Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what evaluation they have made of their supported employment schemes and employment support programmes for (1) disabled people, and (2) young people, since February 2020.

The Department for Work and Pensions’ two main employment support programmes for disabled people are the Work and Health Programme (WHP) and Intensive Personalised Employment Support (IPES). Both programmes are subject to ongoing evaluation to capture a full range of employment, health and wellbeing outcomes for programme participants.

Alongside these employment schemes, DWP continues to evaluate labour market interventions targeted at disabled people and those with health conditions, including:

• Group Work: A trial of JOBS II, a 20-hour specialised job-search skills training course. An evaluation of the trial was published in July 2021: An evaluation of the Group Work (JOBS II) trial - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Employment Advisors (EAs) in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT): this initiative provides combined psychological support and employment advice to enable IAPT clients to stay in or take up work. An initial process evaluation was published in 2019: Employment Advisers in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies: process evaluation report (publishing.service.gov.uk)
• The Health-led trials: testing whether the provision of Individual Placement Support (IPS) to people with physical and/or mild to moderate mental health conditions in Sheffield City Region (SCR) and West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) makes a difference to health and employment outcomes. Individual Placement and Support is a specific version of supported employment and evaluation is ongoing.

The Plan for Jobs includes specific support for young people, including Kickstart, which funds the direct creation of jobs for young people at risk of long-term unemployment. The Department for Work and Pensions will be monitoring and evaluating the Kickstart scheme, alongside the wider DWP Youth Offer, throughout and after implementation.