Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Support: Kickstart Scheme

Select Committee

Public Accounts Committee HC 655 25 February 2022

Report Status Government responded

Conclusions & Recommendations 22 items (8 recs)

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Government Response (AI assessment · 13 of 22 classified)

Accepted 11

Acknowledged 1

Rejected 1

Recommendations

6 results

2 Accepted

Many employers have been frustrated at the slow progress in finding suitable people to fill...

Recommendation

Many employers have been frustrated at the slow progress in finding suitable people to fill the Kickstart vacancies they have created. The Department initially aimed for 250,000 people to have started Kickstart jobs by the end of December 2021, but … Read more Many employers have been frustrated at the slow progress in finding suitable people to fill the Kickstart vacancies they have created. The Department initially aimed for 250,000 people to have started Kickstart jobs by the end of December 2021, but in practice take up of the scheme has been slower. Although the number of young unemployed people searching for work has been well over 200,000 in every month since April 2020 and employers have offered well over 200,000 potential Kickstart jobs, there had only been around 100,000 Kickstart job starts by the beginning of December 2021. The Department attributes the slower than expected progress to wider economic and policy factors, such as the extension of the furlough scheme, the reintroduction of national lockdown in early 2021, and the reopening of the economy in summer 2021. The Department also considers that some employers may initially have set their expectations of the available candidates too high. Overall, there were around 144,000 young people claiming Universal Credit and searching for work for more than one year (the long-term unemployed) in September 2021, and the Department did not explain why this volume of people have not moved into the available Kickstart jobs. The Department also lacks data on how long it takes to 6 DWP Employment Support: Kickstart Scheme fill individual Kickstart jobs after they have been approved. Failing to have this kind of basic management information is reflective of a disappointing lack of curiosity from the Department about how the scheme is actually working for employers and the young people that the scheme is meant to help. Recommendation: The Department should: a) ensure Kickstart jobs are accessible to the people Kickstart is trying to help, and that employers have realistic expectations about the potential candidates; and b) ensure it is able to record and report accurately on basic measures such as the number of people on Universal Credit that are suitable for Kickstart by Show less

Government Response Summary

The government disagrees that slow progress was made in finding suitable people to fill Kickstart vacancies. Since the scheme started, around 160,000 Kickstart jobs have been filled by young people, with the final Kickstart jobs started by young people on 31 March 2022.

HM Treasury

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4 Accepted

Work coaches decide which young people will benefit most from Kickstart but the Department has...

Recommendation

Work coaches decide which young people will benefit most from Kickstart but the Department has no way of knowing if they refer the right people to employers. DWP Employment Support: Kickstart Scheme 7 The Kickstart Scheme is available to young … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government agrees to use management information to monitor and manage how work coaches are deciding what support would work best for different claimants. However, the department disagrees that they have no way of knowing if work coaches are referring the right people.

HM Treasury

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5 Accepted

The Department does not monitor properly how well employers are supporting Kickstart participants.

Recommendation

The Department does not monitor properly how well employers are supporting Kickstart participants. The Department pays £1,500 per Kickstart participant to employers to fund set-up costs and employability support for Kickstart participants, which it hopes will make participants more employable … Read more The Department does not monitor properly how well employers are supporting Kickstart participants. The Department pays £1,500 per Kickstart participant to employers to fund set-up costs and employability support for Kickstart participants, which it hopes will make participants more employable in the future. However, it does not specify or offer detailed guidance or signposting on what employers should provide for this money and does not routinely collect data on what they actually do provide. Additionally, where employers are involved with the Kickstart Scheme through a Gateway, this funding goes directly to the Gateway and the Department has no visibility of how the money is distributed to employers, or how Gateways apply checks on employers they manage. The Department was interested in whether it could have given more leeway to allow gateways to hold back the £1,500 employability support payments until employers demonstrated it would be spent wisely, speaking about this in the context of the planned evaluation. The Department does investigate specific, potentially serious concerns that its staff or young people raise, and also has a team of Kickstart District Account Managers who discuss job quality and employability support with employers and Gateways. However, information from these discussions is not collated centrally, and the Department seemed to be overly reliant on anecdotes and to lack the tighter metrics and data to assure itself that that the scheme is working as intended. When the Department finds out that an employer is providing no employment support to a young person, or employment support that is not up to scratch, it is not clear that it is able to claw back the £1,500 it has given them to provide this support. Recommendation: The Department should set out clear and specific expectations from employers and Gateways to ensure that Kickstart participants get the experience and the employability support that they have been promised, and it 8 DWP Emplo Show less

