Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what capital funding her Department has made available to facilitate the development of a new JobCentre Plus site in Blackpool.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Department currently has no plans to develop a new Jobcentre Plus site in Blackpool.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what additional funding her Department has made available to support people in Blackpool into work.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
In Blackpool, all customers have access to the Plan for Jobs offer, delivering a comprehensive range of support to help people back into work. Mainstream employment support is supplemented through DWP’s local Flexible Support Funded (FSF) provision, in response to needs identified within the local community, delivering tailored support to enhance employment prospects.
The local jobcentre team have the flexibility and discretion to make awards through Flexible Support Fund (FSF) that will enhance the employment prospects of the claimants and other customers with whom they are engaged. This includes single parents. Payments of FSF are discussed with the claimant on an individual basis as part of the support provided by Work Coaches on a day-to-day basis as part of the Jobcentre Plus offer.
Financial assistance for childcare costs is available to eligible parents undertaking activity to move them closer to the labour market or into work. Work Coaches regularly discuss support available during their interactions with claimants which includes support available for upfront childcare costs through FSF.
The jobcentre team continue to work with local employers to deliver Sector Work Based Academy Programmes (SWAPs) in various sectors including care, construction, and education. SWAP’s deliver short vocational training linked directly to vacancies within a particular employer or in a specific sector, helping customers to learn the skills and behaviours that employers in particular industries look for.
In additional the team are working in partnership with local organisations including Blackpool Council, Blackpool and Fylde College, and the Blackpool Football Club Community Trust, to provide a range of employment support programmes in the community.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress she has made on amending the Special Rules for Terminal Illness fast-track process in relation to illnesses that qualify under those rules; and what the timeframe is for the publication of those changes.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
On 11 July the Secretary of State announced an in depth evaluation of how the benefits system supports people nearing the end of their life and those with severe conditions.
The Department understands how important it is to support those nearing the end of their life and is taking this work forward as a priority. We have made progress on all areas of this work, and will be engaging with clinicians and claimants over the coming months.