Official Statistics

Work and Health Programme statistics to May 2022

Published 25 August 2022

Applies to England and Wales

The latest release of these statistics can be found in the Work and Health Programme statistics collection.

This quarterly release of experimental statistics on the Work and Health Programme includes data up to May 2022.

Statistics covered in this publication include data covering the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The measures taken during the earlier months of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted on the delivery of the WHP and on its performance resulting in lower numbers of referrals. Since late 2020, referrals and starts have exceeded the monthly expectations.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, mandatory referrals to the WHP for the Long-term Unemployed (LTU) group were suspended, these resumed in May 2022. The labour market employment support landscape has changed as a result of the pandemic with the ‘Plan for Jobs’ including the Restart Scheme which will take up a proportion of customers that may have later on in their claim been referred to WHP..

The pandemic had a significant impact on the labour market. Some employment sectors were unable to recruit and job opportunities were significantly reduced, however, as some employment sectors re-opened and new sectors emerged there was an increase in vacancies. This context should be considered when assessing the success or timeliness of outcomes from the programme in relation to this period.

These are the latest statistics for the Work and Health Programme until the next release on 24 November 2022.

We are seeking user feedback on this statistical bulletin. Send comments to: stats-consultation@dwp.gov.uk.

1. Introduction

The Work and Health Programme (WHP) was launched in England and Wales between November 2017 and April 2018 predominantly to help people who are disabled, as well as the long-term unemployed or those in the Early Access group to enter into and stay in work.

People are referred by jobcentres to work with organisations known as providers from the public, private and voluntary sectors. Providers are paid a service delivery fee and outcome-related payments when a person reaches either:

• a specified level of earnings once in employment

• 6 months of being in self-employment

The WHP is a European Union funded project as part of the European Social Fund (ESF) 2014 to 2020.

2. Main Stories

The statistics show:

• as of May 2022, 330,000 individuals have been referred to the programme since its inception with 220,000 having started on the programme

• 22% of participants that started the programme from May 2020 or earlier have achieved a job outcome within 24 months. This figure has not changed from the previous quarter. 19% of participants that started the programme from May 2021 have achieved a job outcome within 12 months; this has increased by 1 percentage point(s) from the previous quarter. Note that while support to participants on the programme ends at 21 months, outcomes are recorded for up to 24 months from starting. Participants who started after May 2020 have not had the full 24-month duration for which to achieve a job outcome and thus are not included in the headline figure as these cohorts have had less time to achieve a job outcome

• pre-pandemic, performance of actual job outcomes against expected job outcomes was consistently below 100%. When lockdowns were strict, performance notably decreased. From October 2020 onwards, performance began to increase, consistently surpassing 100% from July 2021 and reaching an all-time high of 157% in October 2021. Whilst a decline has been observed in the most recent 3 months (from March 2022 to May 2022), performance remains above 100%

• the measures taken during the earlier months of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted on the delivery of the WHP and on its performance. Providers took alternative routes to service delivery to ensure support continued. Some employment sectors were unable to recruit and job opportunities were significantly reduced, however, as employment sectors re-opened and new sectors emerged, vacancies increased

• the number of first earnings and job outcomes increased to levels higher than those seen before the pandemic. The number of job outcomes increased sharply to an all-time high in October 2021 while the number of first earnings reached an all-time high in May 2021. In the most recent three months, both measures exceed pre-pandemic levels

• this should be seen in the context of the changing composition of the labour market, with providers catering to new industries, and a cohort of participants who may not have required the programme prior to the COVID-19 pandemic

The number of starts to the WHP by eligibility group, November 2017 to May 2022

Source: Stat-Xplore, Work and Health Programme (WHP), Starts to WHP

Of the individuals referred since the programme began to May 2022, 250,000 individuals referred have been from the Disability group (78%), 32,000 from the Long-term Unemployed group (10%) and 40,000 from the Early Access group (12%). Individuals starting on the WHP since it began to May 2022 show a similar distribution across the eligibility groups; 172,000 are from the Disability group (77%), 25,000 are in the Long-term Unemployed group (11%) and 25,000 are in the Early Access group (11%).

