Supplementary memorandum submitted by
the Department for Work and Pensions
Question 14 (Mr Philip Dunne): The number of people
who re-enter New Deal programmes
Table 1
ALL INDIVIDUALS ENTERING A NEW DEAL PROGRAMME
WHO HAVE HAD A PREVIOUS SPELL ON THE SAME NEW DEAL PROGRAMME SINCE
ITS INCEPTION
| New Deal for Young People
| New Deal 25plus | New Deal for Disabled People
| New Deal for Lone Parents |
| Total Starters | 1,208,240 |
703,530 | 256,640 | 778,330
|
| Returnees (included in the figures for starters)
| 338,550 | 200,970 | 28,000
| 242,970 |
| Percentage | 28% | 29%
| 11% | 31% |
Source: New Deal Evaluation Database
Question 31 (Mr Austin Mitchell): A regional breakdown of New
Deal performance
Table 2
THE NUMBER OF NEW DEAL STARTS THAT LED TO EMPLOYMENT AS
A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL STARTS (FEBRUARY 2006 to FEBRUARY 2007)[10]
| New Deal for Young People
| New Deal 25plus | New Deal for Lone Parents
| New Deal for Disabled People | New Deal for Partners
|
| Total | 55% | 33%
| 58% | 63% | 64%
|
| East Midlands | 58% | 33%
| 65% | 61% | 67%
|
| East of England | 56% | 34%
| 59% | 64% | 73%
|
| London | 46% | 29%
| 47% | 48% | 60%
|
| North East | 58% | 30%
| 59% | 66% | 53%
|
| North West | 58% | 33%
| 59% | 60% | 61%
|
| Scotland | 60% | 34%
| 60% | 73% | 71%
|
| South East | 55% | 34%
| 58% | 56% | 58%
|
| South West | 63% | 42%
| 59% | 76% | 58%
|
| Wales | 60% | 35%
| 59% | 71% | 69%
|
| West Midlands | 52% | 31%
| 58% | 67% | 79%
|
| Yorkshire and the Humber
| 57% | 32% | 61%
| 55% | 65% |
Source: New Deal Evaluation Database
Question 46 (Angela Browning): WORKSTEP
DWP has a broad range of programmes to help people with a
health condition or a disability to move into work. Our advisers
work with people on an individual basis to identify the programme
best suited to their needs.
Customers are referred to WORKSTEP when advisers feel that
this is the most appropriate programme choice. There are approximately
24,000 people, including those at Remploy, currently on WORKSTEP.
Although there is no limit on how long an individual can be supported
by WORKSTEP, the programme is designed to support disabled people
achieve their full employment potential. Most individuals are
employed while on WORKSTEP.
We plan, later this year, to publish a public consultation
that will propose reforms to our range of specialist disability
employment services, including WORKSTEP. These reforms are intended
to further improve the programmes that are provided to support
disabled people who have complex issues to finding, starting and
retaining employment.
Question 55 (Mr Richard Bacon): Lone parent employment levels
by age of youngest child
Table 5
LONE PARENT EMPLOYMENT LEVELS BY AGE OF YOUNGEST CHILD[11]
| Age of Youngest Child | Number of lone parents
| Number in employment | Lone parentemployment rate
|
| 0 | 100,120 | 26,845
| 26.8% |
| 1 | 122,834 | 42,505
| 34.6% |
| 2 | 103,532 | 33,051
| 31.9% |
| 3 | 103,931 | 45,046
| 43.3% |
| 4 | 105,710 | 46,086
| 43.6% |
| 5 | 88,462 | 41,742
| 47.2% |
| 6 | 103,088 | 59,173
| 57.4% |
| 7 | 92,823 | 50,644
| 54.6% |
| 8 | 90,828 | 61,942
| 68.2% |
| 9 | 94,822 | 62,160
| 65.6% |
| 10 | 101,136 | 62,071
| 61.4% |
| 11 | 95,305 | 63,509
| 66.6% |
| 12 | 99,004 | 61,646
| 62.3% |
| 13 | 86,760 | 63,482
| 73.2% |
| 14 | 107,490 | 78,039
| 72.6% |
| 15 | 108,502 | 83,604
| 77.1% |
| 16 | 71,976 | 54,244
| 75.4% |
Question 66 (Mr Richard Bacon): The number of people on benefits
who would like to work
Available evidence suggests that the majority of people on
benefits intend to move into work in the future. For example:
— Claimants of Jobseekers Allowance are required
to make themselves available for, and actively seek, work as part
of the qualifying conditions for receiving the benefit.
— The DWP Families and Children Survey 2005 found
that, of lone parents who were in receipt of Income Support, 9%
were already employed on a part-time basis (up to 16 hours per
week); and 11% were currently actively seeking work. Of the remaining
lone parents claiming Income Support, 81% said they intended to
seek work (of greater than 16 hours per week) in the future.
— A recent evaluation study of the New Deal for
Disabled People found that around 80-90% of those who come onto
benefits expect to work again.[12]
Questions 85-87 (Mr Richard Bacon): The cost-benefit analysis
of New Deal for Partners
The cost-benefit analysis of New Deal for Partners (NDP)
is anomalous because the estimates suggest that, even if the programme
had zero operational costs, each additional job outcome leads
to a net fiscal cost. This reflects the fact that it has proven
difficult to pin down sensible estimates of the benefit savings
that accrue to non-claiming partners of benefit claimants.
As well as methodological problems the relatively poor performance
of the New Deal for Partners in terms of net fiscal benefits also
results from analyzing it purely from an Exchequer perspective.
Since beneficiaries may not be claiming benefits themselves the
Exchequer is inevitably going to save less by helping them into
work. In their Report, the NAO assumes each partner moving into
work moves into a low income job; resulting in a higher payment
of tax credits than the saving in welfare benefits.
As noted in the NAO Report, take up of NDP has been low with
just 3% of all Partner Work Focused Interviews leading to a start
on NDP (since April 2004). However, for those Partners who join
NDP the outcomes are good with 58% moving into work.
The impact evaluation of the New Deal for Partners carried
out to date has concluded that:
— Participation in Work Focused Interviews for Partners
reduced benefit claims (37 weeks after being eligible for a Work
Focussed Interview) by at most 4.6 percentage points amongst couples
with an existing claim lasting more than 26 weeks. However this
assumes the interviews had no deterrent effect, which other findings
suggest is unlikely;
— there is no evidence to suggest that interviews
encouraged the movement from non-employment to employment among
couples with an existing claim lasting more than 26 weeks;
— there were no significant effects of eligibility
or participation for couples with a claim lasting less than 26
weeks;
— considering the combined effects of Work Focused
Interviews for Partners and New Deal for Partners, indicative
findings suggested that the combined effect was more substantial
and significant for couples whose claims were less than 26 weeks
rather than for couples whose claim period was longer than this.
10
These figures take into account "Spells" rather than
"Individuals" data. These record the number of entrants
onto a programme, irrespective of whether an individual person
has been on the programme previously. The exception is New Deal
for Partners data, which are accounted for on an "Individuals"
basis due to low uptake rates. Figures have been rounded to the
nearest 10 and all percentages are rounded to the nearest whole
number. Back
11
Labour Force Survey, second quarter, 2007. Back
12
Woodward A, Kazimirskia A, Shaw A and Pires C, 2003, New Deal
for Disabled People. Evaluation. Eligible population survey. Wave
one. Interim report, DWP Research Report No. W170, DWP. Back
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