Review of support for customers with disabilities and health conditions APPDG

1. Review of support for customers with disabilities and health conditionsAPPDG

2. What are the key elements of the review? 1. Pathways Improvement Plan Improvements to existing Pathways provision until we can implement an updated programme. Includes 1)JCP Pathways improvement plan; 2) Delivery Directorate improvement plan. 3. Future Model An updated model of support for customers with a health condition or disability Today’s focus 2. JSA customers with health conditions/disabilities Improvements to the support we provide to JSA customers with health conditions/disabilities, particularly customers who have been disallowed from ESA following the WCA

3. What are the drivers for the review? • Our customer group is changing • the WCA means relatively fewer, more disabled people on ESA, and more people with a disability or health condition on JSA • from October, we will bring a substantial number of new customers into the back to work system, on migration from IB to ESA/JSA • Pathways to work is less effective than we first thought –October 2009 report on JCP expansion areas found no employment impact, although customer feedback remains positive. • Disability employment programmes need to fit with the wider delivery vision – clear customer journey, personalisation, focus on skills, local partnerships … • We set out principles for the review in the white paper “Building Britain’s Recovery: Achieving Full Employment”, published in December 2009. These include: greater personalisation for customers; more flexibility for advisers; a balance of customer rights and responsibilities and a clear customer journey throughout.

4. WCA Performance evidence • On 13 October the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced that the WCA was preventing many disabled people becoming trapped on out of work benefits and instead being offered support to get back into employment. • The figures show that of the 193,800 people who made a claim for ESA between October 2008 and February 2009: • 5 per cent who are the most severely ill or disabled people are going into the support group, and will not be expected to undertake any work related activity, instead being offered voluntary help to manage their condition. • 36 per cent are found fit for work and not eligible for ESA.* • 11 per cent are found eligible for ESA with work related activity (such as regular advisor interviews) to help them prepare to return to work in future. • 38 per cent stopped claiming benefit before the assessment on them was completed • 10 per cent were still being assessed as the statistics were compiled. • * Under the old IB system an estimated 17pc were found fit for work, however as the assessment was carried out after six months rather than three months, more of those with low levels of health problems had already returned to the labour market after only a short term claim.

5. Pathways – previous and emerging evidence • An independent study into the impact of the original pilots found an employment impact of around 7 percentage points. This means that people in Pathways areas were around 25% more likely to be in a job after 18 months than in non-Pathways areas. • A report published on 27th October found that when Pathways was extended to further Jobcentre Plus areas, no employment impact was found. • However these two studies are not directly comparable: the pilots study was based on IB enquiries (not all of whom would have gone on to make a claim) with the latter study was based on IB new claims. • Customers move off benefits more quickly if they go through Pathways. • Customer feedback on the experience of Pathways remains positive.

6. Qualitative Evidence • Advisers are challenging people to think differently about their employment prospects and contributing to people’s progress and movements into work, by providing encouragement, financial support and access to other helpful provision. • Customers generally supported the Pathways ethos, but emphasised the importance of the timing and the individual tailoring of interventions. • There is a need for greater links between Pathways and other health or employment services. • Adequate training for Personal Advisers is required to equip them to work with harder to help customer groups. • The extent to which job targets might influence the nature of support provided to Pathways customers should be carefully examined in order to ensure that customers receive the assistance that best promotes their long-term position.

7. What is the review process? • Commenced by Employment Group within DWP in the autumn. • Held ‘understanding the problem’ workshops with stakeholders and delivery partners in November. • Held ‘developing the solution’ workshops with stakeholders and delivery partners in January. • Expect to publish proposals in the Spring. • Delivery of a new model likely to take between 1 and 2 years. • Expect to engage further with stakeholders following publication.

8. Issues identified in the review

9. We are working on the basis of some key underlying principles Increase employment rate of customers with disabilities and health conditions Deliver value for money Primary principles Programme should do at least one of the following: i. Move more people into work ii.Move people into work quicker iii.Keep people in work for longer Programme should focus on (and pay for) additionality, Supporting principles Finite resources should be better targeted with the right incentives Clear customer journey Customer rights and responsibilities Delivering the principles Personalisation – right support at right time Adviser flexibility to establish best package for customer Building capability Advisers must have the skills and information to identify the help that customers need JCP / providers must have the capacity and infrastructure to deliver an effective programme

10. Based on thinking so far, this is what our model might look like Repeat WCA (if on ESA) and re-assess support needs Identification of place on ‘back to work continuum’ Personalised support to get back to work Employment support available but is light touch and voluntary Customer provided with focussed, tailored, flexible support which will be reviewed on an on-going basis. The level and type of support may depend on customer’s distance from the labour market. *Flexible WFI requirement; *Work-related activity could be required for all or some customers, although nature and intensity would vary; *Appropriate activities could be selected from menu of interventions; *Customers support needs would be regularly reviewed. Assess benefit eligibility (WCA If appropriate) *No further engagement required from Support Group but can volunteer • Identify support • needs: • WFHRA • Initial WFI • Skills health • check (if • appropriate) • Questionnaire • on observable • and attitudinal • Characteristics? • Adviser uses info to identify • customer’s level of need. • Action Plan agreed. Customers move into employment at all stages and can access in-work support

11. Piloting our plans first • There are already a range of pilots planned that will test different elements of the future approach we’re considering, based on the principles set out in the White Paper. These would give us useful information, and it would be possible to continue with these (potentially with some adjustments to PEP) to help inform the development of a longer term strategy. Invest to Save - upfront investment in back-to-work support for long term IB customers through future benefit savings. A new and innovative financing arrangement between the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Treasury will be used. This will allow the Department to directly capture the benefit savings, out of which providers will be paid, but offset by increased obligations. Personalised Employment Programme (PEP) - A new initiative that will deliver a single, integrated, flexible employment programme for people claiming JSA and ESA JCP Delegated Flexibility - Piloting a new operational model for Jobcentre Plus, granting greater devolved power to District Managers.

12. How might we deliver this model? • No evidence to suggest a significant difference between the effectiveness of • providers and JCP. Improvement plans in place for both. • Possible future delivery options: • 1) ‘Hand over’ all customer(s) to provider to deliver core regime (as in PL Pathways now) • 2) JCP own customer/ core regime and we contract out or put in place partnership arrangements for parts of process – either for particular types of support/modules, or individuals, or time periods within claim • Using providers to deliver core support would probably increase the openness of our specification • The right incentives and performance management process will be vital.

13. Conclusions • High level options will be outlined in a Command Paper due to be published in the Spring. • We will be working up further detail in the coming months • Further engagement with stakeholders will take place as part of this process • Do you feel there are issues to be looked at that we are not currently addressing? • From your experiences and views brought to you by your constituents, do our principles and options sit well with what is needed?