The percentage of all participants starting in each month that have proceeded to achieve a job outcome within 24 months by eligibility groups, December 2017 to May 2020

Source: Stat-Xplore, Work and Health Programme (WHP), Job Outcomes from WHP

The Disability group accounts for the largest number of starts, and they also make up the majority of job outcomes, accounting for 79% of the total number of job outcomes. The Early Access group and Long-term Unemployed groups each account for 12% and 8% of the total number of job outcomes respectively.

Of those participants who had been on the programme for the full 24 months (those starting from May 2020 or earlier), 22% have achieved a job outcome. For the individual WHP eligibility groups the proportions are:

• 23% of the Disability group

• 25% of the Early Access group

• 17% of the Long-term Unemployed group

3. What you need to know

Definitions

The following definitions are used in the statistics.

Participants

The WHP, launched in England and Wales between November 2017 and April 2018, aims to provide support to help people find and keep a job. It is available to the following 3 eligibility groups:

1. Disability group – voluntary for disabled people as defined in the Equality Act (2010). This is the main group that the WHP is aimed at.

2. Early Access group – voluntary and aimed at people who may need support to move into employment and are in one of a number of priority groups (for example homeless, ex-armed forces, care leavers, refugees).

3. Long-term Unemployed group – mandatory for Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or Universal Credit (UC) claimants who have reached 24 months of unemployment.

WHP participants may or may not be in receipt of certain means-tested benefits such as JSA, UC, Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Income Support (IS). Alternatively, participants can be signposted to WHP by approved organisations (for example, community and voluntary groups).

Providers

The WHP is delivered across England and Wales by 5 providers across 6 areas, known as Contract Package Areas (CPAs). In some CPAs, the government has designed WHP in consultation with Local Enterprise Partnerships and city regions (partnerships between local authorities and businesses). These are known as Devolved Deal Areas (DDA). These areas have a strong voice in the ongoing monitoring of the performance on the programme in their areas.

In London and Greater Manchester, where devolution deals are in place, the WHP is commissioned and contract managed by the local authorities, known as Local Government Partners (LGP), who are match-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF). See the background information note for more information.

Map showing LGPs and CPAs in England and Wales

The administration of the WHP is split into multiple areas within England and Wales (CPAs). Within London and Manchester, DWP has devolved the WHP to the Local Authorities known as LGPs. For Manchester this is considered a unitary area, whereas London is split up into 4 separate areas (West London, Central London, South London and Local London). The rest of England is split up into 5 areas, whilst Wales is a single area.

Referrals

Work coaches in jobcentres will send details of a person wanting to join the WHP to a provider. When a provider acknowledges the referral and contact has been established with the participant, this is called a referral. WHP participants can be referred more than once. Figures presented in this publication do not include cancelled or rejected referrals.

Individuals referred

Since one individual can have multiple referrals, individuals referred is the number of individual people referred. This means only the first referral per person is counted.

Starts

A start on the programme is recorded when a WHP participant attends the initial face-to-face meeting with the provider and agrees to participate. The vast majority of starts should take place within 15 working days, although starts outside this window may occur if the customer does not attend the initial meeting within this time frame.

Cohort

A group of participants who all start on the WHP in the same month.

First earnings from employment

The point at which a participant achieves their first earnings from their first employment whilst on the programme. A participant may not necessarily go on to achieve a job outcome. Statistics on first earnings from employment do not include earnings from self-employment.

Job outcomes

A provider is classed as achieving a job outcome when a participant reaches either:

• a specified level of earnings once in employment (which varies across the different areas – see background information note for details)

• 6 months of being in self-employment

The earnings threshold for a job outcome for the National WHP and the majority of LGPs is 16 hours per week for 26 weeks at the National Living Wage, however the threshold for the West London Alliance is the same number of hours but at the London Living Wage and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority at the Real Living Wage.

Job outcomes for self-employed participants are based on their duration in self-employment. Therefore, it is likely that self-employed participants would have received a job outcome but not be included in the first earnings cohort.

Read the background information note for further information on WHP policy and definitions.

Expectations

The expectations used in the WHP statistics are the expected number of job outcomes for the programme either as a whole, split by eligibility groups or split by providers. For more information on the background to these expectations and to understand how they were created, see our background information note. Users can interpret these as the number of job outcomes anticipated when the WHP was rolled out.

