By Kirby Swales, Director of Research, Renaisi
As the Work Programme moves closer to reality, people are becoming increasingly interested in how it will work in practice. There are a growing number of research studies and commentary emerging, such as those by CLES, IPPRand IES.
The underlying question for me is whether the overall programme design will encourage providers to innovate in a way that produces the best results for clients. DWP and other commissioners are effectively delegating this task to providers, whereas previously they took the lead, either through JC+ delivery, contract specifications and/or their research and policy work. There is a risk that the system will be fragmented, and won’t create the necessary conditions for an effective worklessness ‘system’.
There are a whole range of issues for the new Work Programme, including: the nature of employer engagement and specialist support for those seeking work, links with local neighbourhoods and community groups; and the relationship with Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships and Training providers. I would like to examine one of these in a bit more detail: the role of the neighbourhood.
Over the last decade, there have been a number of programmes that have enabled employment services to be designed to work better at the neighbourhood level. This was partly based on an understanding that peoples journey to work is heavily affected by a range of non-employment issues, and that some people need extra encouragement and support to take up the help available. It was also because of the obvious concentrations of workless people in particular geographical places, and the need to join-up services more effectively.
Much of this innovation was funded by the Working Neighbourhoods Fund, Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and New Deal for Communities programmes and pilot funding streams such as the City Strategy Pathfinders. This funding produced many examples of innovative practice, such as partnerships with social landlords, integrated skills and employment centres and organisations, provision for specific sectors or under-represented groups, small grants and bursaries, Time Banks, childcare solutions and community enterprise schemes, and so on.
A recent study of WNF found that it especially added value atparticular stages of the ‘customer journey’, notably in the early stages, including outreach and providing volunteering opportunities. A recent review of the NDC programme by Professor Paul Lawless of Sheffield Hallam University argued that worklessness services should remain a feature of neighbourhood delivery structures.
It is arguable that neighbourhood-level working can best help create supportive social networks, co-locate and integrate services in a way that makes sense locally, and is the best level to make effective partnerships with housing, childcare, education and other providers. There is also good evidence from the US that linking employment services with neighbour-to-neighbour support has positive effects.
Much of these interventions are likely to pay off in the longer-term and help prevent future problems. However, will it be possible to reconcile this approach with the financial and measurement framework of the Work Programme? If it is to happen, it will require a role for Local Authorities, and the providers and funders of training. As the Houghton Review argued, there is a need for flexibility at the local level, and it is not easy to reach out to the most disadvantaged people and neighbourhoods: “to engage them; raise aspirations; and to join up employment and skills provision with other support services to meet their needs. Maximum flexibility is required by local authorities and their partners to identify and spend funds in a way that will have the most impact.”
However, I would argue delivery and funding needs be organised at the sub-local authority level, in neighbourhoods or small clusters of neighbourhoods. Of course, these need to be within a framework of services operating on wider geographical scales, to provide economies of scale and the right specialist provision. It needs a very fine-grained understanding of a neighbourhood, and strong links between people and community organisations/ associations, to help tackle the isolation, depression and poor health that stop many people looking for work.
It is only by incorporating some of the best practice from previous neighbourhood and partnership working, that the Work Programme will truly succeed.
