Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2024 to Question 13494 on Civil Servants: Veterans, if he will make an assessment of the impact of the Service Leavers’ Adjustment Passport on veterans’ employment outcomes.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Service Leavers Adjustments Passport is a voluntary tool to support Armed Forces Service Leavers with the transition into Civilian Employment. It is also available to anyone who has served to access at any time in the future. We have no plans to track employment outcomes specifically as part of the Service Leavers Adjustments Passport as there are numerous factors that influence veteran employment outcomes and it would be difficult to effectively isolate the impact of a single measure.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2024 to Question 14790 on Universal Credit: Armed Forces, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of collecting data on the specific branches of the armed forces in which Universal Credit claimants (a) are serving and (b) have served.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such assessment has been made for the reasons set out in the response to the previous answered PQ14790.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to increase the support provided to unemployed North Sea oil and gas workers to find new employment.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The oil and gas sector supports over 200,000 jobs and is critical to a successful energy transition. That is why the Government is providing certainty to industry through the introduction of the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill as well as agreeing the North Sea Transition Deal with industry. This includes the development of an industry-led skills passport to enable workers to move between sectors, protecting jobs and ensuring their skills, which are vital for the transition, are not lost.
DWP supports people across the country through a range of support including face-to-face time with Work Coaches, job-search advice and more intensive employment programmes, helping those at risk of, or who have been made redundant to move back into work.
Through partnerships with local organisations DWP is able to respond to potential and proposed redundancy situations quickly and effectively, with local partners mobilised immediately to offer support and guidance to those affected. Low Value Provision (LVP) is an example of funding that can be used to supply training for Jobcentre Plus Customers, including those at risk of, or who have been made redundant.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what metrics his Department uses to measure the impact of armed forces champions in Jobcentres.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of the Armed Forces Covenant the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has initiatives which help current and former Armed Forces personnel and their families. This includes the role of the Armed Forces Champion in every Jobcentre Plus District, who provide specialist support to members of the Armed Forces community and build Work Coach capability in our Jobcentres. Armed Forces Champions develop and maintain joint working relationships, provide specialist support to all Jobcentre staff and act as the first point of contact in communities for organisations and services.
Although there is no specific metrics used, the Department regularly evaluates the role to ensure we deliver the best service possible and we have had, and continue to receive, positive feedback from customers and external stakeholders regarding their experience of working with Armed Forces Champions.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 8295 on Universal Credit: Veterans, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of Universal Credit claimants who have been identified as having served in the past in the armed forces.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 6 February 2024 to question 11939.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department provides to help veterans into work.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 6 February 2024 to question 11939.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2024 to Question 11563 on Jobcentres: Birmingham Selly Oak, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allocating Armed Forces Champions to every Jobcentre in England.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Each of our 37 Jobcentre Districts has an Armed forces Champion available for every Jobcentre, including Selly Oak JCP, to access.
Our Work Coaches are trained on how to provide tailored and personalised support to claimants dependant on their individual circumstances. Jobcentres vary in size and structure therefore the support required will vary for each site. In those areas where there are particularly high levels of demand, for example garrison towns, the local manager will ensure that the right level of support can be accessed.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2024 to Question 11938 on Veterans: Employment, if he will take steps to help ensure that the Office for National Statistics collects data on veterans in the labour market on a non-experimental basis.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The process the independent Office for National Statistics take to evaluate whether statistics should be labelled experimental statistics or not, is outlined here.
ONS welcome feedback on their plans for the transformation of the Labour Force Survey by emailing them at here. Currently all data from the Transformed Labour Force Survey is badged as experimental because it is still in the development phase including data on veterans in the labour market.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 8295 on Universal Credit: Veterans, if he will take steps to collect data on the specific branches of the armed forces that Universal Credit claimants are serving in or have served in the past.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We currently have no plans to collect this data. Where the branch in which someone served is relevant to their Universal Credit claim or the employment support they need, this will be discussed with the Work Coach or Armed Forces Champion supporting the claimant concerned.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the impact of the level of employment support for veterans in jobcentres on trends in the number of veterans finding employment.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP supports people across the country to move into and progress in work through a range of support including face-to-face time with work coaches, job-search advice and more intensive employment programmes.
Veterans were eligible for the Work and Health Program (WHP), through the Early Access Group (EAG), which was on a voluntary basis. Evidence from the participant surveys suggests that the WHP has had some positive impacts on participants’ work readiness compared with the control group. This is most evident for voluntary WHP participants relative to their control group. Among both mandatory and voluntary participants, six in ten thought the support received had increased their chances of moving into work.
Veterans will also be eligible for the Universal Support (US) programme which is currently in development. This will be evaluated to provide evidence on the effectiveness of the program for its participants.
The is currently no analysis of veteran’s outcomes on Universal Credit (UC). The armed forces marker on UCFS was introduced in 2021. Coverage is not yet at the level required for robust analysis.