Found: previous point about engaging employers, making some of the parenting services accessible through employment

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many starts have been recorded for the Youth Offer in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire as of 25 March 2024.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Youth Offer launched 20 September 2020 and provides support for 16–24-year-olds who are on Universal Credit to help them move into employment. It includes three elements:

• The Youth Employment Programme, which provides young people dedicated intensive Work Coach support in finding & applying for jobs, with additional assistance available for those who have recently begun their Universal Credit claim.
• Youth Hubs, which bring together in one location DWP services with local support provided by youth experts. This ensures that the needs of young people are matched to services that help them tackle barriers to employment.
• Youth Employability Coaches, who are focused on supporting young people furthest from the labour market overcome complex challenges so that they can move into work.

As of the 1^st of March 2024, there have been 1,200 starts to the Youth Offer in South Holland and The Deepings constituency, and a total of 17,420 starts in the Lincolnshire region. These figures are part of the overall 1,123,000 total starts on the Youth Offer.

Notes

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. The figure for Lincolnshire is the combined figure for each of the following local authorities; Boston, East Lindsey, Lincoln, North East Lincolnshire, North Kesteven, North Lincolnshire, South Holland, South Kesteven and West Lindsey.
3. A claimant may take part in multiple elements of the Youth Offer. They may start any element of the Youth Offer multiple times. Each of these starts is recorded as a start on the Youth Offer.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 18113 on Jobcentres: Finance, what the individual incentives are in the two incentive pilot programmes for work coaches supporting people into work.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP ran an initial incentives pilot for a 6-month period from March 2023 until August 2023. A second phase of the incentives pilot commenced 1 January 2024 and ended on 31 March 2024. The pilot was in line with existing Reward and Recognition policy, with vouchers between £95 and £250 issued to individuals working in those Jobcentres that qualify for an award.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 18113 on Jobcentres: Finance, what the cost to the public purse was of the two incentive pilot programmes.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Incentive pilots were funded from within the Department’s existing Reward and Recognition budget at no additional cost to the public purse.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) planned spending is for and (b) expected number of beneficiaries are of the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme in each of the next five years.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Intensive Personalised Employment Support (IPES) programme is due to end on 21 September 2025. The forecasted spending for the 2024/2025 tax year and the beginning of the 2025/2026 tax year until the programme ends is shown in the table below.

We do not produce a formal forecast of the number of participants for the IPES programme per year. The last intake of participants to the programme was December 2023. As of 29 February 2024, the total number of participants was 3,820. This number will decline as participants complete the programme, until September 2025 when the programme is due to end.

Please Note

• The figures in the table have been rounded to the nearest million.
• The data recorded in the IPES dataset does not meet the standards required to be included in the Official Statistics. Please treat the total number of participant value as a guide figure rather than an actual figure.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many starts have been recorded for the Youth Offer in (a) Greater London, (b) Bexley Borough and (c) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency as of 21 March 2024.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Youth Offer launched 20 September 2020 and provides support for 16–24-year-olds who are on Universal Credit to help them move into employment. It includes three elements:

• The Youth Employment Programme, which provides young people dedicated intensive Work Coach support in finding & applying for jobs, with additional assistance available for those who have recently begun their Universal Credit claim.
• Youth Hubs, which bring together in one location DWP services with local support provided by youth experts. This ensures that the needs of young people are matched to services that help them tackle barriers to employment.
• Youth Employability Coaches, who are focused on supporting young people furthest from the labour market overcome complex challenges so that they can move into work.

As of 01 March 2024, there have been 1,123,000 starts on the Youth Offer. Starts in the requested areas can be found in the table below.

1. A claimant may take part on the Youth Offer multiple times. Each of these starts is recorded as a start on the Youth Offer.
2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. Therefore, the individual elements in the table may not sum to the total figure.
3. Figures are subject to retrospective revision.
4. Youth Offer starts are categorised as “unknown” in cases where limited data is available.
5. The management information presented here has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics but is provided in the interests of transparency.

Attached are tables listing the number of Youth Offer starts to date by Region, Local Authority and Parliamentary Constituency.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on advertising the Back to Work Plan since November 2023 by advertising method.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

To date, the Department has not spent anything on advertising the Back to Work Plan.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to encourage people not actively looking for work to find employment.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP supports people across the country to move into and progress in work, and is committed to reducing economic inactivity. We want everyone who can work to be able to find a job, progress, and thrive in the labour market. The Department delivers comprehensive employment support including face-to-face time with Work Coaches in Jobcentres and contracted employment programmes.

