Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 33
33
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 227
Devolve future employment support programmes to local authorities based on NHS care boundaries.
Recommendation
The current centralised delivery model for employment support does not make the most of local knowledge or expertise and promotes a one-size-fits-all approach to support design. A more devolved approach to support design and delivery would allow support to be better tailored to the individual and could be designed to take advantage of local opportunities and existing networks, and meet regional vacancy needs. DWP should, as standard, devolve all future employment support programmes to groups of local authorities. In line with the recommendation in our Disability employment gap Report, we suggest that these be based on the NHS integrated care system boundaries to allow better integration between mental health support and employment support.
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation to automatically devolve all future employment support programmes, citing concerns about consistency and value for money. However, it commits to trialling a more devolved approach within the Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities to evaluate its effectiveness before wider rollout.
Paragraph Reference:
227
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
The department’s employment support offer has several elements: a mixture of jobcentre support, national contracted provision and local contracted or grant-funded provision. The best delivery approach is decided on a programme-to-programme basis. Therefore, the department does not agree with the recommendation to automatically devolve all employment support to groups of local authorities in England and Wales, or other related recommendations. The department employs a nationwide framework with local delivery for contracted employment support in England and Wales for people who access support from Jobcentre Plus. This guarantees a consistent minimum provision for all citizens where the contracted employment programme applies (regardless of postcode), ensures value for money for the taxpayer and allows us to quickly adapt our offer to changing labour market conditions. There are potential risks to devolving contracted employment support including managing the different capacity and capabilities of different local areas, maintaining value-for-money and reduced response time to a national emergency. In the recently announced ‘Trailblazer’ devolution deals with Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities, DWP has committed to trialling a more devolved approach to contracted employment programmes, including co-design and delegated delivery (subject to readiness conditions) in order to understand and evaluate this approach further, including exploring avenues to mitigate these risks. The department believes this is the best way to determine if this can offer a positive difference in outcomes and value-for-money before we consider further rollout. DWP will retain overall responsibility and accountability for the public funds behind employment support programmes during this and future trials.