Guidance

DWP CFO European Social Fund 2014 to 2020 experimental statistics: background information

Updated 3 May 2023

Applies to England

The final release of DWP CFO European Social Fund 2014 to 2020 statistics was published on 3 May 2023. The final release includes data up to March 2023.

1. Context of the statistics

The DWP co-financing organisation (CFO) employment programme for the European Social Fund 2014 to 2020 (DWP CFO ESF 14-20) is an EU funded programme across England aimed at unemployed or economically inactive people, some of whom may have a barrier to work. Participants will either be long-term unemployed or inactive (26 weeks or longer); or have a barrier to work, such as a need for basic skills, a health condition, or caring responsibilities.

DWP acts as the Managing Authority (MA) for the programme across England and delivers ESF funded provision as one of the Co-Financing Organisations (CFO) through an arrangement with the MA.

This statistical publication refers only to the element of the programme operated by DWP as a CFO.

Read DWP’s role as ESF CFO for further information on DWP’s role in delivering the programme.

Since September 2016, DWP CFO ESF 14-20 spread across 25 of the 38 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) across England, with 33 contracts in total, of which 8 are in London.

The provision is delivered by organisations called providers, working under contract to DWP. Within the DWP CFO ESF 14-20 employment programme, providers are paid a fixed monthly delivery fee and payments for ‘short job outcomes’, in which an individual has 13 cumulative weeks in employment over a period of 26 weeks, and ‘sustained job outcomes’, where an individual has 26 cumulative weeks in employment over 52 weeks.

Providers are responsible for identifying and recruiting eligible participants to the provision. The provision is voluntary and suitable applicants can be identified using different sources, including but not limited to:

• provider recruitment
• Jobcentre Plus
• community and voluntary sector organisations
• local authorities
• GPs and health workers
• self-referrals

Jobcentre Plus is not a referring agent for DWP CFO ESF 14-20, unlike other DWP employment programmes, however will signpost potentially suitable participants.

In general, to be eligible for DWP CFO ESF 14-20, all participants must be a legal resident and have the right to take paid employment in the UK. Participants must be aged 16 or over. There is no upper age limit for participants.

For full details of the referral process and participant eligibility see DWP CFO ESF 14-20 provider guidance: Chapter 3.

The following table reports some information about the contracts and the providers involved in delivering DWP CFO ESF 14-20 since September 2016.

The DWP CFO ESF 14-20 employment programme was launched in 2016 with 31 contracts set up to take on new participants for a period of 24 months. From the second half of 2018, 15 of the original contracts were extended and continued taking referrals. In October 2019, 2 contracts were launched in 2 LEPs previously not part of DWP CFO ESF 14-20. The following table shows all of the contracts for DWP CFO ESF 14-20 with their contract start dates.

Provider table

Provider	LEP	Category of Region	Contact start date
Remploy	Cheshire and Warrington	More Developed	09/01/2017
Kennedy Scott	Coast to Capital	More Developed	09/01/2017
Reed in Partnership	Cornwall and Isles of Scilly	Less Developed	21/11/2016
Reed in Partnership	Coventry and Warwickshire	More Developed	09/01/2017
G4S	Cumbria	Transitional	03/01/2017
Working Links/Fedcap	Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire	More Developed	30/01/2017
Working Links/Fedcap	Dorset	More Developed	21/11/2016
Fedcap	Enterprise M3	More Developed	07/10/2019
Learn Direct	Gloucestershire	More Developed	21/11/2016
Reed in Partnership	Great Cambridgeshire and Great Peterborough	More Developed	22/08/2016
Reed in Partnership	Hertfordshire	More Developed	22/08/2016
Maximus	Humber (including Greater Lincolnshire)	Transitional	16/01/2017
G4S	Lancashire	Transitional	03/01/2017
Reed in Partnership	Leeds City Region	More Developed	21/11/2016
Pluss	Leeds City Region	More Developed	21/11/2016
Working Links/Fedcap	Leicester and Leicestershire	More Developed	21/11/2016
The Growth Company	Liverpool City Region	More Developed & Transitional	21/11/2016
G4S	London	More Developed	03/01/2017
G4S	London	More Developed	23/01/2017
G4S	London	More Developed	23/01/2017
Pinnacle People	London	More Developed	03/01/2017
Reed in Partnership	London	More Developed	09/01/2017
Reed in Partnership	London	More Developed	09/01/2017
Reed in Partnership	London	More Developed	23/01/2017
Serco	London	More Developed	23/01/2017
Working Links/Fedcap	North East	More Developed & Transitional	09/01/2017
Reed in Partnership	South East	More Developed	21/11/2016
Maximus	South East Midlands	More Developed	16/01/2017
Working Links/Fedcap	South East Midlands	More Developed	30/01/2017
Reed in Partnership	Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire	Transitional	21/11/2016
Working Links/Fedcap	Swindon and Wiltshire	More Developed	09/01/2017
Reed in Partnership	The Marches	More Developed & Transitional	07/10/2019
Ixion	York, North Yorkshire and East Riding	More Developed	21/11/2016

In some LEPs, DWP CFO ESF 14-20 is delivered by more than one provider and/or with more than one contract live at the same time.

