Annex C
Letter to the Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP,
Minister for Employment, Welfare to Work and Equal Opportunities
Dear Minister,
Thank you for your time on 11 July 2000. At
our meeting I agreed to set out Deloitte Consulting's proposals
for changes to the funding for the Leeds and Suffolk ONE PVS pilots.
I must apologise for the delay in responding to you. As I formulated
a response on this matter following our meeting, it became increasingly
apparent that it might be more helpful to provide a wider review
of our concerns around the likely outcome of the pilot exercise
rather than focussing solely on our reservations around the Output
Related Funding regime. The Output Related Funding regime is one
of a number of interrelated issues. I am therefore attaching a
paper to this letter for your consideration.
You are doubtless aware that the integration
of customer facing services, previously provided independently
by the Employment Service, Benefits Agency and Local Authorities
presents a complex operational challenge. We believe that we are
gaining a thorough understanding of the issues and are providing
an increasingly robust service. This opinion is substantiated
by feedback from the public in the form of the conversations they
have with staff, the feedback they provide to lobby groups, and
through thank you letters.
It is also increasingly apparent that fulfilling
pre-existing performance regimes will not allow a more fulsome
exploration of the opportunity to excel in the sustainable employment
performance dimension. Furthermore, the time-driven rather than
evidence-driven gateway to benefits is providing a sub-optimal
process with regard to benefit security.
We hope that the attached paper will provide
some insight into our recent experience on the two pilots. I would
be happy to meet with you and Officials at your convenience if
you felt there would be value in discussing these matters further.
Richard Granger
Partner
15 August 2000
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