Recommendation 10

The Department told us that it could not measure the economic benefits of extra people being in work as it could not create two versions of the economy – one with UC and one without. However, it said that its comparative evaluations had consistently shown that UC outperformed Jobseeker’s Allowance, which was itself, according to the OECD, one of the most efficient labour market regimes in the world. The Department also highlighted the increase in the lone parent employment rate, from around 45% in the mid-1990s to around 66% now, as evidence that the policy interventions of successive governments, including UC, were having the desired effect.18