Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 24
24
Accepted in Part
Jobcentres require deeper integration with voluntary and community sectors to address complex employment barriers.
Conclusion
Many people who use Jobcentres have multiple and complex needs, which can act as barriers to them securing employment. Too often, issues that prevent people from finding jobs go unaddressed. Jobcentres and Jobcentre staff will not be able to address these barriers on their own. If DWP is serious about increasing employment, it will need to look beyond employment support and integrate Jobcentres with other services and providers. The voluntary and community sector can help Jobcentres provide more holistic support and can help to reach people who Jobcentres have historically failed. Some Jobcentres already build good partnerships with local organisations, but partnership working is inconsistent across the country and under-utilised. In 2016, a previous Committee concluded that Jobcentres may fail to support vulnerable claimants if they are unable to work with local organisations. This conclusion is only more pressing today. (Conclusion, Paragraph 120)
Government Response Summary
The government partially accepts, recognising the value of the voluntary sector and committing to actively collaborate with them for the new Jobs and Careers service. They are also developing a mapping tool to audit and baseline existing outreach partnership activity across the Jobcentre network, aiming to inform a more Flexible Delivery Network.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
Partially accept DWP recognises the invaluable part played by the voluntary and community sector in supporting customers alongside DWP and agrees that forming a more coherent view of the current position is useful. As part of the extensive engagement we are undertaking to inform the creation of a new Jobs and Careers service, we are actively collaborating with representatives from the voluntary and community sector and will continue to do so. We are keen to learn from the sector and incorporate its valuable insights into the department’s work. DWP recognises the importance of accurate data to support and inform decision making and is developing a mapping tool to understand and baseline outreach partnership activity delivered across our Jobcentre network. The mapping tool will serve as a foundational audit tool, enabling DWP to catalogue and assess existing outreach partnerships across the Jobcentre network, and standardise data collection. It will provide an overview of all outreach levers in place to support local leaders in the identification of further opportunities to explore in their communities alongside good practice to share. This is key to inform and shape a more Flexible Delivery Network which aims to tackle economic inactivity by bringing DWP support directly into local communities, working closely with local partners and employers to meet the needs of the community, providing the right support at the right time in the right place.