Last year we also announced a wide range of additional support via the Spring Budget and the Back to Work Plan which will go further to break down barriers to work for disabled people and those with long-term health conditions, parents, over 50s and young people.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many starts by region have been recorded for the youth offer as of 01 March 2024.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Youth Offer launched on the 20 September 2020 and provides support for 16–24-year-olds who are on Universal Credit to help them move into employment. It includes three elements:

• The Youth Employment Programme, which provides young people dedicated intensive Work Coach support in finding & applying for jobs, with additional assistance available for those who have recently begun their Universal Credit claim.
• Youth Hubs, which bring together in one location DWP services with local support provided by youth experts. This ensures that the needs of young people are matched to services that help them tackle barriers to employment.
• Youth Employability Coaches, who are focused on supporting young people furthest from the labour market overcome complex challenges so that they can move into work.

As of 01 March 2024, there have been 1,123,000 starts on the Youth Offer.

Starts by strand nationally:

Starts by strand and region:

Notes:

1. Eligible claimants who have recently begun their Universal Credit claim, and are actively searching for work, start in the Youth Employment Programme element of the Youth Offer. A Work Coach may later refer them to a Youth Hub, Youth Employability Coach or other employment support as appropriate based on their needs.
2. When a claimant starts on any of the three elements of the Youth Offer, this is recorded as a start on that element, as well as a start on the Youth Offer.
3. A claimant may take part in multiple elements of the Youth Offer. They may start any element of the Youth Offer multiple times. Each of these starts is recorded as a start on the Youth Offer.
4. Claimants do not take part in multiple elements of the Youth Offer simultaneously.
5. Data for Youth Hubs and Youth Employability Coaches is not available prior to April-21.
6. Youth Hub and Youth Employability Coach data is produced from a manual process and although care is taken when processing and analysing Youth Hub and Youth Employability Coach referrals, the data collected might be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system which features manual data. Therefore, Youth Hub and Youth Employability Coach figures are likely to underestimate the number of young people who have started at a Youth Hub and/or with a Youth Employability Coach.
7. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. Therefore, the individual elements in the table may not sum to the total figure.
8. Figures are subject to retrospective revision.
9. Youth Offer starts are categorised as “unknown” in cases where limited data is available.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2024 to Question 13226 on Veterans: Employment Scheme, how many and what proportion of ethnic minority veterans have used the Career Development Fund in the last 12 months.

Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)

Veterans’ employment is at an all-time high, with 89% of those leaving service finding employment within six months.

This Government's £700,000 Veterans’ Career Development Fund aims to build on that, increasing the provision and enhancing access to qualifications, training and skills development for veterans and their families across the UK.

The grant seeks to support veterans of all backgrounds, and encourages applications in particular from groups and organisations which seek to engage with and support minority groups and individuals within the overall veteran population, including those of ethnic minority backgrounds.

The fund closed for applications from organisations in January this year, with successful applicants due to be notified later this month. Activity and delivery of the projects will then commence after that point

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help increase the uptake of job transition services for veterans.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Resettlement services are offered to all personnel leaving the Regular Armed Forces with employment support and training delivered through the an official provider, the Career Transition Partnership (CTP). CTP supports the transition from military to civilian life through a range of career and employment support services . CTP works with hundreds of employers who recognise the talent pool leaving the Armed Forces and the skills, experience and strong working ethos Service leavers bring with them after a military career.

Although the CTP service is available to all personnel who qualify, some may choose not to use it. From 27 November 2023 all Service leavers have been automatically registered with the CTP and must now actively ‘opt out’.

Over the past 25 years the CTP has provided transition support to over 310,000 Service leavers across all ranks and Services, with an average of 15,000 accessing the programme each year. Defence Statistics have published annual figures detailing employment outcomes for Service leavers who left during 2021/22 on www.GOV.uk - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/career-transition-partnership-ex-service-personnel-employment-outcomes-financial-year-202122. 87% of Service personnel who left the UK Armed Forces and used a billable CTP service were employed after six months.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's spend on the youth offer was in the last financial year.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department of Work and Pensions Youth Offer provides individually tailored work coach support to young people aged 16 to 24 who are claiming Universal Credit. This support includes the Youth Employment Programme, Youth Employability Coaches for young people with additional barriers to finding work, and Youth Hubs across Great Britain.

