The future of Jobcentre Plus - RBLI's Evidence

The Future of JobCentre Plus Evidence submitted by Royal British Legion Industries to the Work and Pensions Select Committee - April 2016

INTRODUCTION TO ROYAL BRITISH LEGION INDUSTRIES (RBLI) RBLI have been delivering employment support in the UK for nearly 100 years. We began supporting Veterans and providing them with employment after the First World War, and now support a wide range of people who are out of work, including people with physical disabilities and those with mental health difficulties. We have previously delivered programmes such as Pathways to Work, New Deal for Disabled People and Work Programme – consistently delivering above target performance. We also deliver local key skills programmes supporting young people and helping them progress into work placements and ultimately employment. We deliver intensive employability and support programmes (LifeWorks courses) to the British Armed Forces Community across the UK and in Europe, with a success rate of moving people into employment, education or training of over 75%.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Our response focuses on areas 1, 4 and 5, relating to the likely effects of the planned changes on claimants (including the quality of services offered), opportunities afforded by co-ordination with other local services e.g. NHS and schools, and the extent to which reforms will require a cultural change within JCP and DWP’s capability to foster this change.

Our main points are as follows: 1. Tailored, personalised approaches are required – one size fits all does not work 2. Co-location is a good idea, as it will allow better service for the customer and better utilisation of services, however JCP should allow, and indeed actively encourage, co-location with 3rd sector organisations in addition to other public services 3. In order to work well, co-location will also benefit from some data sharing on customers between organisations working together 4. A significant cultural change within JCP will be required, both in terms of environment and the approach of staff, should not be underestimated and may benefit from being supported by rebranding It is a combination of these things which, if done well and appropriately, will improve quality of services, increase employer confidence in JCP and, we believe, lead to more individuals moving closer to, and into, work.

RESPONSE 1. Personalised service At RBLI we are pleased to see DWP considering changes to Jobcentre Plus, and believe many of the proposed changes could have a positive impact on customers if approached in the right way. It is our belief that a ‘one size doesn’t fit all’ approach is the best way to support people towards work, as everyone has individual circumstances which affect the support (and time) needed to move them into work (or work related activity). As unemployment has fallen, we have seen an increase in the proportion of customers who require more intensive, personalised and long term support. For many, support focused on work as the goal (linked to conditionality and a sanctions regime) from the offstart is inappropriate – they may require confidence building, support managing the idea of change and/or help with managing a health condition or disability, for example, before they start thinking about actually finding work. Whilst this appears more costly and time consuming at the point of delivery, for many people, it is more likely to result in them finding and sustaining work, and therefore coming off (or reducing their) benefits in the long term. For example, on our LifeWorks courses, we deliver intensive support face-to-face over 1 week with a very high coach to participant ratio, following this with reach back over the long term delivered over the phone and online. The intensive period allows coaches to start the week providing personalised support relating to health, confidence support, moving to employability and job searching later in the week. This allows individuals to deal with personal issues and barriers first, before focusing on their career goals, and is, in our belief, a high factor in the success rate of this programme.

Benefits of personalised support like this include: 1) Improved ability to deal with a range of practical/ emotional barriers, 2) better results, 3) sustained results, 4) it prevents disengagement and irrelevant suggestions.

2. Co-location and partnership Working closely with other charities is also a contributor to our outstanding success rate. Our LifeWorks programme is just one part of the support provided to many ex-service personnel who are long term unemployed. We work closely with other providers, for example Money Advice Service and the Warrior programme, to ensure individuals get the right support they need at the time. We refer to and signpost to other organisations when it is appropriate to do so, and they do the same for us. This also means individuals develop a network of support which they can use if required, whilst also developing strategies and tools to help themselves. Often an individual from one organisation acts as a liaison with other organisations to reduce confusion and stress for individuals. This partnership working, we believe, should become inherent in the whole Welfare to Work industry, and co-location is a very strong step towards this.

