The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide my hon. Friend with the information requested.
Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 24 April 2007:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what the latest performance statistics are for each office where Social Fund applications are processed. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The time it takes to process Social Fund applications is measured by counting the average length of time taken to clear all claims processed within a set period (usually monthly). The measure is referred to as the Average Actual Clearance Time.
The clearance time for an individual application is measured in whole working days from the date the application is received to the date the decision is taken (on whether to make an award or a loan offer), plus, if a loan offer is made, the number of whole working days between receiving the applicant's reply to the offer and the recording of that reply. The minimum clearance time recorded for an individual application is one day, even if the application is cleared immediately.
Applications are made for five elements of the Social Fund: Community Care Grants, Crisis Loans, Budgeting Loans, Sure Start Maternity Grants and Funeral Payments.
The Average Actual Clearance Time service level expectations for each element are:
Community Care Grants—9 days,
Crisis Loans—2 days,
Budgeting Loans—6 days,
Sure Start Maternity Grants—5 days,
Funeral Payments—16 days.
However, applications for Crisis Loan living expenses must be cleared on the same day as the application is made.
The attached table shows the performance of each of the 42 operating units that are currently responsible for Social Fund applications. The data covers February 2007.
I hope this is helpful.
Social Fund operating unit Community Care Grants Crisis Loans Budgeting Loans Sure Start Maternity Grants Funeral Payments Ayrshire, Dumfries, Galloway and Inverclyde 6.6 1.3 9.0 4.3 3.6 Bolton and Bury 3.2 1.2 1.5 1.6 7.3 Bradford 9.7 1.4 3.2 2.9 12.8 Bridgend, Rhondda, Cynon and Taff 4.4 1.1 1.7 6.0 13.3 Calderdale and Kirklees 10.1 1.3 3.4 7.8 17.4 Central London 5.5 1.7 3.3 5.7 16.5 Cheshire 5.0 1.1 2.0 4.3 11.7 City and East London 4.3 1.2 2.9 3.0 9.5 Cumbria 7.3 2.6 2.7 2.4 17.4 Dorset 4.3 1.1 4.5 3.2 14.3 Dudley and Sandwell 11.4 2.6 2.7 3.2 23.2 East Midlands North 6.4 1.2 8.1 9.0 14.9 Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders 5.4 1.8 1.5 4.1 8.5 Essex 13.7 1.7 4.2 2.9 12.8 Greater Liverpool 6.4 1.3 1.9 2.2 11.9 Greater Manchester and Lanes 15.6 2.7 4.5 4.7 14.8 Highland, Islands, Clyde Coast and Grampian 6.1 1.2 6.2 3.2 5.8 Lancashire West 5.6 1.3 2.9 2.8 14.4 Leeds 8.7 1.2 1.6 2.3 12.5 Llanelli Benefit Delivery Centre 6.0 1.5 1.9 2.9 10.7 London South 4.1 1.3 2.3 2.4 12.0 North East London 5.6 1.5 2.4 2.6 8.3 North London 6.6 1.9 3.0 2.9 7.3 Northumbria 3.1 1.1 1.8 2.2 6.4 Norwich Benefit Delivery Centre 18.2 1.7 4.1 6.6 12.0 Somerset 2.5 1.1 2.2 1.8 8.7 SE BOBS (Bucks, Oxfordshire, Berks and Surrey) 8.5 2.5 3.1 3.2 12.1 SE HIKYS (Hants, Kent and Sussex) 8.9 1.9 3.3 3.4 11.8 South East Midlands 12.8 2.2 8.8 6.5 22.6 South East Wales 10.5 1.3 3.0 6.4 15.0 South Tyne and Wear Valley 7.8 1.3 2.9 4.9 11.4 South West Central 7.4 1.4 1.6 1.6 8.0 Springburn Benefit Delivery Centre 7.6 1.2 3.4 2.6 8.4 Tees Valley 6.1 1.2 4.6 1.9 11.4 Wakefield 5.0 1.3 3.3 1.6 7.1 West London 4.4 1.3 2.5 2.3 6.4 West Midlands Social Fund 7.8 1.6 3.4 3.9 10.0 Wigan 3.8 1.2 1.6 1.4 7.9 Wiltshire 8.8 1.3 1.4 2.3 7.8 Wirral 7.0 1.1 2.3 3.1 9.5 Wolverhampton and Walsall 11.1 2.5 2.4 3.8 25.3 Yorkshire and the Humber Sheffield 5.7 1.4 2.1 3.3 11.6 Source: DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System