Examination of Witnesses (Questions 100-108)
JOBCENTRE PLUS
30 April 2008
Q100 Mr Williams: The new office
design provides for a more efficient use of space which normally
means less space per person working there. How far has this robbed
you of flexibility in the future?
Mrs Strathie: The front-of-house
desk allocation model has maximised the space we have, because
part of this model was to get rid of a lot of clutter and to streamline
what was in the office and what it was best used for.
Mr Davies: When we designed this
we were very careful to ensure, particularly when we changed the
modus operandi in the second year, that we had some rattle
room and so the designs incorporated a 20% facility to uplift
and improve the space, for example to put in more desks if volumetrics
changed. I believe that future-proofing within reason was built
into the thinking because it is impossible to gauge how the future
will look. You must have a sense of future-proofing, which I believe
we did.
Q101 Mr Williams: If for example
there were a significant rise in unemployment—that is not
envisaged at the moment and obviously the opposite is intended—would
that present you with a problem with space?
Mrs Strathie: If we think that
business volumes are driven by customers coming on to benefit
we then require more support if more customers stay on benefit.
The first point would be to handle an increased business volume
and telephone calls. Because we have built a virtual network we
can handle substantial increases in volumes. My view is that we
would push on with our work-focused intervention regime because,
more than ever, we would want to move people even quicker between
jobs.
Q102 Mr Williams: Take the new approach
to Incapacity Benefit. Do you face any logistical problems from
the extra work that this imposes on your offices?
Mrs Strathie: In terms of what
happens in the office, there is a first intervention with the
customer. I referred to the 40% that Jobcentre Plus has led which
is now for me primarily the benchmark for the private and voluntary
sector to beat. We will compare those over a period of time. We
lead that with the personal advisory service, but we are doing
it with our local PCTs and a lot of labour market programme providers,
so it is not all happening in our Jobcentres.
Q103 Mr Williams: To what extent
is that the phenomenon I was describing? It says in paragraph
4.33: "In some areas, rather than looking to Jobcentre Plus
offices to provide extra services, it may be more efficient to
house Jobcentre Plus services in another office." Why would
it be more efficient if you had adequate space in the present
one?
Mrs Strathie: As the world and
other public services have changed we want to maintain a high
level of customer service and one that meets the local requirement.
Jobcentre Plus does not deliver everything itself; it contracts
with others and also works in collaboration with local partners.
Where you have high density population you will expect a large
Jobcentre Plus presence and we will deliver mainly from our offices,
but when we get into other locations where we have very few customers
and calls we operate alongside other partners in premises. The
flexible delivery model that has emerged from this is a range
of local solutions depending on the need. We mentioned Children
Centres. Although we have been very focused in our active policies
with lone parents we recognise that given the challenge of helping
children out of poverty we need to help parents, not just lone
parents. We can reach many parents who do not come through our
doors or our telephone channel through Children Centres. Those
are just some examples of how we operate differently. I very much
hope that we shall now be able to move forward with local authorities
and partnerships to develop that range of inreach and outreach
so we have the best of central government delivering a welfare
regime and the best of local community partnerships to delivery
what that community needs.
Mr Williams: If I may make just one favourable
observation, I have been very impressed by the responses I have
received from your services in my area and am very appreciative
of them.
Q104 Keith Hill: I think I am right
in saying that at least historically the British economy has been
characterised by a fairly low level of labour mobility and labour
mobility is linked strongly to housing. I believe I am also right
in saying that there has been at least one attempt to link job
opportunities with housing opportunities or vacancies through
Jobcentre Plus. Do you think that is a good idea? Is there any
intention to renew that project?
Mrs Strathie: We are working on
a number of possibilities in terms of co-funding and the pooling
of resources to look at that. What do we know at the moment? We
know that those customers with very basic skills are those who
have least benefited over the past 10 years. We also know that
many of those customers live in social housing. We do not know
the relationship between the two, but we know that if we want
to reach the hardest to help and move them from that non-work
state into work and then better skills we need to work very closely
with those who make decisions on housing. I am working with the
London Borough of Lambeth in championing its Local Authority Agreement
so we can look at workers' former welfare in relation to its housing
policy. That is just one example and it is taking place in lots
of places across the country. I do not know where that will take
us but we are definitely working very closely together.
Q105 Keith Hill: I am delighted that
you have mentioned your work with Lambeth since I happen to represent
the south of that borough. I am also an occasional visitor to
the Jobcentre Plus in Station Approach along with a succession
of heads of state and international delegations that seem to be
permanently ensconced in that particular building.
Mrs Strathie: Lambeth was our
first pathfinder in London and it is a good basis for us to look
at where we started, where we have come from and how we go on
to improve the service.
Keith Hill: I was on the board of the
first pathfinder and it is my impression that Jobcentre Plus generally
speaking has developed a very open and transparent relationship
with politicians. That has probably contributed to your success
and the esteem in which you are held.
Q106 Mr Davidson: I would not stress
that point since I do not have one in Pollok yet. It is the only
one in the known universe, if I remember correctly. I want to
pick up the point about the Social Fund which is one of the issues
about which a number of my constituents speak to me. I have never
been entirely clear whether or not the reason why many of my constituents
do not get what they would like from the Social Fund is that they
do not meet the criteria or you are running out of money. If at
the end of the year you end up with unspent money in the Social
Fund is that because there are not enough people to come forward
to apply for it or, as is my impression, is it because the budget
is too tight? Following that, can you give me an indication of
whether or not there is a formula that determines how much individual
offices are allocated? In the past I was told that particular
offices had run out of their allocations at certain points during
the year and therefore there would be no further Social Fund loans
made available until the start of the new financial year.
Mrs Strathie: Starting at the
end of that, I remember those days. First, there is no question
of the Social Fund not being in budget. We run it on a national
basis and so there is no money left here. Those days are gone.
There are very strict criteria. Remember that crisis loans under
the Social Fund were designed 20 years ago for people in extremely
vulnerable circumstances. That means Secretary of State directions,
Social Fund commissioners and the independent review service guide
us on when we pay and when we do not. Obviously, there is an element
of discretion in that and approximately half in any part of the
country are allowed and half not. The Social Fund has several
different strands to it, not just crisis loans.
Q107 Mr Davidson: It is not the case
that people would be refused loans because you had run out of
money?
Mrs Strathie: Absolutely not.
Q108 Chairman: Mrs Strathie, that
concludes our hearing. I thank you on behalf of the Committee
for your commitment and that of your colleagues over many years.
To be fair to fast stream entrants, I was talking to Sir Leigh
Lewis earlier this week. He said there was an increasing tendency
among fast stream entrants in his department to want to go into
the management of projects rather than traditional policy formulation,
so we are making progress in what the Committee wants.
Mrs Strathie: I think we are.
We certainly now set requirements in DWP for operational delivery
postings, and we could point to a number of fast streamers who
have come to work for us in Jobcentre Plus in operational posts
and then gone on to successful careers afterwards.
Chairman: If as Mr Davidson says all
people who went to public school and Oxbridge had brains and no
sense it would appear to be a criticism of the immediate past
Prime Minister to which I certainly would not subscribe.
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