Timeline of the roll out of the WHP from November 2017 to May 2022

Referrals to the Early Access and Disability groups began in November 2017. In March 2018 the WHP became available to all areas of the country. Long-term Unemployed referrals began in April 2018.

During the UK-wide lockdowns, beginning in March 2020, the face-to-face delivery of the WHP by providers was suspended. This meant that providers took alternative routes to service delivery including digital options and providing a telephony service to ensure support continued.

Face to face delivery resumed for WHP participants as government COVID-19 guidance allowed, and is now the primary method of delivery.

Mandatory referrals to the WHP for the Long-term Unemployed (LTU) group were suspended, these resumed in May 2022. The labour market employment support landscape has changed as a result of the pandemic with the ‘Plan for Jobs’ including the Restart Scheme which will take up a proportion of customers that may have later on in their claim been referred to WHP.

This statistical release includes data up to May 2022.

4. Joining the Work and Health Programme

Since the start of the programme, across England and Wales, there have been a total of:

• 380,000 referrals (this counts each referral for individuals referred multiple times)

• 330,000 individuals referred (individuals can have multiple referrals but are only counted once)

• 220,000 starts on the programme

Monthly number of individuals referred and starts, November 2017 to May 2022

Source: Stat-Xplore, Work and Health Programme (WHP), Referrals to WHP - Individuals, and Starts to WHP

Note: The individuals referred are plotted by referral month and starts are plotted by the start month. Individuals may not start in the month of referral so caution should be used in direct comparisons between individuals referred and starts.

The total number of monthly individual referrals and starts was on an upward trend from March 2018 (when the programme was available to all areas of the country). Referrals from the Long-term Unemployed group started in April 2018. From April 2019 both the number of monthly individual referrals and starts were on a downwards trend, before the impact of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the first UK-wide lockdown was seen in March 2020.

In April and May 2020 both the number of monthly individual referrals and starts were at lower levels. From July 2020 the number of monthly individual referrals and starts increased to pre-pandemic levels. Starts and individual referrals continued to increase, exceeding pre-pandemic levels, until reaching their respective all-time highs in March 2021 and June 2021. Both measures then entered a period of stabilisation and are slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels.

The measures taken during the earlier months of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted on the delivery of the WHP and on its performance resulting in lower numbers of referrals.

Across the whole lifespan of the programme, the proportion of individuals referred that have started is 68%.

Starts by month the participant was referred and eligibility group, November 2017 to May 2022

Source: Stat-Xplore, Work and Health Programme (WHP), Starts to WHP

Across the whole lifespan of the WHP:

• 77% of starts come from the Disability group

• 11% of starts come from the Early Access group

• 11% of starts come from the Long-term Unemployed group

In the latest month, May 2022:

• 82% of starts were from the Disability group

• 13% of starts were from the Early Access group

• 5% of starts were from the Long-term Unemployed group

During the COVID-19 pandemic, mandatory referrals to the WHP for the Long-term Unemployed (LTU) group were suspended but WHP places were available if a Jobcentre Plus work coach considered this to be beneficial for a claimant. LTU referrals resumed in May 2022.

Distribution of all WHP individual referred and starts across areas, November 2017 to May 2022

Source: Stat-Xplore, Work and Health Programme (WHP), Referrals to WHP – Individuals and Starts to WHP

For more information on the limitations of this chart, see our background information note.

There are several reasons why an individual may not have started on the programme. For those referrals that have happened more recently, this could be because of the time required to process a start or because participants have not yet attended their initial meeting with the provider. There is a strict, contractual Service Level Agreement (SLA) of 15 days for the National WHP contracts and between 15 and 30 days for the Local Government Partner (LGPs) contracts, for a participant to start on the programme. However, for referrals that happened in the past, these participants may never go on to start. This could be because the participant found work before starting on the programme or have not worked with the provider to attend a welcome meeting within the 15 to 30 day SLA period.

