On 18 October, the Government published its response to the Work and Pensions Select Committee’s inquiry into its Plan for Jobs. The Committee, which Stephen chairs, concluded its inquiry into the Government’s Plan for Jobs and employment support in July.
The Government responded positively to the Work and Pensions Select Committee’s recommendation to pilot a person-centered approach to employment support, but rejected most of the Committee’s other recommendations.
The Department for Work and Pensions provides employment support, mostly through Jobcentre Plus, to help people who are unemployed and economically inactive back into work. There are several different schemes that aim to help different groups, including the Youth Offer for those aged 18-24 and the Work and Health Programme for people with disabilities.
Stephen’s Committee investigated the effectiveness of the DWP’s employment support programmes in the first half of 2023. While the inquiry praised certain programmes, like Kickstart, the Committee made multiple recommendations for improving the Government’s approach. These included greater transparency, integrating mental health support into Youth Hubs more widely, and introducing new schemes to tackle ageism and support older workers.
“I welcome that the Government has accepted one of our key recommendations to trial a person-centred Jobs Plus approach to employment support,” Stephen remarked. “But it is disappointing that the Government has rejected many of our other suggestions.”
“Effective help for people struggling to find and stay in work benefits individuals, employers and the wider economy so we will continue to press the Government to ensure the help on offer is effective.”