Previously, the Youth Offer was only available for those searching for work. As of the 25 September 2023, this been expanded to include to include additional young people on Universal Credit not currently searching for work, including young parents and carers.

The information regarding the Department’s total spend on the Youth Offer is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The information regarding the Department’s spend on grants to support the opening and operation of Youth Hubs in each financial year since they were launched is not held.

The indicative Youth Hub Work Coach costs for the previous three financial years are:

2020/2021 - £1.1m

2021/2022 - £5.4m

2022/2023 - £4.8m

NB:

• This excludes estates, digital, support and other operations costs.
• This data is derived from DWP's Activity Based Model (ABM) and/or Departmental Activity Based Model (DABM) and is unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only. It has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standards.
• The data is frequently revised and changes to definitions / benefits / DWP structure effect comparisons over time. It should therefore be treated with caution and must be seen as an indication of cost, rather than the actual cost.
• Youth Employability Coaches and other Jobcentre staff may also work from Youth Hubs which is not reflected in this data.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to raise awareness of the benefits to business of employing prison-leavers and to support businesses to do so.

Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

We remain committed in increasing the number of prison leavers securing employment on release. The proportion of prison leavers who were employed six months after release more than doubled in the two years to March 2023, from 14% to over 30%. Meanwhile, the proportion who were in employment six weeks after their release almost doubled in the same period, from 9.8% to 19.4%

We know that supporting businesses and raising awareness around the benefits of employing prison leavers are integral in continuing this upward trend.

New Futures Network is the prison service’s specialist employment team that supports businesses to fill skills gaps and prisoners to find employment on release. They use a dedicated website and social media pages to inform the public, including employers, about the opportunities to recruit from prisons. New Futures Network brokers three main types of partnership between prisons and employers:

• Prison industries and academies: Workspaces set up by businesses, staffed by prisoners.
• Release on Temporary Licence: Paid work placements in the community for risk-assessed serving prisoners.
• Employment on release: When employers offer opportunities to individuals following their release from prison.

To increase awareness across sectors facing labour market shortages, in October 2022 New Futures Network began running a series of ‘Unlocking Potential’ recruitment drives in prisons. The most recent event in October 2023, Unlocking Hospitality, saw around 65 events held across 40 sites, attended by 40 employers and 885 prisoners. This resulted in 184 interviews and 45 job offers to date.

We also know that employers want to hear from other employers when talking about the benefits of employing prison leavers. Employment Advisory Boards bring together experienced professionals across the private and third sectors and have been established across 93 prisons. Chaired by business leaders, these are a forum to collaborate with leadership teams within prisons, to support them in creating a positive culture of employment.

Similarly, we continue to work with the Employers Forum for Reducing Re-offending (EFFRR), an HMPPS-led group currently chaired by Greggs. This is a collective of local and national employers that provide training and employment opportunities for ex-offenders, including Greene King, Timpson, Marks & Spencer, Willmott Dixon and many more.

New Futures Network have also partnered with the Department for Education to raise awareness by featuring an employing prison leavers item on their business webpages: Find training and employment schemes for your business (education.gov.uk).

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 total and in each (a) country and (b) region of the UK since the programme began.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Sector-based work academies were 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 Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) in July 2020 as part of the Government’s Plan for Jobs. Due to data limitations, we are unable to provide a geographical breakdown for SWAPs that took place before the start of the 2021/22 financial year.

Data for the financial years 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 to date shows that, as of 28 January 2024, there were a total of 266,330 starts to a Sector-based Work Academy Programme. The breakdowns of these starts are provided in the attached tables. Final start figures for 2023/24 will be available early next financial year.

Notes on the data:

Attached are tables listing the number of SWAP starts to date by Country, Region, Local Authority, Sector and Age band. The figures used are correct as of 28 January 2024 and these figures have been rounded according to departmental standards.

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).

It is important to note that the information provided shows the current home location of the person who has started a SWAP. For starts by those in receipt of JSA, ESA or IS, due to data limitations a location cannot be assigned to these starts and as such they are categorised as unknown within the figures. SWAPs are run in England and Scotland, where a person’s current home location is outside of this they have also been categorised as unknown.

Although care is taken when processing and recording SWAP starts, the data collected might be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any clerical recording system, but is provided in the interests of transparency.

Found: These two approaches to employment schemes emphasise the importance of longevity and supporting ongoing