Recommendations & Conclusions
22 items
2
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
Many employers have been frustrated at the slow progress in finding suitable people to fill the Kickstart vacancies they have created. The Department initially aimed for 250,000 people to have started Kickstart jobs by the end of December 2021, but in practice take up of the scheme has been slower. …
Government response. 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 2.2 The department disagrees with the assertion of the Committee that slow progress was made in finding suitable people to fill Kickstart vacancies. Since the scheme started, around 160,000 Kickstart …
HM Treasury
3
Recommendation
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
The Department plans to evaluate Kickstart but has not set out clearly enough the measures of success, or reported regularly enough on how the scheme is progressing. The Department plans to evaluate the impact Kickstart has on participants’ long-term employment outcomes, comparing participants’ future employment and time on benefits to …
Government response. 4. PAC conclusion: While we wait for the much-delayed SEND review, the support system continues to fail many children and remains financially unsustainable.
HM Treasury
4
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
Work coaches decide which young people will benefit most from Kickstart but the Department has no way of knowing if they refer the right people to employers. DWP Employment Support: Kickstart Scheme 7 The Kickstart Scheme is available to young people, who are on Universal Credit and whom a jobcentre …
Government response. 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 4.2 However, the department disagrees with the assertion of the committee that the department has no way of knowing if work coaches are referring the right young people to employers. …
HM Treasury
5
Recommendation
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
The Department does not monitor properly how well employers are supporting Kickstart participants. The Department pays £1,500 per Kickstart participant to employers to fund set-up costs and employability support for Kickstart participants, which it hopes will make participants more employable in the future. However, it does not specify or offer …
Government response. 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Summer 2022 5.2 Part of the Scheme evaluation is covering the delivery of employability support using employer and gateways surveys. This will provide the department with an overview of …
HM Treasury
6
Recommendation
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
It is not clear how the Department uses Kickstart in tandem with its other employment support to best sustain young people in work. The Department aims to provide tailored help based on work coach’s understanding of the claimants they work with. However, it is not clear that there is a …
Government response. 6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 6.2 Work coach discretion is fundamental to the department’s approach to supporting people into employment. Using a tailored approach, work coaches are empowered to identify the right support for the …
HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Work and Pensions (the Department) about the Kickstart Scheme.1 The Government announced the Kickstart Scheme on 8 July 2020 as part of its wider Plan for Jobs, a package of measures …
Government response. 2. PAC conclusion: We are concerned that HM Treasury does not intend to adequately monitor and update the ongoing cost of COVID-19 to the taxpayer. 2. PAC recommendation: As part of its Treasury Minute response, HM Treasury should explain how, …
HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
The Department had aimed for Kickstart to have achieved 250,000 job starts by 31 December 2021, the initial closing date for new job placements to begin.24 In practice, take up of the scheme was slower than the Department expected; by mid-December 2021 there had been 110,000 starts, with more than …
HM Treasury
8
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
Another factor in the reduced take up of the scheme has been the length of time taken by the Department to advertise and fill Kickstart roles.28 Some employers have complained of delays, both in the Department’s processes for accepting bids for vacancies, and in receiving referrals of young people to …
Government response. 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 2.2 The department disagrees with the assertion of the Committee that slow progress was made in finding suitable people to fill Kickstart vacancies. Since the scheme started, around 160,000 Kickstart …
HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
Employers told the National Audit Office that in some cases they did not receive any referrals of job candidates at all, and that sometimes the Department removed their vacancies from its system without explanation.34 The charity Catch22, which has acted as a Kickstart gateway, told us that, in its experience, …
Government response. 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 2.2 The department disagrees with the assertion of the Committee that slow progress was made in finding suitable people to fill Kickstart vacancies. Since the scheme started, around 160,000 Kickstart …
HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
In September 2021, the number of young (16- to 24-year-old) unemployed people claiming Universal Credit and searching for work for more than one year was approximately 144,000, three times the pre-pandemic number of 48,800 in February 2020.38 In the same month there were 186,000 Kickstart vacancies.39 Since April 2020, the …
HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
The Department developed an evaluation plan to assess Kickstart’s impacts early on in the scheme’s development.42 This plan has two main elements. The first element is an analysis of Kickstart participants’ employment records, time on benefits, and earnings after their placements have finished, compared with the equivalent outcomes for similar …
