The normally impassive officials behind me are nodding sagely to say that that is indeed the methodology that has been adopted. Advisers will
have discretion on those who are eligible for the pool. Let me make a little further progress and perhaps some further inspiration will be on its way.
I was asked how claimants can possibly look for work for seven hours a day and what a typical day will look like. The Select Committee, the noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, and the noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, all asked this. A typical day will be tailored to meet the needs of each individual participant. While there are generic skills that underpin jobsearch activity, participants will have tailored work plans that address their specific needs. They may include work on IT skills, interview techniques and job application skills, which do not just involve visiting the jobsearch website, looking at this person who has been on the Work Programme and has applied for up to 100 jobs without success for two years, and asking what are they lacking that would ensure that they get off benefits and into work, which is the outcome that we all seek. The Government have introduced the principle that looking for work is a full-time job, as has been said.
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On the reference to the Autumn Statement, this was announced as part of the Help to Work package, but the funding is separate. This is being funded by the European Social Fund, which is a matched-funding arrangement, which—to pre-empt a possible question—is why it is happening only in England and not throughout the UK.
I have a helpful note from the Box here: “Paul Gregg summary: will the Minister promise to read answer? Yes”. I take that as a stipulation as to how my own education needs to be enhanced, so I will certainly do that.
On the list of exclusions, the Minister for Employment’s letter, which will be coming shortly, will be placed in the House Library. That will be the mechanism via which those 11 categories will be put on the record.
On the providers being given certain employment officer functions and what checks are made to ensure that sanctions are applied consistently and in the same way as they would be by jobcentre staff, the provider makes the referral. A consideration of whether to apply any sanction, of either a high or a lower level, would be undertaken by a labour market decision-maker; this applies to both Jobcentre Plus and the pilots. The decision must take into account the claimant’s circumstances and any other relevant information to determine whether the claimant has good reason for the failure. In addition, there will be provider guidance in place detailing its role and responsibilities to ensure that referrals are applied consistently.
I have made that point about the Work Programme. As has been said, it is improving results, and I am sure we welcome that. Will it be for all Work Programme returnees? No firm decision has yet been made as to how this will be rolled out. We will need to consider carefully the results of the pilot and which delivery model will provide the best combination of positive outcome, service quality and value for money—hence the reason for the pilot.
How is the random allocation tool applied? Once a claimant has been selected for a suitable pilot they will then be randomly allocated to either the control or treatment group. What criteria will the work coach use when selecting claimants for the pre-Work Programme pilot? What if the claimant does the right thing but does not get a job? We are committed to providing an individualised service, ensuring that claimants get the help that they need at the right time. Guidance supporting work coaches will help them to identify suitable claimants who need additional support and assistance. Ineffective jobsearch does not meaning “unwilling to apply for work”. If a claimant, for example, is applying for many jobs and not getting invited for an interview, this would indicate that their jobsearch is ineffective. In this case, focused support from a supervised jobsearch scheme could support the claimant in improving the quality of their job applications.
Work coaches using their discretion to select claimants for certain programmes is nothing new. Throughout the Jobcentre Plus offer, work coaches will use their judgment to refer claimants to provisions that they think would be most suitable. Is four days long enough to allow a notification to be received? The four days includes time for the post. In the vast majority of cases, we expect the provider to supply the claimant with a notification at the end of the initial interview. Only in a small minority of cases might this be a problem; for example, with formatting, when the provider will send a notification by post.