Recommendation 34

HM Government Not Addressed

Recommendation DWP must demonstrate that lessons have been learnt from previous schemes and ensure that the payment model used in Restart does not disincentivise providers from supporting those who are furthest away from the labour market, including some disabled people. The Department should incorporate a service fee element into its payment model for Restart to ensure that providers are incentivised to support disabled people, and other cohorts, that may be furthest away from accessing the labour market. Response The Restart Scheme is specifically designed for those who are fit for work and in need of that extra support to get back into sustained employment. The Payment by Results model incentivises providers to help as many people as possible into sustained employment, as the more people they help, the more outcome payments they will receive. There are two distinct elements to the Restart Scheme payment model which are: • Delivery Fee (30% of the estimated Total Contract Value) • Outcome Payments To avoid “creaming and parking” of harder to help participants, we have used an accelerator payment model. This model means that providers begin getting paid more per outcome once they reach above a certain performance level. The intention is to incentivise providers to achieve outcomes for as many customers as possible, including those harder- to-help, rather than focussing only on those considered closest to the labour market.