Overview of Universal Support Initiative for Employment
Universal Support is a government program aimed at assisting economically inactive individuals and those facing barriers to employment. It provides tailored support through a five-stage model, including grant funding, vocational profiling, job finding, employer engagement, and on-the-job support. The initiative targets a wide range of disadvantaged groups, including disabled individuals, and is a key element of the government's commitment to supporting people in starting, staying, and succeeding in work.
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Presentation Transcript
Universal Support OSEF James Griffiths, DWP Policy Lead Department for Work & Pensions 1
What is Universal Support Context Why have we announced new provision? There are currently around 1.7m people who are economically inactive who would like to work, and many more with wider disadvantages who require support on their journey to employment. As a result of the review of workforce participation, we have introduced a package of measures to address both economic inactivity and the barriers and disadvantages preventing people from joining the workforce. This package includes Universal Support, a large-scale supported employment programme. The programme will primarily support economically inactive individuals, but eligibility will also be broader than just these groups. Some employed and unemployed cohorts will also receive support, subject to the eligibility criteria. Further details will be announced on this in due course. The programme is funded for 3 years and intends to support up to 100,000 people a year Supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to start, stay and succeed in work has been a longstanding focus for DWP and DHSC, Universal Support will be a key part of the government s commitment to support these groups.. Universal Support will be delivered using the supported employment model, a flexible and continuous approach to employment support, and is tailored to individuals and employer's needs. Department for Work & Pensions 2
Overview of Universal Support Grant-funding to Local Areas Utilises 5-stage place, train and maintain model underpinned by high fidelity model Support tailored to each participant Out of and in-work support LAs work with employers, HCPs and other stakeholders to shape opportunities LAs play strategic role within community US Pioneer services launched to test/learn Department for Work & Pensions 3
What is supported employment? What is supported employment / place and train ? The supported employment (SE) model is a flexible and continuous approach to employment provision. SE is tailored to meet each person s needs and those of their employer through five stages: Engagement An opportunity for a potential participant to learn about SE and decide whether it is right for them Vocational profiling A planning process enabling a participant to identify what they want to achieve and work out a plan for getting there Job Finding The participant is supported to find vacancies that meet the jobseeker s employment goals Employer Engagement The participant learns about the job and works out a plan with the employer on how they will be supported through the recruitment process and in the workplace On and off the job support The participant is supported to learn the job and sustain employment. This could include coaching, training/support from a mentor and workplace reviews Department for Work & Pensions 4
Universal Support Who will be supported under the offer? Universal Support will support a range of different cohorts and will primarily target the economically inactive population. Economically inactive individuals will be eligible for Universal Support if they re either disabled or have additional barriers to work. Such barriers will be broadly aligned to the Work and Health Programme Early Access Group, including factors such as being an ex-offender, a victim of domestic abuse, and people with drug and alcohol dependency. Further details will be announced on this in due course. Based upon the above eligibility, it will be down to Lead Authorities to decide which groups of individuals from their area are most suitable for Universal Support. This will be based on local circumstances, but also the need to complement existing provision, such as any UKSPF funded provision that is taking place within each area. Universal Support will ramp up over time, growing to support at least 100,000 people a year with high unit cost Voluntary provision with referral routes higher numbers of referrals through local routes. Estimated 1/3 of referrals from usual Jobcentre Plus routes Department for Work & Pensions 5
The Delivery Approach Universal Support will be delivered via grants to Local Authorities, via existing devolution deal areas, and Functional Economic Areas (FEA) elsewhere. FEA context: From April 2024, all areas of England will be organised into Functional Economic Areas through formal devolution deals or Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) approved FEAs, to enable them to deliver LEP functions, including : Economic planning Growth hubs Career hubs Engagement with local business Universal Support aligned with these areas. Universal Support grants determined via allocative, not competition-based formula. Delivery timetable: From Autumn 2024, but phased rollout assumed Department for Work & Pensions 6
Universal Support Pioneer already launched Work and Health Programme Pioneer Individual Placement Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) Launched September 23 Additional 25k places (E&W) to existing WHP Uses existing WHP providers/contract package areas and devolution delivery Economically inactive citizens only Place and train approach to employment support Participants largely being identified by providers Now live in 42 top-tier LAs Employment support for mild-to- moderate mental or physical health conditions based on IPS Referral routes GPs/practice nurses Support/advice integrated with usual healthcare treatment Department for Work & Pensions 7