Table: Number of referrals and starts by area, from November 2017 to May 2022 by order of rollout (earliest listed first)

Area	Provider	Date of Rollout	Referrals	Individuals referred	Starts	% of starts to individuals
North West	Ingeus	27th November 2017	27,600	23,000	16,000	70%
Wales	Maximus	1st December 2017	20,800	18,600	14,100	76%
Central	Shaw Trust	15th January 2018	49,400	41,200	27,500	67%
North East	Reed In Partnership	15th January 2018	64,000	56,800	40,800	72%
Southern	Seetec Pluss	15th January 2018	48,100	41,400	28,500	69%
Home counties	Shaw Trust	15th January 2018	29,700	25,100	16,500	66%
Greater Manchester Combined Authority	Ingeus and The Growth Company	29th January 2018	35,700	29,200	20,200	69%
West London Alliance (WL)	Shaw Trust	26th February 2018	20,100	16,500	9,400	57%
Central London Forward (CL)	Ingeus	1st March 2018	35,100	28,700	19,000	66%
South London Partnership (SL)	Reed In Partnership	1st March 2018	9,500	8,000	5,000	63%
Local London (LL)	Maximus	1st March 2018	20,000	17,800	12,900	72%

Source: Stat-Xplore, Work and Health Programme (WHP), Referrals to WHP, Referrals to WHP - Individuals and Starts to WHP.

Note: In this table referrals, individuals referred and starts are rounded to the nearest 100. These percentages are derived from unrounded figures. The provider name for Wales has been changed from Remploy to Maximus. Remploy is operated by Maximus following a joint partnership in 2015.

See the background information note for maps of Greater Manchester and London LGP areas.

The WHP has been available to all areas of England and Wales since March 2018. Up until May 2022, 68% of individuals referred have started on the programme. Figures vary across areas due to size and when the service rolled out, however cumulatively, the highest rate of individuals referred to starts is in Wales (76%) and the lowest is in West London (56%).

5. First earnings from employment and job outcomes from the Work and Health Programme

The number of participants achieving first earnings from employment and job outcomes saw a decrease as the impact of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the first UK-wide lockdown was seen.

For the following figures, the number of first earnings and job outcomes have increased to levels higher than those seen before the pandemic. The number of job outcomes have increased sharply to an all-time high in October 2021 while the number of first earnings reached an all-time high in May 2021.

This should be seen in the context of the changing composition of the labour market, with providers catering to new industries, and a cohort of participants who may not have required the programme prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The flow of participants referred to the WHP up to May 2020

Source: Stat-Xplore, Work and Health Programme (WHP), Referrals to WHP – Individuals, Starts to WHP, Employment First Earnings from WHP and Job Outcomes from WHP

The diagram above is reflective of individuals who were referred up to and including May 2020.

Overall, 76% of the individuals referred by May 2020 started on the programme, whereas 24% did not; this may, for example, be due to the participant not attending their initial meeting with the provider.

Of those participants starting on the programme from May 2020 or earlier 37% have achieved the first earnings threshold within 24 months, and 22% have achieved a job outcome within 24 months.

Starts after May 2020 are not presented, as participants have not had the full 24-month period within which to reach the first earnings threshold or achieve a job outcome. Those who started before May 2020 have been engaged with the programme for longer and have received more support making job outcomes more likely.

Participants leave the programme by either:

• achieving a job outcome

• being on the programme for a full 21 months

Note that although support on the programme ends at 21 months the time to accumulate earnings to achieve a job outcome finishes at 24 months.

Number of participants achieving first earnings from employment by first earnings month, November 2017 to May 2022

Source: Stat-Xplore, Work and Health Programme (WHP), Employment First Earnings from WHP.

First earnings in employment is the point at which a participant achieves their first earnings from their first employment while on the programme. This excludes first earnings from self-employment and subsequent employments are not included in the first earnings statistics.

A seasonal effect is seen in the first earnings data, where first earnings decrease during the winter months each year.

February 2018 saw the first participants achieve first earnings from employment. As of May 2022, 88,000 participants have achieved first earnings from employment with 2,500 of these being achieved in the most recent month (May 2022).

Number of participants achieving job outcomes by job outcomes month, November 2017 to May 2022

Source: Stat-Xplore, Work and Health Programme (WHP), Job Outcomes from WHP

March 2018 saw the first participants reach the job outcomes earnings threshold or 6 months of being in self-employment. As of May 2022, 53,000 participants have reached the job outcome earnings threshold or 6 months of being in self-employment with 2,200 of these being achieved in the most recent month (May 2022).

