Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Paragraph: 92
Unemployment has risen because of the pandemic, but some sectors have been hit harder than...
Conclusion
Unemployment has risen because of the pandemic, but some sectors have been hit harder than others. Sectors which have seen the highest proportion of job losses are those that have been “shut down” in response to the pandemic, such as arts and leisure, retail and passenger transport. Some groups of people are also more likely to have lost their jobs, including disabled people, young people, women, low-paid workers and workers from BAME backgrounds. We welcome the announcement of two new employment support schemes: Restart, aimed at the long-term unemployed, and Kickstart, aimed at young people on Universal Credit. But neither scheme has specific provisions for disabled people, and we have heard concerns from disability organisations about how well they will work for disabled people in practice. DWP must ensure that both schemes meet the needs of groups who are particularly likely to have lost out during the pandemic. To do that, it will need to collect better data than it currently has.
Paragraph Reference:
92
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
DWP already works closely with local authorities, other local stakeholders and other government departments through the Work and Health Services network. DWP also engages centrally with Mayoral Combined Authorities, local authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships and with businesses and charities, all of whom have valuable expertise and knowledge of their local labour markets. DWP engages with local leaders, including employers, to understand place-based labour market issues, where vacancies are available but not being filled and to support people with the training they need to move into vacancies.