Welfare Reform Bill

Independent research has already demonstrated the success of Pathways. We touched on the question of research yesterday. A publicly available report produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Early quantitative evidence on the impact of Pathways to Work pilots, in June 2006, showed that for new customers, there has been an estimated increase in employment after 10.5 months of over nine percentage points. That is the public domain and we have already discussed that report to some extent. The Department for Work and Pensions produced a working paper on Pathways performance in January last year and published Pathways statistics in December; these will be updated quarterly and this is what the department calls administrative information. We have so far published 10 important externally commissioned research reports as soon as they were available and will continue to do so as reports are commissioned in due course. Any future pilot made under this Bill will be subject to similarly rigorous research and we are committed—I stress that we are committed—to publishing any results as quickly as the analysis of the data will allow. The key to our continued success is to continue finding out what works. That means tailoring support on the basis of sound evidence from constructive and appropriate pilots. Any attempt to prevent any pilots until such time as there is a final report on Pathways would severely restrict the department’s ability to innovate and test future improvements in provision, although I fully understand the sentiments behind the amendments. It would also misrepresent the true nature of evaluation, which is a continuous process, feeding back valuable lessons learnt from experience to further refine the service for customers. The current programme of research and analysis is anticipated to continue until 2009 for Jobcentre Plus areas and until 2011 for provider-led districts. As we are committed to the further use of pilots where necessary, we also consider that subsection (7) must remain as it stands. It is an invaluable tool for ensuring that a pilot scheme can be extended beyond 24 months, if required. I can reassure noble Lords that all pilots, including extensions of pilots, are subject to the affirmative resolution procedure providing the House with the opportunity to debate in full and approve the proposals before implementation. That will not only give the House the right to know what is happening, but will give stakeholders externally the right to see, comment and have a handle on how the research is progressing. Our record shows that the reporting regime for pilots is already appropriate, that the proposed amendments are unnecessary, and that the effect of leaving out Clause 18(7) is unwelcome. Amendment No. 91 deals with Clause 24(6). This clause was included to allow us to roll out implementation of regulations under any of Clauses 10 to 14 gradually across the country, if this proves necessary. Perhaps I may return to some of the points made by the noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, yesterday on the need to be practical about rolling out the new policy initiatives and we have to be careful that we do not do things too quickly and we do them in a phased manner. That will not be possible without these provisions. This is the approach we have taken with Pathways to Work provision, which is rolling out instages, starting with the original pilot schemes in October 2003, towards full national coverage byApril 2008. The option to roll out such new provision in stages allows lessons to be learnt from each stage of the evaluation which can be fed into subsequent phases; ensures that measures are appropriate and effective; and that, at all times, the needs of the customer are put first. For example, we envisage that it may be necessary to roll out the work-related activity requirement area by area—this picks up on the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Thomas—so that we can offer the best possible customer experience by not attempting to implement too much too fast. We will need to ensure that such a rollout of provision does not lead to any unfair treatment. By restricting Clause 24(6) solely to pilot schemes, the amendment would prevent us from taking that steady approach but would not alter the functioning of pilot schemes themselves, as provision is already made in Clause 18 allowing pilots to apply only in specific areas. On the research record of the DWP generally, I emphasise that, in the first place, the PCA was reviewed by the technical working group to which reference has already been made. The Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform in another place gave a commitment that we will continue to use the independent technical working group to evaluate the revised PCA after it is implemented. It would be appropriate for the first evaluation to take place during 2009, once the revised PCA has been in use for some months. We will make the result of that evaluation publicly available—including to both Houses. It is important to emphasise that for the Committee. On the question of the noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, about the computing system, following yesterday's debate we have consulted. Stakeholder groups have had the opportunity to view the computer system, LIMA, which Atos Origin uses, and will have the opportunity to view again. It is very important that Atos Origin has the opportunity to learn from the feedback from interested stakeholder groups. I am advised that it will offer Peers the opportunity to view the LIMA project.