Figures suggest that a higher proportion of programme participants achieve first earnings from employment than achieve a job outcome. Whilst one may perceive this to be always true, job outcomes figures include those who are self-employed whilst the first earnings figures do not. Support to participants on the programme ends after 21 months and time to accumulate earnings to achieve a job outcome finishes at 24 months. For participants who have been on the programme for 24 months, 37% have achieved first earnings and 22% have achieved a job outcome. Note that the first earnings in employment figures do not include those in self-employment.

Percentage of starts achieving first earnings from employment within 6 months (December 2017 to November 2021), 12 months (December 2017 to May 2021) and 24 months (December 2017 to May 2020) of starting, by starting month

Source: Stat-Xplore, Work and Health Programme (WHP), Starts to WHP and Employment First Earnings from WHP

The graph shows the percentage of participants achieving first earnings from employment within 6-months, 12-months and 24-months of starting on the programme. Whilst the 24-month measure is the key long-term measure, it is the least timely as we can only measure it for cohorts that started up to May 2020.

Over time, the percentage of starts achieving first earning from employment increases and has ranged between:

• 13% (March 2020) and 35% (March 2021) within 6 months of starting on the programme

• 22% (April 2020) and 53% (January 2021) within 12 months of starting on the programme

• 33% (April 2020) and 51% (December 2017) within 24 months of starting on the programme

Note that these results refer to the starting month of the participant and not the month the first earnings were achieved in, i.e. the months in brackets above are starting months.

The percentage of participants achieving first earnings from employment within 6, 12 and 24 months of starting on the programme had been on a slight decline since the programme began. For participants starting since April 2020, there has been a rapid increase in the percentage achieving first earnings from employment for all measures. The 6-month measure stabilised between January 2021 and April 2021 and has been gradually declining since then; the 12-month measure reached a peak of 53% in January 2021 and has started to gradually decline. All measures continue to exceed pre-pandemic levels.

Similar trends are observed between the data for 6, 12 and 24 month first earnings suggesting that the programme’s results for 12 and 24 month earnings will continue to increase on the 6 month earnings percentages seen.

Note that Long-term Unemployed referrals only began in April 2018 and are not factored into dates prior to this.

Percentage of starts achieving first earnings from employment within 6 months (November 2017 to November 2021), 12 months (November 2017 to May 2021) and 24 months (November 2017 to May 2020) of starting, by eligibility group

Source: Stat-Xplore, Work and Health Programme (WHP), Starts to WHP and Employment First Earnings from WHP

Please note:

• The 6-month measure includes participants from November 2017 to November 2021

• The 12-month measure includes participants from November 2017 to May 2021

• The 24-month measure includes participants from November 2017 to May 2020

Within 6 months of starting on the programme to 12 months and then 24 months this figure changes:

• from 26% to 38% and then remains at 38% for those from the Disability group

• from 28% to 41% and then to 40% for those from the Early Access group

• from 17% to 26% and then to 31% for those from the Long-term Unemployed group

Please note each of the three measures above are reflective of different time periods to ensure participants have had the full duration within which to reach the first earnings threshold. For example, the 6-month measure includes participants who have started and received first earnings up to November 2021 whereas the 24-month measure only includes data up to May 2020.

This means a large portion of participants counted in the 6-month measure will not be counted in the 24-month measure (i.e. those who started and received first earnings after May 2020). For this reason, each proportion across the three measures will examine different cohorts of participants meaning they should be considered individually.

For all groups there is a notable increase in the proportion of individuals achieving first earnings between 6 and 12 months. While there is a notable increase of 5 percentage points between first earnings achieved in 12 and 24 months by individuals in the Long-term Unemployed group, the change between 12 to 24 months for the Disability and Early Access groups is less notable. This suggests that most of those within the Disability and Early Access groups who go on to achieve first earnings, do so within the first 12 months on the programme, while the proportion of those who go on to achieve first earnings among those in the Long-term Unemployed group continues to increase through to 24 months.

Percentage of starts achieving job outcomes within 6 months (December 2017 to November 2021), 12 months (December 2017 to May 2021) and 24 months (December 2017 to May 2020) of starting, by starting month

Source: Stat-Xplore, Work and Health Programme (WHP), Starts to WHP and Job Outcomes from the WHP

The graph shows the percentage of participants achieving job outcomes within 6-months, 12-months and 24-months of starting on the programme. Whilst the 24-month measure is the key long-term measure, it is the least timely as we can only measure it for cohorts that started up to May 2020.

