Work and Pensions written question – answered at on 19 December 2005.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
(1) if he will list the (a) private companies and (b) voluntary organisations that deliver Jobcentre Plus contracts;
(2) what percentage of outsourced employment services contracts are delivered by (a) private companies and (b) voluntary organisations; and what the value is in 2005–06 in each case.
The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions requesting a list of organisations that deliver Jobcentre Plus contracts broken down into private and voluntary sector organisations, and what percentage of outsourced employment services contracts are delivered by these organisations and their contract value for 2005–06. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
A list of organisations which have Jobcentre Plus contracts has been placed in the library. Unfortunately, we are currently not able to breakdown this list of providers between private and voluntary organisations. This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
However, Jobcentre Plus is currently implementing a new system which will enable information on programmes and providers to be obtained and collated more readily. The decision to set up this improved database came as a recommendation from the Jobcentre Plus Programme Procurement Review. Jobcentre Plus has set up a new externally administered accreditation service which will capture comprehensive information on all contractors and their sub contractors, broken down by programme and by type of organisation e.g. private company, voluntary body etc. This new system should be largely complete by April 2006.
With regard to your request for information regarding contract value, the total available budget for all Jobcentre Plus provision for 2005–06 is £1.1 billion. The actual expenditure on all these demand led contracts will, of course, depend on the volume of customers who actually take up the opportunities available within the various programmes. It will not be possible to break down expenditure by category of provider until the new database is available from April 2006.
I hope this is helpful.
Yes0 people think so
No0 people think not
Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.