Working Links entered administration in 2019 and its contracts were subsequently taken over by Fedcap.

2. Purpose of the statistics

The purpose of the statistics is to inform and present data on:

• the number of people who have started DWP CFO ESF 14-20
• the number of outcomes achieved
• the performance of programme providers
• characteristics of participants, including age, gender, ethnicity and disability status

Within DWP

The information in the DWP CFO ESF 14-20 publication and supplementary tables are used to:

• evaluate, develop and support policy, strategy and operational decisions;
• answer Parliamentary Questions and Freedom of Information requests;
• inform press office statements

By:

• policy, strategy, operational support and analytical teams;
• DWP Private Office and Press Office;
• Parliamentary Question, Freedom of Information, and briefing teams

External Users

• Local Enterprise Partnerships
• programme providers

3. Source of the statistics

The main source of data is taken from the provider Referral and Payment System (PRaP) which DWP and DWP CFO ESF 14-20 providers use to record key data about the participants’ journeys, such as referrals, starts, and outcomes.

This is then combined with the Labour Market System (LMS), National Benefits Database (NBD) and Universal Credit (UC) caseload data to add information about the participants; age, gender, ethnicity, disability status; and benefits they were claiming.

These are known as administrative (admin) data sources.

4. Definitions and terminology within the statistics

These are some of the key terminology and definitions used in the publication.

Referral

A person’s eligibility for the DWP CFO ESF 14-20 will be decided using clearly defined criteria and providers are responsible for identifying eligible participants. Jobcentre Plus may signpost potentially eligible participants. The provider holds a face-to-face meeting with potential participants to discuss the provision and assess their eligibility. If the participant is eligible and wishes to proceed, the provider completes referral documentation.

Start

The first face to face meeting between a DWP CFO ESF 14-20 participant and the provider after the referral.

Short job outcome

The participant spent at least 13 cumulative weeks in employment over a period of 26 weeks.

Sustained job outcome

The participant spent at least 26 cumulative weeks in employment over a period of 52 weeks.

Contractual performance

The providers have an expected performance level for the amount of Short and Sustained Job Outcomes they are expected to achieve each month. Actual performance is measured against this expected performance level.

5. Revisions to the statistics

Every effort has been made to ensure that the quality of these statistics is of the highest standard. However, it may be necessary to revise the statistics in subsequent publications when more complete data becomes available, particularly for more recent months, when there could be a high level of retrospection.

Retrospection refers to the time period allowed for additional or updated information to be incorporated into DWP’s data systems. Information may be submitted, corrected or resubmitted sometime after the event occurred.

To ensure the statistics represent a more complete picture of events, data is published with a time lag of two or three months.

In accordance with Principle 2 of the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice for Official Statistics, statistics within this publication adhere to DWP’s statistics revisions policy, which explains how we will make revisions and inform users of our statistics when they occur.

6. Status of the statistics

Experimental statistics

These statistics have been developed as Experimental Statistics, in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority Code of Practice. Experimental Statistics are Official Statistics undergoing evaluation and not yet fully developed. They will evolve over time based on data availability, data quality and coverage, and user feedback.

Quality statement

A standard set of quality assurance procedures are conducted for each DWP statistical release. They consist of checking for duplicate, missing or contradictory information; trends and variation in characteristics, time series and area breakdowns.

Data is quality assured by a group of DWP analysts.

7. Feedback

We welcome feedback

DWP would like to hear your views on our statistical publications and suggestions for future developments on this series. Email stats-consultation@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

Press enquiries should be directed to the Department for Work and Pensions Press Office: 0203 267 5144.

Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to Thomas Evans at thomas.evans2@dwp.gov.uk

8. Useful links

DWP CFO ESF 14-20 Statistics

Read the main DWP CFO ESF 14-20 statistics.

DWP CFO ESF 14-20 provider guidance

The DWP CFO ESF 14-20 provider guidance contains detailed information about:

• how the programme works
• participant eligibility and referral
• how providers are paid
• how DWP manages the performance of the contracts

Other Official Statistics on DWP employment programmes

Details of other National and Official Statistics produced by the Department for Work and Pensions can be found on GOV.UK.

Experimental Statistics

Experimental statistics are Official Statistics which are published to involve users and stakeholders in their development and as a means to build in quality at an early stage. All Official Statistics should comply with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice for Statistics which promotes the production and dissemination of Official Statistics that inform decision making.