DWP Employment Support

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 21 May 2021 Closed: 16 Nov 2021 Parliament page
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the labour market, and unemployment in the UK is expected to increase significantly. The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) provides a range of welfare benefits and support for unemployed people through Jobcentres and through more intensive programmes, such as the … Read more
22 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
2 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 6 events
8 Nov
2021
Report published
25 Oct
2021
Correspondence
8 Sep
2021
Report published
13 Jul
2021
Correspondence
17 Jun
2021
Oral evidence
17 Jun
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
17 Jun 2021
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DWP Employment Support
Jonathan Mills · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Margarita Morrison · Department for Work & Pensions Peter Schofield · Department for Work and Pensions
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment support HC 177 8 Sep 2021 22 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
22 results
2 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
Any second surge in new benefit claims and unemployment as the furlough scheme comes to...
Any second surge in new benefit claims and unemployment as the furlough scheme comes to an end could disrupt the Department’s ability to provide employment support. At the start of the pandemic, the Department moved around 10,000 extra staff into … Read more
Government Response
2: PAC Conclusion: Any second surge in new benefit claims and unemployment as the furlough scheme comes to an end could disrupt the Department’s ability to provide employment support. 2: … Read more
HM Treasury
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3 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
We are concerned that the Department does not know why the unemployment impact of the...
We are concerned that the Department does not know why the unemployment impact of the pandemic has hit groups such as young people from minority ethnic backgrounds harder. In March 2021, the Office for National Statistics produced striking statistics showing … Read more
Government Response
3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 3.2 The department has made a change to the way it collects diversity data as part of a Universal Credit … Read more
HM Treasury
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4 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
The Department’s focus on getting people into any form of employment risks neglecting its wider...
The Department’s focus on getting people into any form of employment risks neglecting its wider ambitions around supporting disabled people to work and supporting people on low pay to progress. The Department’s current focus is on minimising the impact of … Read more
Government Response
4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 4.2 The National Disability Strategy was published on 28 July 2021. It includes wide- ranging measures to support disabled people … Read more
HM Treasury
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5 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
The Department is not sufficiently transparent about the impact and take-up of its schemes at...
The Department is not sufficiently transparent about the impact and take-up of its schemes at a local level. We recognise that good-quality evaluations can be challenging to deliver, and that measuring the impact of a programme can take years. We … Read more
Government Response
1. The BBC appears complacent about the threat it faces from declining audiences. Each year people spend less time watching BBC TV and 200,000 more households choose to opt out … Read more
HM Treasury
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6 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
The Department does not make the most of local authorities’ and employers’ in depth knowledge...
The Department does not make the most of local authorities’ and employers’ in depth knowledge of local needs and priorities. Experts such as local authorities and employers have in-depth knowledge of local needs and priorities that can make employment support … Read more
Government Response
6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation Implemented 6.2 The department has regular engagement with local leaders and stakeholders, Mayoral Combined Authorities and Local Authorities to understand place-based … Read more
HM Treasury
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7 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
The quality of claimants’ experience with the Department and whether they receive the right support...
The quality of claimants’ experience with the Department and whether they receive the right support will depend on the Department’s ability to integrate the additional 13,500 new work coaches into its organisation and manage their performance effectively. The Department’s employment … Read more
Government Response
7.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendations. Target implementation date: December 2022 7.2 The department systematically gathers feedback on customer satisfaction through its Customer Experience Survey, which it carries … Read more
HM Treasury
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1 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Work and Pensions (the Department) about the employment support it provides to people who need help.1
Government Response
Based on a report by the National Audit Office, the Committee took evidence on Thursday 17 June 2021 from the Department for Work and Pensions. The Committee published its report … Read more
HM Treasury
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8 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
In the event of a further surge of claimants when the furlough scheme ends, the...
In the event of a further surge of claimants when the furlough scheme ends, the Department would need to continue to process new claims for benefits, as well as providing the employment support schemes it is now delivering.18 During the … Read more
Government Response
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 2.2 The department wrote to the committee on 29 September 2021. 2.3 During the pandemic the department saw an unprecedented … Read more
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
The Department also effectively switched off many of the usual conditions attached to people’s benefit...
The Department also effectively switched off many of the usual conditions attached to people’s benefit entitlements early in the pandemic, meaning claimants did not have to demonstrate that they were searching for work to be eligible to receive benefits.21 Claimants … Read more
Government Response
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 2.2 The department wrote to the committee on 29 September 2021. 2.3 During the pandemic the department saw an unprecedented … Read more
HM Treasury
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10 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
The Department does not have complete data on diversity or disadvantage of the people it...
The Department does not have complete data on diversity or disadvantage of the people it supports. The National Audit Office reported that in February 2020, before the pandemic, the Department only had ethnicity data for 40% of claims made since … Read more
Government Response
3a: PAC Recommendation: The Department must obtain good-quality diversity data for all claimants and ensure that its evaluations of all of its employment support programmes include an assessment of the … Read more
HM Treasury
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11 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
In March 2021, the Office for National Statistics produced statistics showing that unemployment for young...
