Fifteenth Report - DWP Employment support

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.

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.

The government accepts the recommendation, stating the National Disability Strategy was published in July 2021. It is carefully considering the In-Work Progression Commission's recommendations and will respond shortly, while also bolstering work coach support for low-paid Universal Credit claimants from April 2022.

The government's response is completely unrelated to the recommendation, discussing BBC audience figures and online services instead of DWP statistical publications.

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.

The government states it systematically gathers feedback on claimant satisfaction through annual surveys. It also agrees with the recommendation to evaluate work coach effectiveness, noting work is underway with findings expected to start becoming available throughout 2022.

The government acknowledges the introductory paragraph of the committee's report, confirming the basis and timing of evidence gathering and report publication.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The government's response did not address the committee's conclusion about the lack of targeted employment schemes for ethnic minority backgrounds or the specific actions in the 20 challenge areas, instead providing a response related to general diversity data collection.

The government's response acknowledged the importance of evaluation and outlined ongoing work to assess work coach effectiveness and individual policies, with findings expected throughout 2022. However, it did not directly address the committee's observation about delays in existing evaluations or the long timelines for future scheme evaluations.

The government rejected the recommendation to produce regular, granular statistical publications, citing that many programmes are ending soon. Instead, it is considering how to release information after programme closure and highlighted existing efforts to improve data collection and recent publications.

The government acknowledges the committee's observations about work coach discretion and skills, noting ongoing customer satisfaction surveys and existing work to evaluate work coach effectiveness and explore wider support offers.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The government agrees with the recommendation (framed in its response as 4b) to respond to the In-Work Progression Commission's findings but states it is still carefully considering the recommendations and will respond shortly, while also outlining existing trials and planned work coach support from April 2022.

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.

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.