Over time the percentage of starts achieving job outcomes increases and has ranged between:

• 3% (started December 2019) and 13% (started September 2020) within 6 months of starting on the programme

• 8% (started April 2020) and 32% (started January 2021) within 12 months of starting on the programme

• 18% (started April 2020) and 35% (started May 2020) within 24 months of starting on the programme

Note that these results refer to the starting month of the participant and not the month the job outcome was achieved in, i.e. the months in brackets above are starting months.

The percentage of participants achieving a job outcome within 6 months had been fairly consistent since the programme began. For participants starting since April 2020, there has been a rapid increase in the percentage achieving job outcomes for all measures. The 6-month measure has been gradually declining since February 2021; the 12-month measure reached a peak of 32% in January 2021 and has started to gradually decline. All measures continue to exceed pre-pandemic levels.

Similar trends are observed between the data for 6, 12 and 24 month outcomes suggesting that the programme’s results for 12 and 24 month outcomes will continue to increase on the 6 month outcomes percentages seen.

Note that Long-term Unemployed referrals only began in April 2018 and are not factored into dates prior to this.

Percentage of starts achieving job outcomes within 6 months (November 2017 to November 2021), 12 months (November 2017 to May 2021) and 24 months (November 2017 to May 2020) of starting, by eligibility group

Source: Stat-Xplore, Work and Health Programme (WHP), Starts to WHP and Job Outcomes from WHP

Please note:

• The 6-month measure includes participants from November 2017 to November 2021

• The 12-month measure includes participants from November 2017 to May 2021

• The 24-month measure includes participants from November 2017 to May 2020

The percentage of starts achieving job outcomes increases for all eligibility groups as time on the programme increases. Within 6 months of starting on the programme to 12 months and then 24 months this figure rises:

• from 7% to 20% and then to 23% for those from the Disability group

• from 9% to 22% and then to 25% for those from the Early Access group

• from 4% to 11% and then to 17% for those from the Long-term Unemployed group

Please note each of the three measures above are reflective of different time periods to ensure participants have had the full duration within which to reach the job outcome threshold. For example, the 6-month measure includes participants who have started and received a job outcome up to November 2021 whereas the 24-month measure only includes data up to May 2020.

This means a large portion of participants counted in the 6-month measure will not be counted in the 24-month measure (i.e. those who started and received a job outcome after May 2020). For this reason, each proportion across the three measures will examine different cohorts of participants meaning they should be considered individually.

For each group, although the proportions achieving job outcomes increase more notably between 6 months to 12 months on the programme, notable increases in job outcomes are also seen for all groups from 12 to 24 months.

6. Demographics of the Work and Health Programme

Different job outcome rates seen for the various participant groups does not reflect the relative success of the programme for each group. There are many reasons why these can vary and, as a result, comparisons between job outcome rates of groups should be made with great care. See the background information note for more information.

Percentage of starts achieving job outcomes within 24 months for females and males, and by eligibility group, November 2017 to May 2020

Source: Stat-Xplore, Work and Health Programme (WHP), Starts to WHP and Job Outcomes from WHP

Despite the proportional difference of male (60%) and female (40%) starts to the programme, the rate of job outcomes achieved within 24 months by both groups is comparable (both 22% of males and females). Outcomes by male and female are comparable across the eligibility groups. In the Long-term Unemployed group, 17% of males and females achieve a job outcome in 24 months. In the Early Access group, 25% of males and females achieve a job outcome in 24 months. In the Disability group, 23% of males and females achieve a job outcome in 24 months.

Across the eligibility groups the percentage of participants to the WHP that have achieved a job outcome within 24 months is 23% for the Disability group, 25% for the Early Access group and 17% for the Long-term Unemployed.

The Disability group accounts for the majority of starts to the programme (77%), followed by the Long-term Unemployed group (11%) and the Early Access group (11%).

Percentage of starts achieving job outcomes within 24 months, by region and age group, November 2017 to May 2020

Source: Stat-Xplore, Work and Health Programme (WHP), Starts to WHP and Job Outcomes from WHP

Note: The provider name for Wales has been changed from Remploy to Maximus. Remploy is operated by Maximus following a joint partnership in 2015.