Government Response Summary

The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. As part of the Scheme evaluation is covering the delivery of employability support using employer and gateways surveys. The department is also considering options for undertaking sample checks on employers, which will include whether the employability support is delivered as set out in the employer’s grant application. The department expects to complete this options scoping work by the end of Spring 2022 The department is also considering options for recovery of misspent funds.

HM Treasury

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6 Accepted

It is not clear how the Department uses Kickstart in tandem with its other employment...

Recommendation

It is not clear how the Department uses Kickstart in tandem with its other employment support to best sustain young people in work. The Department aims to provide tailored help based on work coach’s understanding of the claimants they work … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government states that work coach discretion is fundamental, outlining the Youth Offer, support during Kickstart jobs, the Way to Work campaign, and comprehensive guidance for DWP colleagues.

HM Treasury

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1 Accepted

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...

Recommendation

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 Kickstart Scheme.1 The Government announced the Kickstart Scheme on 8 July 2020 as part … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government will continue to conduct a routine review of COVID-19 costs where there have been material changes reliably attributed to COVID-19 and provide public updates annually for the next two years, after which the Treasury will review what is still required.

HM Treasury

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17 Accepted

The Department requires employers to provide employability support to Kickstart participants alongside their jobs, an...

Recommendation

The Department requires employers to provide employability support to Kickstart participants alongside their jobs, an approach it hopes will make participants more employable in the future. The Department gives employers £1,500 per participant to cover the costs of providing this … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government will evaluate employability support delivered through the Kickstart scheme, potentially increasing checks and communications with employers, and is considering options for recovering misspent funds.

HM Treasury

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Conclusions (5) Observations and findings — click to expand

9 Conclusion Accepted

Employers told the National Audit Office that in some cases they did not receive any referrals of job candidates at all, and that sometimes the Department removed their vacancies from its system without explanation.34 The charity Catch22, which has acted as a Kickstart gateway, told us that, in its experience, …

Government Response Summary

The government disagrees that slow progress was made and outlines existing efforts, including District Account Managers, employer events, enhanced functionality on the Find a Job service, and advice to employers on managing expectations.

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11 Conclusion Accepted

The Department developed an evaluation plan to assess Kickstart’s impacts early on in the scheme’s development.42 This plan has two main elements. The first element is an analysis of Kickstart participants’ employment records, time on benefits, and earnings after their placements have finished, compared with the equivalent outcomes for similar …

Government Response Summary

The government aims to publish process evaluation findings in Spring 2023, and will continue to evaluate longer-term outcomes for Kickstart participants and use findings to improve current and future employment support.

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20 Conclusion Accepted

The Prince’s Trust and Catch22 are both charities that have acted as Gateways for Kickstart jobs. Catch22 describes itself as “a big supporter of Kickstart”, but told us that the quality of placements varies and said that there should be stronger minimum standards and expectations for Gateways.80 The Prince’s Trust …

Government Response Summary

The government will cover the delivery of employability support using employer and gateway surveys. They are considering sample checks on employers and options for recovery of misspent funds.

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21 Conclusion Accepted

The Department said that Kickstart is “in many ways a flagship” scheme. However, it operates alongside a range of other types of support that the department provides.82 The Association for Convenience Stores told us that the large range of support schemes can mean that some smaller employers are hesitant to …

Government Response Summary

The government states that work coach discretion is fundamental, outlining the Youth Offer, support during Kickstart jobs, the Way to Work campaign, and comprehensive guidance for DWP colleagues.

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22 Conclusion Accepted

The Department told us that its youth employability work coaches and youth hubs bring together provision and services together to create a ‘journey’ for individuals, by referring people to Kickstart jobs and other schemes from the Department, and signposting people to other support which is available in the area.85 Additionally, …

Government Response Summary

The government states that work coach discretion is fundamental, outlining the Youth Offer, support during Kickstart jobs, the Way to Work campaign, and comprehensive guidance for DWP colleagues.

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