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Long-term unemployed "parked" by Government Work Programme

Disadvantaged, long-term unemployed people in the UK are not being reached by the Government’s Work Programme, a report out on Tuesday has said.

The Work and Pensions Committee have published a damning report that accuses the programme’s differential pricing structure of not having the intended result for underprivileged or hard-to-reach jobseekers.

The pricing structure is designed to financially incentivise contracted providers to help people with the most difficult barriers to employment.

However, the Committee said that people with disabilities, homeless people and those with a history of drug or alcohol abuse are still at risk of being “parked”; categorised as unlikely to find long-term employment and given little to no support.

Despite these criticisms, the Work Programme appears to be working for mainstream jobseekers, of which the Committee said it hopes to see more evidence when additional data is published in June.

Dame Anne Begg, chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, commented: “The performance of the Work Programme in its first 14 months was poor.

“There are signs that it is now improving significantly for mainstream jobseekers. We hope the next job outcome statistics to be published in June will bear this out – we will be very concerned if they don’t.

“However, the Work Programme has proved much less successful to date in addressing the problems faced by jobseekers who face more serious obstacles to finding a job – people with disabilities, homeless people, and those with a history of drug or alcohol abuse.

“It is clear that the differential pricing structure is not a panacea for tackling creaming and parking. The Government must do more to ensure that the Work Programme provides effective support for all jobseekers, not just the ones who are easiest to help.”

The Government reported spent around £248m less on the Work Programme than was expected in 2012/12 as a result of under-performance from providers in a “payment-by-results” system.

Members of the Committee urged the Government to use this £248m to support disadvantaged jobseekers through proven, alternative methods, such as the Work Choice programme for disabled people.

Further recommendations were made to promote the Access to Work initiative, which helps disabled people overcome the practical difficulties of starting a new job, and to offer better support for people who complete their two-year Work Programme without finding long-term employment.

Frances O’Grady, general secretary of union group TUC, said: “This report raises a number of very serious concerns about the Work Programme that cannot be swept under the carpet.

“Providers of job support have failed to achieve their minimum performance targets and are not doing enough to help disadvantaged job seekers.

“The committee is right to be ‘dismayed’ at the huge caseloads advisers are being landed with. This is clearly preventing them from providing the tailored assistance individuals need to find lasting employment.

“Instead of continuing to fund failing programmes, the government should introduce a job guarantee for all those facing long-term unemployment.”

The Committee called on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to move away from the current pricing model, which is based on the type of benefit being claimed by the participant, to a more individualised, needs-based system.

Dame Anne Begg MP added: “A more individualised assessment of the person’s obstacles to finding a job would help determine the level of upfront funding required to support them and would reflect the fact that the help that some jobseekers need is more intensive and costly.

“It could also help to ensure that the types of services disadvantaged jobseekers really need are available within the Work Programme.”

Further recommendations included ensuring all Work Programme participants receive appropriate services, developing closer relationships with Jobcentre Plus staff and offering specialist support, although the Committee said this was not a clear issue from evidence provided by the Work Programme.

Dame Anne Begg MP, concluded: “Work Programme providers need to focus on preparing jobseekers for real vacancies and offering an effective recruitment solution to employers.

“Excellent examples of employer engagement with the Work Programme exist, notably Transport for London’s very effective engagement with the 6 prime contractors operating in London. Approaches such as this should be encouraged.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .