Recommendation 36

HM Government Accepted

The Department for Work and Pensions have established a project to update our labour market evidence base to better understand the impact of changes to the way Jobcentre services are delivered. DWP are actively looking at how to move more services online to deliver the ambition of more integration, where customers receive optimised services based on their individual need. This work looks at alternative delivery methods for the conditionality regime, including testing alternative channels (e.g. digital, telephone and video), frequency, duration of meetings and options for claimant segmentation. The Government already has an extensive offer to help workers aged 50 and over to stay in, progress, and return to work. DWP’s 50PLUS Choices offer includes: • Intensive tailored support for eligible UC job seekers during the first 9 months of their claim. This gives Work Coaches more time to spend with older job seekers who have recently become unemployed and to tackle any barriers or difficulties in finding work. Alongside this, Work Coaches can offer all claimants additional opportunities of support through Restart, Sector-Based Work Academy Programme placements (SWAPS), the Flexible Support Fund, Mentoring Circles, and 50+Job Fairs; • A network of 37 full-time 50PLUS Champions in every Jobcentre Plus District across Great Britain. The Champions collaborate with Work Coaches, employers, and stakeholders to raise awareness of the importance of supporting older jobseekers and any barriers that they may have. They also engage with employers and stakeholders to raise awareness of the barriers which older people may face in accessing work; • Midlife MOTs to support people in their 40s and 50s who are both in and out of work, to review and take stock of their finances, skills and health; • Announced at Budget 2023, Returnerships are a targeted support offer for adults over the age of 50 who are returning to work or seeking a career change, by bringing together Apprenticeships, Skills Bootcamps and Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs). Jobcentre Plus will raise awareness of these pathways via our Work Coach, employer adviser and 50+ champion communities, enabling delivery of clear routes back into work and encouraging employers to hire older workers. • We recognise the key role that employers have in helping older people to stay in and return to work, and in embracing attitudes and policies conducive to this support. DWP regularly monitors and evaluates the effectiveness of our provision, including Jobcentres, to ensure that it is delivering according to our priority outcomes; • The Government appointed Business Champion for Older Workers—Andy Briggs, CEO of the Phoenix Group—to spearhead work to promote the benefits of older workers and multigenerational workforces to employers across England, influencing employers both strategically and in terms of practical advice; and • Alongside this Helen Tomlinson has been appointed as the first ever Menopause Employment Champion and will drive awareness of issues surrounding menopause and work while promoting the benefits for businesses and the economy when women are supported to stay in work and progress. In addition to this, the Government-supported Private Members Bills noted throughout the Report will contribute to supporting, retaining and re-integrating many over 50s in the workforce.