here - United Kingdom Parliament

863W
Written Answers
1 DECEMBER 2010
Written Answers
864W
We will be making clearer as we move towards the
Bill exactly how the measure to cease paying mobility
component of DLA to people in care homes will affect
particular groups.
Employment Schemes
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State
for Work and Pensions how many companies have
expressed an interest in applying for contracts under
the Work Programme. [26262]
Chris Grayling: 102 organisations, SPV or consortia
submitted bids in respect of the DWP Framework for
the Provision of Employment Related Support Services.
A list of organisations that submitted bids can be found
on the Supplying DWP website
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/supplying-dwp/
Those organisations that were accepted onto the
framework were notified on 25 November and a list has
also been published on the Supplying DWP website.
Only those organisations that have been successful in
being admitted to the framework as prime contractors
will be invited to tender for Work Programme contracts.
Organisations will only be able to bid in lots where they
have been successful in the framework competition.
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State
for Work and Pensions what (a) assumptions and (b)
calculations his Department made when formulating
its estimate of the market value of Work Programme
contracts contained in the framework agreement for
the provision of employment-related support services.
[26263]
Chris Grayling: Assumptions and calculations on the
estimated value of Work Programme contracts and
indeed other contracts which will be let from the framework,
were developed from information on the value of existing
welfare to work programmes. These took into account
the intention to radically simplify the array of existing
employment programmes and deliver coherent, integrated
support more capable of dealing with complex and
overlapping barriers to work. Estimates were broad in
order to provide transparency to the market and to
ensure that the framework would be able to meet
requirements to be the principal vehicle for sourcing all
employment related support services for the full life of
the Framework, not just for DWP, but also for other
eligible contracting authorities. Calculations also took
into account the need to deliver greater value for money
on future welfare to work contracts.
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State
for Work and Pensions whether he plans to place any
restrictions on sub-contracting within the procurement
processes for the Work Programme. [26264]
Chris Grayling: There are no plans to place any
restrictions on sub-contracting within the procurement
processes for the Work Programme. Evaluation of bids
will, at least in part, depend on the quality of their
supply chain.
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State
for Work and Pensions what the geographical areas are
for contracting for each type of back-to-work
provision; and what geographical areas there will be for
contracts under the Work Programme. [26265]
Chris Grayling: The DWP Framework for the Provision
of Employment Related Support Services will be divided
into 11 geographical lots. The lots are: South East,
South West, London, East of England, East Midlands,
West Midlands, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber,
North East, Scotland, Wales. Contracts let under the
framework may be across all lots, cover a specific lot or
a smaller geographical area(s) within a lot.
Employment Schemes: Scotland
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for
Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of
the likely effect of the proposed universal credit on
work incentives in Scotland. [25774]
Chris Grayling: Universal credit will make work pay.
It will enable workers to retain more of their earnings
when they enter work, providing stronger financial incentives
to take job opportunities than under the current system.
Establishing a single withdrawal rate and eliminating
the hours rules currently present in working tax credit
has the potential to create a much more flexible labour
market, where workers will be able to work the number
of hours that most suits their needs and those of their
employer.
The integration of in and out of work support through
universal credit will also greatly reduce the risks people
perceive around the continuity of financial support as
they move into and leave work.
We expect the impacts in Scotland to be broadly the
same as for Great Britain as a whole.
Housing Benefit
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State
for Work and Pensions pursuant to the contribution
by the Minister of State for Work and Pensions of
9 November 2010, Official Report, column 154, on
housing benefit, what the evidential basis was for his
assessment of the change in private rents since November
2008. [26345]
Steve Webb: The source of the private rental data was
the Find A Property index. This has been used by the
DWP and wider Government since 2008, when CLG
stopped producing their own private rental index. The
Office for National Statistics does not publish up-to-date
private rental data.
Further details of the evidential base are available at:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/wpsc-analytical-supp.pdf
Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for
Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of
the likely effects on levels of housing benefit payments
of the implementation of his Department’s decision to
merge high rental and low rental areas; and if he will
make a statement. [26379]
Steve Webb: We will be considering the areas in which
local housing allowance rates are set in the context of
our proposal to uprate local housing allowance rates