Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 31
31
Acknowledged
Department established eight new outcome metrics to monitor employment reforms and publish data annually.
Conclusion
We asked the Department how it would measure the success of the new service and how it would measure the sustainability and quality of employment that people move into.63 In April 2025, the Department published Get Britain Working outcomes setting out eight outcome metrics that the government will monitor as it implements its reforms.64 The Department told us its eight metrics focus on the particular areas, groups and characteristics of individuals with a much lower employment rate than 80%. It has, for example, a metric about reducing the gap between the median employment rate and the bottom 10% in terms of localities. It also has other metrics that are about characteristics, such as bringing down the health-related inactivity rate and reducing the proportion of young people not in education, training or employment.65 The Department told us it plans to use these metrics to track performance and to identify where the barriers are as part of a place-based and characteristic-based strategy. The Department has said it will publish data on these metrics annually, starting in October 2025.66 60 Qq 72, 73 61 C&AG’s Report, para 1.15 62 Qq 68, 69 63 Qq 66-67 64 The Department for Work and Pensions, Get Britain Working outcomes, April 2025 65 Qq 68, 69 66 The Department for Work and Pensions, Get Britain Working outcomes, April 2025 19
Government Response Summary
The government highlights that it has published a set of intermediate metrics alongside the 80% employment rate target, and it will publish annual progress updates against these, starting in Autumn 2025.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
6.4 Alongside the headline outcome of an 80% employment rate, the department has published a set of intermediate metrics. The department will publish annual progress updates against these, with the first update in Autumn 2025. The department will know its plan is working when it sees improvements in these metrics, which include: • regional employment rate gaps narrowing; • health-related inactivity rates falling; • the disability employment rate gap reducing; • the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training falling; • female employment rate rising; • employment rate gaps between lone parents and parents in a couple narrowing; • increasing employment among coupled families where at least one parent is out of work.