Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to (a) improve work coach support and (b) provide tailored employment support for jobseekers.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work. In England, these reforms will include bringing together Jobcentre Plus with the National Careers Service to create a greater awareness and focus on skills and careers as well as better join-up between employability and careers provision.
Our new service will move away from the current one size fits all approach, recognising people are individuals with different support needs and will provide better tailored support. Providing high-quality personalised support that helps people get into work, support training, and get on at work is a central tenet to the new service.
We will provide an update on our plans to Get Britain Working and the steps we are taking in due course.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she plans to take to ensure autism is considered in the Youth Employment Strategy.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As a Government, we want to support all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace, and we are looking to build on the findings of the Buckland Review of Autism Employment by gathering expert evidence in line with this expanded focus.
As part of plan to Get Britain Working, we will launch a Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work.
Our Youth Guarantee will meet the needs of those facing disadvantages relating to mental or physical health. Collaborating closely with stakeholders from a range of sectors will be integral to improving opportunities for young people. And that is why we have launched eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers to test and learn before further roll out of the Youth Guarantee. These Trailblazers are testing joining-up locally and nationally delivered work, health and skills approach.
Autism creates employment barriers that can affect young people's daily lives and mental health. As outlined in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we have ambitious plans to better support our young people to lead fulfilling lives and careers.
Jobcentre Plus already offers extensive assistance to young disabled people and those with health conditions, focusing on individual needs and collaborating with local partners for appropriate support. In addition, work coaches in Youth Hubs and Youth Employability Coaches, provide targeted interventions to build skills, confidence, and employment opportunities.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will ensure that autism is included in the Youth Employment Strategy.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As a Government, we want to support all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace, and we are looking to build on the findings of the Buckland Review of Autism Employment by gathering expert evidence in line with this expanded focus.
As part of plan to Get Britain Working, we will launch a Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work.
Our Youth Guarantee will meet the needs of those facing disadvantages relating to mental or physical health. Collaborating closely with stakeholders from a range of sectors will be integral to improving opportunities for young people. And that is why we have launched eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers to test and learn before further roll out of the Youth Guarantee. These Trailblazers are testing joining-up locally and nationally delivered work, health and skills approach.
Autism creates employment barriers that can affect young people's daily lives and mental health. As outlined in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we have ambitious plans to better support our young people to lead fulfilling lives and careers.
Jobcentre Plus already offers extensive assistance to young disabled people and those with health conditions, focusing on individual needs and collaborating with local partners for appropriate support. In addition, work coaches in Youth Hubs and Youth Employability Coaches, provide targeted interventions to build skills, confidence, and employment opportunities.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to implement (a) a workforce development strategy, (b) apprenticeships and (c) career pathways for the independent advice sector.
Answered by Janet Daby
An appropriately trained workforce of careers advisers, available to work with young people and adults in a range of settings, is a key part of our approach to careers provision. The department wants to ensure that people from all backgrounds can access the expert advice they need to explore a range of career pathways and labour market opportunities. This supports the development of a skilled workforce across all sectors, driving economic growth through our Industrial Strategy.
The department works closely with the Career Development Institute (CDI), the UK’s professional body for careers work, which provides training and professional development. The current offer includes a bespoke department-funded programme for National Careers Service advisers and a programme, funded by the Gatsby Foundation, targeted on raising awareness of technical education pathways amongst careers advisers working in schools and colleges.
The CDI maintains the UK Register of Career Development Professionals with members adhering to a code of ethics and committing to regular professional development. The CDI also provides advice on the right qualifications for various roles and how to conduct effective personal guidance meetings.
Secondary schools and colleges are legally required to secure independent and impartial careers guidance for all learners up to the age of 18 and for 19 to 24-year olds with an education, health and care plan. Careers statutory guidance sets a clear expectation that schools and colleges should make sure that careers advisers providing personal guidance to learners are trained to the appropriate level. The department recommends that schools and colleges use the CDI’s register to find suitable careers advisers qualified to at least level 6 in a career development subject. The main level 6 and 7 qualifications for careers advisers are the level 6 Diploma in Career Guidance and Development, the level 6 Higher Apprenticeship: Career Development Professional and the Qualification in Career Development at level 7.
Over 760 careers advisers form the bedrock of our National Careers Service, providing free, up to date, impartial information, advice and guidance on careers and the labour market in England. National Careers Service prime contractors must make sure that all advisers hold career development qualifications appropriate to their role and demonstrate in their workforce development strategy that they are committed to employing staff in line with the standards set by the CDI. The government is committed to bringing the National Careers Service and Jobcentre Plus closer together and we will set out further details on this soon.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the capacity of Jobcentre Plus to support claimants in South East Cornwall constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has set a long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate, building on our plan for growth. The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out the fundamental reforms needed to realise our ambitions, including the vision to reform Jobcentres - to a new Jobs and Careers Service to meet the needs of local labour markets, people and employers.
Across Great Britain, the new service will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers. Central to the new service will be our use of technology, enabling us to reinvest time in supporting people more effectively.
We are starting a test and learn approach to develop the new service. We are currently running two large-scale tests testing reducing the frequency of engagement with customers and the mode of mandatory engagement for Universal Credit claimants that are looking for work or are in lower paid jobs. These will help us to better understand what will work best for the individual.
Residents of Southeast Cornwall are served by Liskeard, Launceston and Devonport Job Centres who are responsible for ensuring residents of Southeast Cornwall can access the Jobcentre offer and a wide range of programmes with partner organisations.
This includes the Work Well Pilot, delivering a range of tailored work and health support, the YEP! Programme (SPF), the People Hub working with people who are unemployed or under employed with a range of training and pre-employability help and the Restart Programme.
