Support for helping people into work should be widened to those
not on benefits, with a new scheme developed to encourage people
to set up their own businesses. The Committee also calls for more
focus to be given to measures to help young people, the over 50s
and people with disabilities and long-term health conditions find
and stay in work.
The recommendations in today’s Report from the House of Commons
Work and Pensions Committeefollow a year-long
inquiry into the Government’s Plan for Jobs and employment
support measures—both those introduced since the start of the
Covid-19 pandemic and wider schemes.
The Report concludes that while the Government’s initiatives have
had some success, they have not been able to reverse the
significant increase in economic inactivity since the start of
the pandemic. The number of working-age people neither in paid
work nor actively looking for work peaked at more than nine
million (21.7%) in May–July 2022.
Widening eligibility
The Committee is concerned by the number of people who are not in
work but are capable of working and it calls on the Government to
expand the eligibility of future support programmes to include
people who are not in receipt of benefits but meet the
programme’s other eligibility requirements. Both Kickstart and
Restart have recorded substantial programme underspends, with the
unused money returned to the Treasury.
Person-centred support, focussed on getting people
into sustainable employment
The Committee also calls on DWP to pilot the US Jobs Plus
programme as a more person-centred approach to support. Jobs Plus
is delivered by housing authorities in the US and aims to
increase earnings and advance employment outcomes by providing a
wide range of support in areas including work readiness, employer
linkages, job placement and counselling, educational advancement,
technology skills, and financial literacy.
The Committee recommends continued support beyond securing
employment for people with complex barriers to employment or
those who have been unemployed for a long time, with help only
withdrawn gradually over three to six months as they establish
themselves at work.
Devolving delivery of support
As previously recommended, the Committee proposes that the
delivery of support is devolved to groups of local authorities,
to make the most of local knowledge and expertise, better tailor
help to the individual and help meet local vacancy needs.
Supporting self-employed people
On support for the self-employed, the Committee calls on the
Government to design a new self-employment support programme to
replace the withdrawn New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) as many
people would benefit from the opportunity to start their own
business.
Young people, older people and disabled
people
To help young people, especially following a steep rise in mental
health problems following the pandemic, the Report makes the case
for mental health support to be built into future programmes with
dedicated funding for Youth Hubs.
The Committee makes several recommendations to improve support
for older people and those with disabilities, including that DWP
should produce a hiring guide to encourage flexible working.
Rt Hon Sir MP, Chair of the Work and
Pensions Committee, said:
“Helping more people find and stay in work will both transform
the lives of those securing a job and benefit employers
struggling to fill vacancies. The Government needs a fresh
approach to employment support, widening eligibility to people
outside the benefit system and responding to the particular
problems of younger and older workers and people with
disabilities—groups particularly affected by the pandemic.
“The Government should also develop a new self-employment support
scheme. For many people, including older people and
disabled people, starting a business could return them to the
labour market.”
For a full list of the Committee’s conclusions and
recommendations see page 80 of the Report.
