Work Programme performance data to be published as ERSA claims that 1 in 5 have entered work
February 3, 2012
Employment Minister Chris Grayling has announced that official statistics for the Work Programme, including referral data, will be published for the first time on 21st February with subsequent publications published quarterly.
Up until now official Work Programme performance data has not been published, despite calls from opposition MPs. In response to a report last month by the National Audit Office, which suggested that the Work Programme’s performance targets may be over-optimistic, Labour’s Shadow Employment Minister Stephen Timms said: “The Secretary of State now has to answer real questions on the implementation of the programme. What data is he asking providers to collect to prove that everyone is getting the help they need? What data did he use to make assumptions about performance?” It seems as if Timms may get his wish.
In a pre-emptive move, the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) has issued what it claims are the first indicative performance figures for the Work Programme. ERSA suggests that between 18% and 23% of customers who were referred to the Work Programme in June 2011 (the first month of Work Programme starts) have since entered employment, and that this level of performance is broadly in line with provider expectations at this stage of the programme.
If the ERSA figures are representative of official figures, then the Work Programme will have got off to a positive start, and performance may be proved to be ahead of the NAO estimate. The acid test is, however, the programme in terms of job sustainment data – the key contractual performance measure.
ERSA chief executive, Kirsty McHugh, said: ‘We welcome these early indicative figures of Work Programme performance levels. The welfare to work industry is working extremely hard to help all customers find sustainable work even in the context of challenging economic conditions. Although it is far too early to draw firm conclusions on likely performance levels across the life of the contracts, these early figures show that the welfare to work industry is making a real difference to people’s lives.”