Area specific needs are met by a range of Jobcentre and partner bespoke offers, which includes Disability Employer Advisor outreach in GP surgeries, working with refugees in Torpoint and Saltash, and the IPS programme delivering support to those with addiction and Mental Health issues.
Recent Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) have assisted residents of Southeast Cornwall into security, retail and care work.
Asked by: Sally Jameson (Labour (Co-op) - Doncaster Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of financial support provided to parents trying to enter back into the workforce that are currently in (a) education and (b) training.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
An assessment has not been made on these parameters, however in DWP’s Get Britain Working White Paper, published November 2024, we set out our aspirations backed by a £55million investment for 2025/26, to transform Jobcentre Plus. This transformation will create a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and to help people to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers.
The Get Britain Working White Paper also committed DWP to supporting and providing all areas in England with resource to produce a local Get Britain Working Plans. We are asking local areas to develop detailed plans that address the challenges related to labour force participation (employment, unemployment, and economic inactivity) and progression in work. Local Get Britain Working plans will enable all areas to take the lead in shaping a coherent offer of support for their local citizens, including the offer of support for parents, across work, health, and skills.
Parents claiming Universal Credit have existing support from Work Coaches, who provide individual, tailored help to all customers across the country, this includes supporting the development of skills needed to look for and obtain sustained employment, advice to parents on childcare support and funding through Flexible Support Fund to remove immediate barriers to employment.
We are also considering how we can improve our support to help parents into work as part of our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty. This is an urgent priority for this Government, and we will bring forward the Child Poverty Strategy as soon as we are able.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including specific provision for blind and partially sighted young people in the National Careers Service.
Answered by Janet Daby
The National Careers Service is a free, universal, government-funded careers information, advice and guidance service for everyone aged 13 and above in England.
All young people aged 13 to 18 can access information and advice through the webchat and telephone helpline, which are supported by local community-based careers advisers. This support from the National Careers Service supplements the provision of careers education, information, advice and guidance by schools and colleges.
The department regularly reviews the accessibility of the National Careers Service website to ensure it continues to meet the needs of all users, including those with visual impairments. The service is committed to making its website accessible for all users, in accordance with accessibility regulations. This includes ensuring users are able to listen to most of the website using a screen reader. An up-to-date version of the accessibility statement is available online.
Young adults aged 19 years and over, or aged 18 for those who are not in education, employment or training, can also access the service via face-to-face support from community-based careers advisers.
Adults with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are one of the priority groups for the service. They can access in-depth, tailored support from professionally qualified careers advisers, drawing on localised labour market information, including face-to-face support, information and advice through webchat, telephone helpline and website.
The National Careers Service has worked with the Thomas Pocklington Trust to offer advice to careers practitioners relating to the Trust’s work to improve the opportunities of blind and partially sighted people.
As outlined in the Get Britain Working White Paper, Jobcentre Plus will be brought together with the National Careers Service in England, to create a new Jobs and Careers Service, transforming the experience for all users. Accessibility for all, including blind or partially sighted customers, will continue to be a priority.
Asked by: Viscount Younger of Leckie (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure careers services remain operationally effective following the merger of the National Careers Service with Jobcentre Plus.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The National Careers Service provides free, up to date, impartial careers information and advice for citizens aged 13+, plus in-depth careers guidance from 19+, and can help people make informed decisions on learning, training, and work at all stages in their career.
As we set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus, and in England bringing it together with the National Careers Service, to help get more people into work and help them get on at work, including through greater focus on skills and careers. We are starting a test and learn approach to develop the new service, ensuring that we develop a service that is locally tailored and embedded, designed to meet the different needs of local labour markets, local people and local employers.
As a start to our commitment to better integrate employment support and careers advice in England, we have launched a data sharing agreement between the Department for Education (DfE) and DWP. This will encourage ‘join-up’ of our services and promote a more streamlined process for our customers ahead of the new service. We will continue to work closely with the DfE to develop the new service, including career advisers, who will be able to share their experiences, views and ideas around how we deliver careers services in the future.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to support people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds in accessing employment opportunities.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Get Britain Working White Paper focuses on building a thriving labour market, reducing economic inactivity and increasing the number of people in work, which is central to growing the economy. We will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity, create an inclusive labour market in which everybody can participate and progress in work, and meet the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate.
We are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access good, meaningful work, and support them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers. The new service will be available for anyone who wants to look for work, to increase their earnings or to change their career or retrain. It will be responsive to local employers, inclusive for all customers and will work closely in partnership with local services to tackle the challenges associated with local labour markets.
Additionally, our Youth Guarantee will ensure that all young people aged 18-21 in England can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship, or employment support, helping to bridge the gap for those who might otherwise struggle to find employment due to their socio-economic status.
We are committed to breaking down barriers and fostering greater social mobility across the UK, our plans as set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper Get Britain Working White Paper - GOV.UK set us on a path to achieving this.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing sight loss training for (a) Access to Work advisors and (b) Jobcentre Plus staff.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of staff on-boarding and induction into DWP, staff complete learning for customers with sight loss. The learning provides the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010, and an overview of the support available to customers including the challenges that individuals with sight loss may face.
Work coaches in Jobcentres also have a point of needs learning products, allowing them to support blind and visually impaired customers.
Access to Work support workers undergo learning which provides details of the funding that is available to support customers with sight loss. This includes the funding of lenses, colour tests and tinted glasses for health conditions, such as Irlens Syndrome (not for general sight loss) when a prescription is given from an optometrist for corrective vision.