008

Answered on

6 October 2008

Date

6 October 2008

Reference

480 c67-8W; 203270

House

House of Commons

Jobseekers Allowance

(2) what assessment he has made of (a) the availability and (b) the ability actively to seek work of jobseekers allowance claimants who have (i) a mental health condition and (ii) an alcohol or drug addiction;

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

28 April 2008

For answer on

30 April 2008

Answered on

6 October 2008

Date

6 October 2008

Reference

480 c67-8W; 203271

House

House of Commons

Jobseekers Allowance

(3) what mandatory requirements there are for a person with (a) a drug addiction or (b) an alcohol addiction claiming jobseekers allowance to seek treatment as a condition of receiving benefit;

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

28 April 2008

For answer on

30 April 2008

Answered on

6 October 2008

Date

6 October 2008

Reference

480 c67-8W; 203273

House

House of Commons

Jobseekers Allowance: Young People

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether any children under the age of 16 years received jobseeker's allowance payments in each year since 1997.

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

6 October 2008

Reference

221688; 480 c68W

House

House of Commons

Jobseekers Allowance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what estimate he has made of the (a) mean and (b) median length of a claim for jobseekers allowance;

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

28 April 2008

For answer on

30 April 2008

Answered on

14 May 2008

Information on average durations of jobseeker's allowance claims is not available broken down by medical condition. The available information is in the table.

Average claim durations of jobseeker's allowance leavers —March 2008
	Weeks
Median duration	9.2
Estimated mean duration	18.5
Notes:
1. Median and mean durations are rounded to one decimal place.
2. Mean durations are not recommended to be used when dealing with skewed distribution such as duration of claim. In these cases, the median is a better measure of 'average' than the arithmetic mean.
Source:
Count of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus computer systems (computer held cases only).

Date

14 May 2008

Reference

475 c1616-7W; 203268

House

House of Commons

Jobseekers Allowance

(2) what estimate he has made of the (a) mean and (b) median length of a claim for jobseekers allowance for a claimant who has (i) a drink or drug addiction and (ii) a mental health condition.

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

28 April 2008

For answer on

30 April 2008

Answered on

14 May 2008

Information on average durations of jobseeker's allowance claims is not available broken down by medical condition. The available information is in the table.

Average claim durations of jobseeker's allowance leavers —March 2008
	Weeks
Median duration	9.2
Estimated mean duration	18.5
Notes:
1. Median and mean durations are rounded to one decimal place.
2. Mean durations are not recommended to be used when dealing with skewed distribution such as duration of claim. In these cases, the median is a better measure of 'average' than the arithmetic mean.
Source:
Count of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus computer systems (computer held cases only).

Date

14 May 2008

Reference

475 c1616-7W; 203269

House

House of Commons

Jobseekers Allowance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of jobseekers allowance were recorded as having been on holiday in each year since 1997.

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

13 May 2008

Reference

475 c1535W; 203261

House

House of Commons

Jobseeker's Allowance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have claimed jobseeker's allowance for more than 24 months in the last (a) 36 months, (b) 48 months and (c) 60 months.

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

21 April 2008

Reference

474 c1842W; 174900

House

House of Commons

Jobseeker's Allowance

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.

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

31 March 2008

Reference

185881; 474 c548W

House

House of Commons

Jobseeker's Allowance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants have been claiming for (a) three months, (b) six months, (c) 12 months, (d) 18 months, (e) two years, (f) three years, (g) four years and (h) five years, including any period for...

Asked by

Lord Grayling (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Work and Pensions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

10 December 2007

For answer on

12 December 2007

Answered on

13 March 2008

The additional information on spells on the new deal is not available except at disproportionate costs. Following is a table showing information on continuous spells of claimant unemployment.

Jobseeker's allowance claimants by continuous duration of claim, Great Britain and United Kingdom: November 2007
	Number of claimants:
Duration of claim	GB	UK
0 to less than 3 months	372,050	381,630
3 to less than 6 months	152,785	157,015
6 to less than 12 months	117,390	121,245
12 months to less than 18 months	54,430	56,700
18 months to less than 2 years	26,530	27,685
2 years to less than 3 years	18,930	19,430
3 years to less than 4 years	7,790	8,000
4 years to less than 5 years	3,870	3,975
5 years and over	6,785	7,115
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
2. Figures are based on computer held cases only.
Source:
NOMIS

Of those claimants whose continuous claim exceeds two years about half of the group are made up of those aged 50 plus. Up until April 2007 our customers aged 50 plus were not required to participate in the mandatory intensive activity period when on new deal 25 plus and so a stock of two year plus has built up. We now mandate all our customers to take part, and they will take up training allowances during any activity periods.A quarter of the group are those who have entered employment zones (EZs). Unlike the mandatory JSA new deals, customers participating in employment zones are not required to participate in full time activity and so need not break the JSA claim. EZ customers remain on JSA throughout the programme either until they leave benefit or they return to the standard JSA regime. It is therefore possible that some of the very hardest to help (despite significant intervention) remain unemployed beyond two years.A smaller group (about 8,000) are those that have been exempted from taking part in new deal and the mandatory option or intensive activity period (this stage would ordinarily take them from JSA on to a training allowance). Customers are exempted at the discretion of an adviser manager for reasons such as being a potentially violent customer, suffering from a serious drink or drug addiction, have a drink or drug addiction which is improving and progress to work provision is underway or those with mental health issues. The number of exclusions on new deal has increased over recent years. Following the work of a Jobcentre Plus led new deal task and finish group in 2007, the number and reason for exclusions is being more closely monitored.In regard to all claimants referred to we expect that a proportion of the cases are due to administrative error or a delay in a jobseeker entering provision promptly (for which sanctions can be applied). Jobcentre Plus is continually looking at ways of how we can reduce such error and has made significant in roads to reduce the number of 'overstayers' ie those delaying their progress on new deal, down from 17 per cent. in June 2006, to now less than 5 per cent.The GP response paper Ready for Work (December 2007) announced the Government's plans for significant changes in the way we help and support our customers back into work:"A stepped programme of support will be available for all customers from day one.""The successful new deal gateway will be refreshed and introduced for all customers from six months of a claim (bringing that support forward by 12 months for those 25 and over).""All those reaching 12 months unemployment will enter the flexible new deal (FND), receiving intensive support from a specialist provider. During this time with a provider we expect all customers will enter work or participate in some form of full time activity increasing the chances of work.""A high proportion moving into work will reduce the numbers who might otherwise have reached two years. Entering other full time activity will act to prevent the remainder from crossing the two year threshold."

Date

13 March 2008

Reference

473 c574-6W;473 c571-3W; 173755

House

House of Commons

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