(2) how many hardship payment awards his Department has made in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.
The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide my hon. Friend with the information requested.
Letter from Mel Groves:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how many hardship payment awards his Department has made (a) in each region and (b) at each payment level in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available and how many hardship payment awards his Department has made in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Jobcentre Plus has management information relating to Jobseeker’s Allowance hardship payments. However, this information is not available prior to July 2002. The information held does not distinguish between the payment levels. The available data is attached at Annex 1.
Annex 1
2008 2009 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Jobcentre Plus National 3,230 2,582 3,106 2,899 3,068 3,235 2,701 3,040 3,090 2,881 2,911 2,990 East Midlands 166 127 136 120 156 137 113 108 144 144 190 148 East of England 178 175 174 210 172 210 146 199 178 178 140 175 London 399 285 357 246 308 272 304 310 314 296 319 279 North East 240 181 233 219 206 258 216 206 203 181 172 239 North West 370 327 320 358 427 384 337 344 341 329 375 363 Scotland 327 266 361 305 430 339 318 327 392 338 396 369 South East 405 209 245 197 161 229 186 243 184 218 233 242 South West 280 219 243 242 235 341 291 300 255 265 249 376 Wales 212 180 255 217 205 212 155 181 137 120 153 121 West Midlands 240 274 248 257 282 296 277 364 401 335 310 262 Yorkshire and The Humber 413 339 534 528 486 557 358 458 541 477 374 416
Number 20031 47,425 2004 49,737 2005 43,518 2006 38,129 2007 28,956 2008 32,222 20092 29,921 1 From July 2002 2 To January 2009 Source: Management Information System Platform