Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she had with the Welsh Government on the process of selecting a provider to deliver the Restart Scheme in Wales.

Providers on DWP’s Commercial Agreement for Employment and Health Related Services framework were invited to bid to deliver the Restart Scheme in Contract Package Areas across England and Wales. We conducted a fair and transparent call off exercise to secure the delivery of the Restart Scheme.

Bidders were required to show how they proposed to tailor their offer to local labour market conditions, including their plans for close working with employers, local government and other service providers to identify skills gaps and growth sectors and complement the wider landscape of support.

A Stakeholder Engagement and Local Integration question which was locally tailored to the specific nuances of the individual Contract Package Area was developed in conjunction with local partners. As part of the selection process the responses for Wales were evaluated by Welsh Regional Engagement Teams from Welsh Local Authorities to ensure local expertise was incorporated into the evaluation.

DWP officials have continued to meet with Welsh Government officials to provide updates on the Restart Scheme.