The Department’s published three year plan is available in the Library and sets out the planned expenditure of Jobcentre Plus as part of the 2007 comprehensive spending review. The Department will publish a revised plan before the end of the current financial year providing further details on future Jobcentre Plus expenditure.
(2) what the minimum educational requirements necessary to become a Jobcentre Plus personal adviser are;
(3) how many and what proportion of Jobcentre Plus staff are paid at the minimum wage rate.
The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Mel Groves:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking what the (a) average, (b) lowest and (c) highest salary paid to a Jobcentre Plus personal adviser is in each region; what the minimum educational requirements necessary to become a personal adviser are; and how many and what proportion of Jobcentre Plus staff are paid at the minimum wage rate. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The pay scales for personal advisers are those for Executive Officer Band C. Details of the pay scales are in the following table.
National Inner London Outer London Specified locations Minimum 19,650 23,240 21,910 21,620 Maximum 23,990 27,850 26,680 26,210
Specified locations pay zones are those where recruitment difficulties historically have led to an increase in local salary scales. Generally these apply across much of the South East, outside the London pay zones.
Our payroll system does not identify staff by job role and so it is not possible to provide an average salary for personal advisers.
Jobcentre Plus, in line with DWP-wide policy, uses competency based recruitment for all recruitment, rather than education attainment or qualifications. A few exceptions exist for specialist posts, but for personal advisers there is no minimum educational requirement.
No Jobcentre Plus staff are paid at the national minimum wage rate; all our pay rates are above the national minimum wage.