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
11 Recommendations
11 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
2 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 5 events
8 Nov
2021
Report published
25 Oct
2021
Correspondence
8 Sep
2021
Report published
13 Jul
2021
Correspondence
17 Jun
2021
Oral evidence
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
13 results
Clear
2 Recommendation Accepted
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
The government accepted the recommendation and stated it was implemented, having provided a letter to the committee on 29 September 2021. The response detailed its contingency plans, including increased staff, estate expansion, a resilient digital service, and flexible service delivery to ensure employment support continues during any future surges in claims.
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3 Recommendation Accepted
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
The government accepts the recommendation, stating it has changed how diversity data is collected for Universal Credit, will ensure evaluations consider diversity characteristics, and is working with the ONS to monitor unemployment trends by ethnicity and age.
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6 Recommendation Accepted
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
The government agrees with the recommendation, highlighting its existing regular engagement with local authorities and employers in designing and implementing schemes. It also commits to regularly publishing a list of locally available provision, including information from the District Provision Tool, by December 2022.
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8 Conclusion Accepted
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
The government states the recommendation is implemented, detailing how it successfully managed the initial claims surge and has built flexibility through recruitment, digital services, and expanded estate to ensure preparedness for any future increase in claimants.
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9 Conclusion Accepted
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
The government agreed with the underlying concern and stated the recommendation (from a similar context) was implemented, detailing how it managed past claim surges through easements, recruitment, and estate expansion. It highlighted its resilient digital service and increased flexibility to ensure continued support for claimants in any future surges.
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10 Recommendation Accepted
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
The government accepted the recommendation and stated it was implemented, having changed its diversity data collection method for Universal Credit claims, resulting in an increasing declaration rate above 70%. It committed to ensuring evaluations consider diversity characteristics and collect ethnicity and disability data during research.
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11 Recommendation Accepted
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
The government accepted the recommendation and stated it was implemented, confirming it is working with the Office for National Statistics to understand how best to monitor unemployment trends by ethnicity and age, while acknowledging data limitations due to small sample sizes.
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16 Conclusion Accepted
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
Government Response
The government responded that it already systematically gathers feedback via its annual Customer Experience Survey, with recent reports being finalised. It also stated it has work underway to evaluate the effectiveness of work coaches and inform its future delivery strategy, addressing the concern about consistency.
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17 Conclusion Accepted
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
Government Response
The government states the recommendation is implemented, detailing how it successfully managed the pandemic's claims surge through recruitment, digital services, and expanded Jobcentre Plus estate, confirming it is already taking action to address the priorities and challenges outlined.
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18 Conclusion Accepted
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
The government states the recommendation (framed in its response as 4a) is implemented, confirming the National Disability Strategy was published on 28 July 2021 and detailing various existing DWP initiatives that support disabled people in employment.
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19 Conclusion Accepted
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
The government states the recommendation (framed in its response as 4a) is implemented, confirming the National Disability Strategy was published on 28 July 2021 and outlining existing DWP initiatives that support disabled people into and within employment.
HM Treasury
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21 Recommendation Accepted
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
The government agreed with the recommendation but stated it was already implemented, describing existing regular engagement with local leaders and employers for understanding labour market issues and shaping employment programmes. It highlighted current collaborations and delegated commissioning in some areas.
HM Treasury
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22 Recommendation Accepted
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
The government accepted the recommendation, committing to regularly publish a list of locally available provision, including the District Provision Tool, by December 2022. It also stated Jobcentre Plus staff will continue working with local authorities to ensure up-to-date information.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 22 of 11 classified
Accepted 13
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 3
Deferred 1
Not Addressed 2
Rejected 1
Total 11 recs + 11 conclusions
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
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