The percentage of participants that have started the WHP that have achieved a job outcome within 24 months varies by region and is lowest for Central London (Ingeus) at 15% and highest for Wales (Maximus) at almost 30%.

Note that comparisons between regions and providers should be made with great care and the contextual differences between Contract Package Areas (CPAs) and Local Government Partners (LGPs) should be considered, for example there are differences between the outcome definitions used. See the background information note for more information.

Across the age groups the percentage of participants that have started the WHP that have achieved a job outcome within 24 months is lowest for the 60+ age group at 12% and increases as the age groups decrease, to a high of almost 30% for the 18 to 24 age group.

7. Performance levels

Expectations

The expectations used in the WHP statistics are the expected number of job outcomes for the programme, either as a whole, split by eligibility groups or split by providers. For more information on the background to these expectations and to understand how they were created, see our background information note. Users can interpret these as the number of job outcomes anticipated when the WHP was rolled out.

Actual job outcomes as a percentage of expected job outcomes, by outcome month for September 2018 to May 2022

Source: WHP statistics data tables

Note: the dashed orange line at 100% signifies where actual job outcomes equal the expected number of job outcomes.

Nationally, overall performance of actual job outcomes against expected job outcomes has fluctuated between 49% (September 2020) and 157% (October 2021) across the period September 2018 to May 2022. Job outcomes are measured by outcome month. For example, the 81% figure for September 2018 indicates that, across all cohorts combined, the actual number of job outcomes for September 2018 was 81% of the expected number of job outcomes for this month.

The expected number of job outcomes were defined before the COVID-19 pandemic began. They are calculated using a few measures including the number of starts to the programme and the proportion of these that are expected, in a given time period, to achieve a job outcome. The reduction in performance in the affected months should be considered in this context. For more information see our background information note.

Number of actual job outcomes achieved compared to expected number, by outcomes month for September 2018 to May 2022

Source: WHP statistics data tables

From September 2018 actual and expected job outcomes increased steadily until December 2019, where a decrease in actual job outcomes is seen. The actual number of job outcomes fell from December 2019, whereas the expected number of job outcomes continued to rise slightly. This was seen until the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the first UK-wide lockdown. Since then, both actual and expected job outcomes decreased, Due to the decline in starts following the lockdown, the delayed effect of COVID-19 on expected job outcomes is observed in the marginal decrease between June 2020 and December 2020. From October 2020, both actual and expected job outcomes increased, with actual job outcomes exceeding expected job outcomes consistently from July 2021.

Since the all-time high seen in October 2021, the actual number of job outcomes has fallen slightly to 2,200 in May 2022. This number still exceeds the expected number of job outcomes (1,700) and has surpassed expected values in each of the last three months. This should be seen in the context of the changing composition of the labour market, with providers catering to new industries, and a cohort of participants who may not have required the programme prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Actual job outcomes as a proportion of expected job outcomes, for each eligibility group, by outcome month for September 2018 to May 2022

Source: WHP statistics data tables

Nationally, the three eligibility groups had performed similarly up to September 2020. This suggests that the WHP was achieving a similar proportion of expected outcomes for each eligibility group, taking into account the respective sizes of the groups. Since June 2021, all eligibility groups have shown an increase in the proportion of the job outcomes achieved. In recent months, all groups have exceeded the expected number of job outcomes.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, mandatory referrals to the WHP for the Long-term Unemployed (LTU) group were suspended but WHP places were available if a Jobcentre Plus work coach considered this to be beneficial for a claimant. LTU referrals resumed in May 2022.

Provider context

There are key contextual differences to take into account between providers and Local Government Partners (LGPs). Participants must earn above a fixed threshold to achieve a job outcome through any provider nationally or in an LGP area. However, the thresholds used by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and West London Alliance are greater than those used by other LGPs and by the national providers of the WHP. LGPs, as solely urban areas, have different demographics to Contract Package Areas (CPAs). Therefore, the demographics of eligible cohorts may be different to those of the national CPAs. LGP services started about four months after the national CPAs.

LGPs have also secured extra funding from the European Social Fund to increase participant numbers. This is not the case for national WHP providers. Actual job availability in different areas does not necessarily scale in line with the increase in participant numbers. More detail explaining these principles, their effects and other important contextual information may be found in our background information note.

