The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Darra Singh, dated 24 February 2010:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many complaints of racism have been made by Jobcentre Plus staff against other Jobcentre Plus staff in each of the last five years, broken down by smallest geographical area for which information is available. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The Department does not maintain any automated data to capture the volumes of formal complaints from current or former staff relating to race discrimination. Although Jobcentre Plus retains clerical information on official written complaints from existing or former members of staff; this data does not identify where complaints relate specifically to any allegations of racism.
Although formal investigations into allegations of harassment, bullying and discrimination are handled through our Department for Work and Pensions Human Resources Investigation Service, some complaints may be addressed separately through local management investigations and there is no available data to provide the requested information in full.
I am, therefore, unable to provide a more detailed reply.