Sector-based Work Academy Programme
(asked on 17th March 2022) - View Source
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many sector-based work academies have taken place in each (a) country and (b) region of the UK since that programme began.
Sector-based Work Academies were first launched in August 2011 in England and January 2012 in Scotland. Regular statistical releases on sector-based work academies, covering participation by those on legacy unemployment benefits, began in 2011 and ended in 2017. These statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/employment-schemes-work-experience-sector-based-work-academy-and-skills-conditionality-starts-to-november-2017
The scheme was relaunched as ‘SWAP’ in July 2020 as part of the government’s Plan for Jobs. Data for the financial years 2020/21 and 2021/22 shows that as of 13th March 2022, there was a total of 146,480 starts to a Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP). The breakdown of these starts by nation and region is displayed in the following tables:
Table 1: SWAP starts by nation
Nation | Starts FY 2020/21 | Starts FY 2021/22 – to 13th March | Total Starts |
England | 58,310 | 74,460 | 132,770 |
Scotland | 6,120 | 7,000 | 13,120 |
Unknown | 60 | 520 | 580 |
Total | 64,500 | 81,980 | 146,480 |
Table 2: SWAP starts by region
Region | Starts FY 2020/21 | Starts FY 2021/22 – to 13th March | Total Starts |
West Midlands | 5,000 | 6,920 | 11,920 |
Central, East & North Scotland | 4,340 | 4,670 | 9,010 |
South & West Scotland | 1,780 | 2,330 | 4,110 |
London & Essex | 12,950 | 19,510 | 32,470 |
North & East Midlands | 7,800 | 9,650 | 17,450 |
North Central | 6,960 | 8,530 | 15,490 |
North East | 5,550 | 5,880 | 11,430 |
North West | 5,340 | 6,620 | 11,960 |
South East | 8,200 | 10,650 | 18,860 |
South West | 6,510 | 6,690 | 13,200 |
Unknown | 60 | 520 | 580 |
Total | 64,500 | 81,980 | 146,480 |
Note on above: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10; components may not sum due to rounding. These figures reflect the number of starts by claimants in receipt of Universal Credit (UC), Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Income Support (IS).