Actual job outcomes as a proportion of expected job outcomes for each region (and provider), September 2018 to May 2022

Source: WHP statistics data tables

Note: The provider name for Wales has been changed from Remploy to Maximus. Remploy is operated by Maximus following a joint partnership in 2015.

Across all regions and providers, overall performance of actual job outcomes ranges between 78% (Local London, Maximus) and 110% (Wales, Maximus) of the expected number of outcomes, when summed across the period September 2018 to May 2022. Note that these figures include all participants who have started the programme within this period. Those who have started more recently have not had as much time to achieve job outcomes and may still go on to do so.

Users should take into account the WHP is delivered across England and Wales by 5 providers across 6 areas, known as Contract Package Areas (CPAs). However, in London and Greater Manchester, where devolution deals are in place, the WHP is commissioned and contract managed by the local authorities, known as Local Government Partners (LGP). As a result, comparisons between regions and providers should be made with great care and the contextual differences between CPAs and LGPs should be considered, for example there are differences between the outcome definitions used. See the background information note for more information.

Job outcome performance against expectations for the latest 6 and 12 months, split by region (and provider)

Source: WHP statistics data tables

Note: The provider name for Wales has been changed from Remploy to Maximus. Remploy is operated by Maximus following a joint partnership in 2015.

Across all regions and providers the actual number of job outcomes continues to exceed the expected number. This ranges between 111% (Local London, Maximus) and 142% (Home Counties, Shaw Trust) in the most recent 12-month period available (between May 2021 and May 2022), and 111% (Local London, Maximus) and 140% (Home Counties, Shaw Trust) in the most recent 6-month period available (between December 2021 and May 2022).

8. About these statistics

This statistical summary gives an overview. Key points and trends are presented using charts and commentary. The information underlying the charts is available on Stat-Xplore and as supporting tables.

Rounding

Volumes and amounts have been rounded as detailed in the background information note. Percentages are calculated using numbers prior to disclosure controls and/or rounding, and rounded to the nearest whole percentage point. For these reasons, some totals may not sum to 100.

Status

Work and Health Programme statistics are official statistics that are experimental. They are published in order 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.

How can this data be used?

You can use this data:

• for monitoring the overall flow of participants being referred to and starting on the WHP, those achieving first earnings and job outcomes

• for monitoring the differences in demographics of programme participants for gender, age group, eligibility group and area

You cannot use this data:

• for making simple comparisons between different demographic groups (gender, age group, eligibility group and area) in terms of the success of the programme

Where to find out more

Read the WHP background information note for more Information about the statistics.

The Work and Health Programme provider guidance is used by programme providers.

Information on the Work Programme, a programme which aimed to get unemployed people into sustained employment can be found in the collection of Work Programme statistics.

Information on Work Choice, a programme which aimed to help disabled people find, keep and progress in a job, can be found in the collection of Work Choice statistics.

Information on Specialist Employability Support, a voluntary programme which is aimed at helping disabled people with complex barriers that other support is not suitable for to find a job, can be found in the collection of Specialist Employability Support statistics.

Information on the Access to Work provision, which is aimed to support people who have a disability or long-term health condition start or stay in work, can be found in the collection of Access to Work statistics.

Users can also produce their own tables and access demographic breakdowns using Stat-Xplore.

9. Future plans and your feedback

Expected changes in future releases

As part of our planned ongoing development of the WHP Official Statistics, some changes may be made to the publication in future releases. We will pre-announce all major changes to users. In the next release (due November 2022) we are not making any major changes.

Feedback and queries

Authors: Daniel O’Hagan, Abdullah Ibrahim and Luke Stockham

Lead Statistician: Tracy Hills

If you have any queries or feedback about existing WHP Official Statistics, or the changes proposed above, please email epass.team@dwp.gov.uk.

DWP would like to hear your views on our statistical publications. If you use any of our statistics publications, we would be interested in hearing what you use them for and how well they meet your requirements. Please send your comments by email to: stats-consultation@dwp.gov.uk.

Users can also join the ‘Welfare and Benefit Statistics’ community at StatsUserNet. DWP announces items of interest to users via this forum, as well as replying to users’ questions.

ISBN: 978-1-78659-450-1