In March 2021, the Office for National Statistics produced statistics showing that unemployment for young black people aged 16–24 had increased from 24.5% in the period October-December 2019 to 41.6% over the same period in 2020, while unemployment for young … Read more
Government Response
3b: PAC Recommendation: The Department should work with the Office for National Statistics to provide more regular statistics on the claimant count and unemployment rates broken down by ethnicity and … Read more
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
The Department’s current flagship programmes are aimed at youth unemployment, and the long term unemployed.
The Department’s current flagship programmes are aimed at youth unemployment, and the long term unemployed. There are relatively few schemes targeted at people from an ethnic minority background.29 The Department did tell us about its 20 challenge areas, which are … Read more
HM Treasury
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13 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
The Department explained that it is planning to evaluate the impact of its new schemes,...
The Department explained that it is planning to evaluate the impact of its new schemes, beginning with the Kickstart programme, building on the evaluation work it completed for its previous schemes, which informed its current programme.34 We heard that the … Read more
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
While the Department publishes selective statistics about some of its support schemes, such as information...
While the Department publishes selective statistics about some of its support schemes, such as information about the work and health programme, it does not produce regular data on its schemes to allow Parliamentarians or its partners to scrutinise performance in … Read more
Government Response
5: PAC Conclusion: The Department is not sufficiently transparent about the impact and take-up of its schemes at a local level. 5: PAC Recommendation: The Department should produce a quarterly … Read more
HM Treasury
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15 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
The Department’s employment support is mainly accessible to people on benefits, and they will usually...
The Department’s employment support is mainly accessible to people on benefits, and they will usually be referred to that support via their jobcentre work coaches. Work coaches have considerable discretion to tailor their support to claimants, including discretion around: the … Read more
HM Treasury
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16 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
The Department told us that a real advantage of delivering employment support through its work...
The Department told us that a real advantage of delivering employment support through its work coaches is the flexibility that those work coaches have to identify and draw on the right tools to help the claimant. The Department’s approach relies … Read more
HM Treasury
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17 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
The Department told us that its “top priority” now is getting people into work through...
The Department told us that its “top priority” now is getting people into work through the pandemic, and that it wants to avoid the risk of ‘scarring’ that unemployment can have on a person’s chances of getting a job – … Read more
HM Treasury
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18 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
People with health and disability issues continue to face major challenges in the workplace, including...
People with health and disability issues continue to face major challenges in the workplace, including issues around workplace accessibility, negative attitudes, and a lack of assistive technology.51 In 2017, the Department, alongside the Department of Health & Social Care, set … Read more
Government Response
4a: PAC Recommendation: The Department must now use the consultation and the Health and Disability Green Paper to clarify how it will support disabled people and people with health conditions, … Read more
HM Treasury
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19 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
The Department, and the Department of Health & Social Care, ran a consultation from July...
The Department, and the Department of Health & Social Care, ran a consultation from July to October 2019 seeking views on the different ways in which government and employers can reduce ill health-related job losses.54 The Department has committed to … Read more
Government Response
4a: PAC Recommendation: The Department must now use the consultation and the Health and Disability Green Paper to clarify how it will support disabled people and people with health conditions, … Read more
HM Treasury
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20 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
The Department has established a Commission to review the evidence base around in-work progression and...
The Department has established a Commission to review the evidence base around in-work progression and make recommendations to better support people in low-pay employment to progress.57 This consultation ended in December 2020, and its results were published on 1 July … Read more
Government Response
4b: PAC Recommendation: The Department must also respond to the recommendations made by the in-work progression Commission to support people in low-pay employment to progress. In doing this, the Department … Read more
HM Treasury
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21 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
The Department told us that it recognises that the needs of local areas differ, and...
The Department told us that it recognises that the needs of local areas differ, and said that it “is about working closely” with the local authority, local employers and local enterprise partnerships and mayoral combined authorities. We heard that the … Read more
Government Response
6a: PAC Recommendation: The Department should seek regular structured feedback from local authorities and employers on its employment support and: • Involve them in the design and commissioning of schemes; … Read more
HM Treasury
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22 Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment …
We asked the Department whether it could be more proactive in sharing basic information such...
We asked the Department whether it could be more proactive in sharing basic information such as its district provision tool—essentially a list of local provision—with partners, so they could see what people were being referred to, and to see if … Read more
Government Response
6b: PAC Recommendation: The Department should seek regular structured feedback from local authorities and employers on its employment support and: • Publish its district provision tool so others can see … Read more
HM Treasury
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Correspondence 2 letters
25 Oct 2021 Correspondence from Peter Schofield CB, Permanent Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions, re TM15 – DWP Employment Support – Recommendation 2, dated 29 September 2021
Parliament page
13 Jul 2021 Correspondence from Peter Willan, Chair, Richmond Heathrow Campaign, re Employment Support Follow up, dated 5 July 2021
Parliament page