Select Committee · Work and Pensions Committee

Plan for Jobs and employment support

Status: Closed Opened: 11 Jul 2022 Closed: 31 Oct 2023 25 recommendations 13 conclusions 1 report

The Committee looked at the effectiveness of Government support to get people into employment, including disadvantaged groups such as those in low-paid jobs and young people. The Committee looked to find out: What is driving increases in economic inactivity - for example amongst people with health conditions and older people? What has been the impact …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Eighth Report - Plan for Jobs and employment support HC 600 19 Jul 2023 38 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

4 items
8 Conclusion Eighth Report - Plan for Jobs and empl… Acknowledged

Minister intends root and branch review of Disability Confident scheme

We welcome the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work’s intention for “a root and branch” review of the Disability Confident scheme and his acknowledgment of the role this will play in changing attitudes around disabled workers.

Government response. The government acknowledges the review of the Disability Confident Scheme, stating work was paused due to a High Court decision but has now resumed, with officials refining recommendations based on gathered evidence.
Department for Work and Pensions
19 Recommendation Eighth Report - Plan for Jobs and empl… Acknowledged

Expand eligibility for support programmes to include economically inactive people not receiving benefits.

The UK labour market is facing high rates of economic inactivity, driven up as a result of the pandemic and the ending of freedom of movement. Although rates have now somewhat recovered, there are many more people outside the labour market than prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst DWP offers …

Government response. The government highlights the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for local investment and outlines an additional comprehensive cross-government support package, including the WorkWell Partnerships Programme, aimed at increasing workforce participation for economically inactive groups. However, it does not explicitly commit to …
Department for Work and Pensions
21 Recommendation Eighth Report - Plan for Jobs and empl… Acknowledged

Apply lessons from Kickstart evaluation to inform the design of future similar schemes

We have heard numerous positive reports about Kickstart, however, without a comprehensive analysis of Kickstart or any publication of data on employment outcome, it is not possible to say with any assurance how successful the scheme has been or what value it delivered for participants. We look forward to the …

Government response. The government states that its employment support programmes, including the 'Plan for Jobs' package, undergo comprehensive analysis and evaluation, with outcomes measured and reported externally. However, it does not specifically confirm how lessons from the Kickstart evaluation will be applied …
Department for Work and Pensions
38 Conclusion Eighth Report - Plan for Jobs and empl… Acknowledged

Plan for Jobs initiatives fail to reverse increased economic inactivity among vulnerable groups.

The Government’s Plan for Jobs and DWP’s response to the pandemic introduced a number of measures to support the recovery of the labour market and help people return to work. Although these initiatives have shown some success at helping people re-enter the labour market, they have not been able to …

Government response. The government thanks the Committee, affirms the success of the Plan for Jobs, and highlights a comprehensive package of cross-government measures announced in Spring Budget 2023 aimed at increasing workforce participation and reducing economic inactivity among identified groups.
Department for Work and Pensions

Oral evidence sessions

8 sessions
Date Witnesses
3 May 2023 Guy Opperman MP · Department for Work and Pensions, Katie Farrington · Department for Work and Pensions, Sophie Dean · Department for Work and Pensions, Tom Pursglove MP · Home Office View ↗
19 Apr 2023 Alex Till · National Enterprise Network, David Hale · Federation of Small Businesses, Jonny Briggs · Aviva, Matt Dooley · Momentic Limited View ↗
15 Mar 2023 Dr Katy Jones · Manchester Metropolitan University, Professor Dan Finn · University of Portsmouth View ↗
8 Feb 2023 Elizabeth Taylor · The Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), Fiona Monahan · Ingeus, Graham Parry · Groundwork, Liz Sewell · Belina Grow, Rhodri Thomas · Reed in Partnership, Richard Clifton · Shaw Trust, Rosie Ginday · Miss Macaroon View ↗
25 Jan 2023 Councillor Kieron Williams · Central London Forward, Councillor Toby Savage · Local Government Association, Dr Shriti Pattani · Society of Occupational Medicine, Graham Whitham · Greater Manchester Poverty Action, Luke Price · The Centre for Ageing Better, Peter Murphy · Wise Age, Professor Kevin Bampton · British Occupational Hygiene Society View ↗
16 Nov 2022 Barry Fletcher · Career Connect, Billy Harding · Centrepoint, Dr Jenny Ceolta-Smith · Long Covid Support and Long Covid Work, James Taylor · Scope, Jane Hunt · Association of Disabled Professionals, Professor Kim Hoque · Disability@Work, Richard Rigby · The Prince’s Trust View ↗
26 Oct 2022 Ben Harrison · The Work Foundation, Dr Eleanor Carter · Government Outcomes Lab, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, Jonathan Cribb · Institute for Fiscal Studies, Louise Murphy · Resolution Foundation, Stephen Evans · Learning and Work Institute, Tony Wilson · Institute for Employment Studies View ↗
5 Jan 2022 Hannah Slaughter · Resolution Foundation, Richard Hughes · Office for Budget Responsibility, Sam Avanzo Windett · Learning and Work Institute, Tony Wilson · Institute for Employment Studies View ↗

Correspondence

3 letters
DateDirectionTitle
18 Oct 2023 Correspondence with the Economic Secretary to the Treasury relating to income p…
7 Jun 2023 Correspondence with the Minister for Employment relating to Plan for Jobs and e…
29 Mar 2023 Correspondence with the Minister for Employment and the Minister for Disabled P…