To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average size of the caseload for personal advisers will be once Pathways to Work is fully rolled out. (77241)

[holding answer 13 June 2006]: The information requested is not available.

Personal adviser caseloads vary according to the adviser’s knowledge and experience of advisory work and the client group. Therefore decisions about an indicial Adviser’s caseload can only be decided at local level.

We want to ensure Pathways to Work advisers focus their efforts on helping and supporting people on incapacity benefits into work. Managers in current Pathways to Work pilot areas regularly monitor adviser caseloads to ensure they are manageable and enable customers to maximise their work opportunities. This will continue when Pathways is rolled out nationally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will break down by main budget heading the £360 million annual cost to roll-out Pathways to Work. (77242)

[holding answer 13 June 2006]: The £360 million is to cover a range of welfare reforms as set out in the Green Paper, primarily Pathways to Work. We are committed to rolling out Pathways to Work across the country by 2008. We will also seek to ensure our proposals deliver the service in innovative and more cost-effective ways as we roll out to the rest of the country, learning from the experience of Jobcentre Plus and the private and voluntary sector. We are currently working through the specific detail of the funding plans for Pathways, which we will share more widely in due course.