The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Dr Thérèse Coffey):
The Government’s plan for jobs is already supporting people back
into employment. Jobcentres are open across the country, including
262 Jobcentres that recently started opening on Saturdays, and we
are now making over 750,000 contacts a week. With an extra 7,000
work coaches already in place, we are on track to meet our
commitment to double the number of work coaches by the end of this
financial year. While many claimants...Request free trial
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Dr
Thérèse Coffey): The Government’s plan for
jobs is already supporting people back into employment. Jobcentres
are open across the country, including 262 Jobcentres that recently
started opening on Saturdays, and we are now making over 750,000
contacts a week. With an extra 7,000 work coaches already in place,
we are on track to meet our commitment to double the number of work
coaches by the end of this financial year. While many claimants are
ready to move back into work, others may need additional support
including acquiring work experience, training or new
skills.
For young people especially, a lack of work experience can be
a barrier to stepping on to the jobs ladder. That is why, through
our kickstart scheme, we are funding the creation of new job
placements for 16 to 24-year-olds, with work coaches referring
young people to prospective employers who are able to spread the
start date of job placements over the next year.
After inviting expressions of interest from employers in
September, young people started benefiting from the first
placements in November. We have seen a brilliant response from
employers with over 32,000 roles already approved. Vacancies have
been created with employers large and small and across a range of
sectors, including construction, digital and technology, logistics
and manufacturing. Processing of applications is now proceeding at
pace and we hope to see many more of our young claimants starting
placements early in the new year.
In delivering kickstart, it is important that we use
taxpayers’ money carefully to ensure the quality of the wraparound
support to young people and avoid fraud. Therefore our processes
have rightly been rigorous in assessing applications made directly
from employers and those made through a kickstart “gateway” where
employers, particularly smaller ones, can receive help such as from
a local authority or charity. We have over 200 “gateway”
organisations now approved with a significant number of roles.
However, we know our processes have led to a number of employers
and organisations not being approved, particularly applications by
sole traders, whether directly or through gateways.
We are continuing to review and improve our assessment and
control processes, including those on financial due diligence. For
example, currently there is only one route for sole traders to be
involved in kickstart and that is through a gateway that provides a
PAYE service as part of their support. We have now approved a new
gateway, operated by the Federation of Small Businesses and in
partnership with Adecco Working Ventures, to provide such a route.
Other organisations are considering creating similar
models.
Disabled people receiving support through Access to Work are
eligible for kickstart placements and these will be actively
promoted by our work coaches and national employment programme
teams. I am pleased that a number of people on kickstart have come
from particularly disadvantaged groups and we will continue to make
our work programmes appropriately inclusive.
Other parts of our plan for jobs agenda being delivered by
DWP include SWAPs, JETS and JFS: sector work-based academy
programmes, job entry targeted scheme and job finding support. The
number of referrals and starts made to SWAPs has exceeded our
initial estimates and we are seeing thousands of people being
supported through our other schemes. In light of this uptake and to
ensure that we can continue to support claimants we are taking
steps to increase the number of placements available on the SWAPs
scheme.
Work is also under way on Restart, our long-term unemployment
programme, that will support over one million individuals. We have
issued our invitation to tender for the programme to start in
summer 2021.
Our plan for jobs is the most ambitious employment programme
ever undertaken, particularly the scope and extent of kickstart. I
encourage members of the House to work with local employers to
ensure kickstart helps provide a flying start for our young
people
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