Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are participating in the Work Choice programme; and how many of those participants are claiming (a) jobseeker's allowance, (b) employment and support allowance and are in the work-related activity group, and (c) employment and support allowance and are in the support group.

Published Official Statistics showing number of starts to Work Choice by benefit claimed at referral can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/work-choice-statistics-number-of-starts-and-referrals--2

These statistics show that in the 12 months to September 2016 there were 11,450 starts to Work Choice of which 6,100 were on jobseeker’s allowance and 2,100 were on incapacity related benefits (employment and support allowance, incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance). The additional breakdown by ESA phase is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.