Government response. 3.8 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Spring 2023 3.9 The department has publicly committed to publication of the evaluation of the Kickstart Scheme once this is complete. It is aiming to publish process evaluation findings …
HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
In its business case, the Department recognised the risk that Kickstart might fund jobs that would have been created anyway, and assumed that only 50% of the jobs it funded would in fact be additional.46 However, it told us it was ‘very careful’ about the applications it agreed to fund, …
HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
We have previously observed that the Department’s evaluation of its employment support schemes depends on clear evidence, and that accountability to stakeholders requires detailed and timely publication of performance data during each scheme’s operation. We recommended the Department produce regular data updates on its schemes, including Kickstart, at a local …
Government response. 3.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 3.2 As with the government's response provided to the Employment Support Study recommendations, the department will not be introducing regular statistical publications at this stage given that many of the programmes are …
HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
The only formal requirements for young people going into Kickstart jobs are that they are aged 16 to 24, claiming Universal Credit, and seeking work.55 The Department issues its front-line work coaches with guidance about the types of people who might be most suitable for a Kickstart role, and then …
Government response. 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 4.2 However, the department disagrees with the assertion of the committee that the department has no way of knowing if work coaches are referring the right young people to employers. …
HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
The National Audit Office reported that the Department does not know how effectively Kickstart has been targeted at those most likely to benefit, and it has previously found that the Department cannot readily assess how consistently work coaches apply discretion, or whether it is providing a consistent service over time, …
Government response. 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 4.2 However, the department disagrees with the assertion of the committee that the department has no way of knowing if work coaches are referring the right young people to employers. …
HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
The Department conducted its first analysis of Kickstart participants’ ethnicity in August 2021, 11 months after Kickstart had launched, and found that a slightly greater proportion of Kickstart participants were from a Black or ethnic minority group than 55 C&AG’s Report, paragraph 16. 56 C&AG’s Report, paragraph 1.9. 57 Qq12, …
HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
The Department requires employers to provide employability support to Kickstart participants alongside their jobs, an approach it hopes will make participants more employable in the future. The Department gives employers £1,500 per participant to cover the costs of providing this employability support, along with other relevant set-up costs. The Department …
Government response. 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Summer 2022 5.2 Part of the Scheme evaluation is covering the delivery of employability support using employer and gateways surveys. This will provide the department with an overview of …
HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
The Department employs Kickstart district account managers to maintain relationships with employers. These account managers are expected to keep in touch with employers and to learn about young peoples’ experiences in their Kickstart jobs.74 The 64 Qq 55, 88–89; C&AG’s Report, paragraph 3.14. 65 C&AG’s Report, paragraph 3.14. 66 C&AG’s …
HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
The Department does record some data on the more serious issues it has become aware of, including cases where health and safety concerns had been raised by participants or account managers, and instances where young people were working in Kickstart jobs but were not being paid. The Department told us …
HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
The Prince’s Trust and Catch22 are both charities that have acted as Gateways for Kickstart jobs. Catch22 describes itself as “a big supporter of Kickstart”, but told us that the quality of placements varies and said that there should be stronger minimum standards and expectations for Gateways.80 The Prince’s Trust …
Government response. 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Summer 2022 5.2 Part of the Scheme evaluation is covering the delivery of employability support using employer and gateways surveys. This will provide the department with an overview of …
HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
The Department said that Kickstart is “in many ways a flagship” scheme. However, it operates alongside a range of other types of support that the department provides.82 The Association for Convenience Stores told us that the large range of support schemes can mean that some smaller employers are hesitant to …
Government response. 6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 6.2 Work coach discretion is fundamental to the department’s approach to supporting people into employment. Using a tailored approach, work coaches are empowered to identify the right support for the …
HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
Thirty-Ninth Report - DWP Employment Su…
The Department told us that its youth employability work coaches and youth hubs bring together provision and services together to create a ‘journey’ for individuals, by referring people to Kickstart jobs and other schemes from the Department, and signposting people to other support which is available in the area.85 Additionally, …
Government response. 6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 6.2 Work coach discretion is fundamental to the department’s approach to supporting people into employment. Using a tailored approach, work coaches are empowered to identify the right support for the …
HM Treasury