We are now piloting a community hub model in our offices, working with other 3rd sector organisations and encouraging them to work out of our locations and deliver sessions and services there. This benefits both us and other charities due to reducing overall cost for premises. It is also, more importantly, better for customers as they have easier access to a multitude of services. Surveys of individuals who come in our offices has shown that individuals often don’t know about the variety of services they can access, many for free. This includes public services such as support for mental health difficulties from the NHS. Co-location will allow for better support and better access to statutory services, making better use of taxpayer’s and charitable money. We strongly suggest that DWP encourage co-location of not just multiple public services but also co-location with 3rd sector organisations who can supplement and support statutory services, whilst reducing duplication/complexity. In one location in Sussex, co-location with a housing association (who sit in our office once a week) means their residents now get extra support and we have

RESPONSE CONTINUED found they engage more willingly being less suspicious of their landlord’s intent. This has led to more of their residents seeking support and moving into work than previously.

Benefits of co-location and partnership working include 1) one point of contact but wide range of expertise support 2) reduced cost 3) customers have network of services to draw on.

3. Data sharing For the process detailed above to work, it involves us sharing extra data we collect about an individual e.g. that they are a resident of this particular housing association. This cross referencing enables us to provide better support to individuals in this group, and we believe that in order for co-location to work more effectively going forward, we must allow data sharing between organisations co-locating. Not only will this caseworker approach enable better understanding about an individual’s situation and needs, it will also allow for better support as they can more easily be referred to appropriate support about which information can be shared.

As most will know, at the moment data sharing is not permitted when the data is regarded as DWP data.

Therefore we believe that a change in attitude and culture will be required from DWP if this method of co-location with data sharing is adapted. As long as reliable data protection methods are in place, and organisations who are allowed access to data are thoroughly checked and approved, the risks of sharing can be minimised with great benefit to participants.

Benefits of data sharing include: 1) better understanding of customer, their background and needs, 2) effective referral, 3) ability to tackle multiple needs.

4. Cultural change A change in attitude and culture is also needed in other areas of DWP. In our experience dealing with participants on various projects, we have seen a lack of trust for JCP. With some individuals going so far as to state that they are not treated as an individual. Indeed, at a recent careers event attended by our organisation, it was noted that over 1000 individuals had been asked to attend by the job centre, even if the event was inappropriate for them. It is this type of action which we believe disengages individuals from job seeking. For those individuals who are furthest from work, support should be focused on work related activity or improving wellbeing and confidence, so that over time they do move closer to work, rather than merely repeating the process of applying for jobs over and over and not progressing towards and into work due to other barriers not being addressed. It may also be worth looking into the economic and social impact of someone volunteering in order to assess whether this can be seen as a viable alternative to working based on the impact an individual volunteering has on their local community compared to the cost of their benefits. Whilst this will not improve the ‘data’ on how many people are technically ‘in work’ it will be a way of supporting people and enabling them to become contributors in a different way.

In addition a re-brand and change in the way JCP operates could be beneficial in order to change long-standing perceptions (some of which may no longer be applicable) and improve delivery. For example, the community hub model with co-location, welcoming interiors and areas where individuals could simply come and sit to browse jobs on tablets or in newspapers may make the prospect more attractive to participants. We have found that individuals are more likely to attend and engage if simple

RESPONSE CONTINUED things like tea and coffer facilities are made available. Social projects have also proved to be extremely effective in encouraging engagement, attendance and progression. We believe that making JCP venues more attractive to individuals will encourage them to attend, especially if they can also access other 3rd sector/public services from the same venue. Suggested brand values would be: 1) welcoming, 2) modern and effective, 3) flexible/responsive to need. Whilst we understand that the primary aim of DWP is to support people into work, we believe working more closely with other services and understanding that many outcomes in life are interlinked (as shown by the interdepartmental working in the Work and Health unit) will help government achieve better outcomes and ultimately support people more holistically, thereby in the long term supporting more people to become economically and socially active as well as in some form of work.

Benefits of a cultural change and re-brand will be 1) creating a more realistic and therefore more motivating environment, 2) there will be a genuine foundation for paid employment, 3) there will be space and time to address other issues.

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