Work and Pensions Committee: Welfare-to-work Second Report of Session 2015–16
The report finds that, despite nearly 70% of participants failing to find sustained employment:
“The Work Programme has streamlined the procurement of welfare-to-work, created a stable, GB-wide welfare-to-work infrastructure, and now produces a similar level of job outcomes for mainstream participants as previous programmes. DWP deserves credit for implementing a programme which, in general, produces results at least as good as before for a greatly reduced cost per participant.”
The report concludes that the Work Programme is not working well for people with more complex or multiple barriers to employment who need more intensive help.
For disabled people it recommends that the DWP maintain, and ideally expand, a separate employment programme (doubling the number of places available) for disabled people, while also addressing key flaws in the current Work Choice programme. It also emphasises the importance of Integration of employment support with related local services - health, housing, education and skills, and support for alcohol and drug addiction and those with a ‘chaotic’ lifestyle.
For the Work Programme the Committee recommend that Work Programme Plus participants be segmented into three (provider) payment groups.
- Work-ready group: Relatively work-ready claimants with a good record of employment in the last four years;
- Intermediate support group: Claimants with some characteristics restricting their employability, such as lack of qualifications or skills, and a poor record of employment in the last four years; or
- Intensive support group: Claimants with complex or multiple barriers to working, including significant physical or mental ill health; drug or alcohol dependency; housing problems or homelessness; and no record of employment in the last four years.
View our written submission to this enquiry
Disability Rights UK's report 'Taking Control of Employment Support' advocates putting support into the hands of disabled people so that they can make their own choices about what they need.