Official Statistics

Work and Health Programme statistics to November 2022

Published 23 February 2023

Applies to England and Wales

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

This is a quarterly release of experimental statistics on the Work and Health Programme and includes data up to November 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.

During the COVID-19 pandemic up until May 2022, mandatory referrals to the WHP for the Long-term Unemployed (LTU) group were suspended. However, some WHP places were available if a Jobcentre Plus work coach considered this to be beneficial for a claimant. At the end of October 2022 they were suspended again. The labour market employment support landscape has changed with the launch of the ‘Plan for Jobs’, including the Restart Scheme. From November 2022 any LTU, defined as 9 months unemployed, will be considered for the Restart Scheme first.

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 25 May 2023.

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. The WHP was originally scheduled to stop taking all referrals at the end of October 2022. However, the Department for Work & Pensions has extended referrals for the Disability and Early Access Groups from November 2022 to September 2024 and have agreed with providers and Local Government Partners to provide support for around 100,000 more people, most of whom will be disabled.

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

Up to October 2022, the WHP was a European Union funded project as part of the European Social Fund (ESF) 2014 to 2020. The European Social Fund ends in 2023 and is not being used as a funding source for the Work and Health Programme extension period from November 2022.

2. Main Stories

The statistics show:

• between November 2017 and November 2022, 360,000 individuals have been referred to the programme with 250,000 having started on the programme

• of the number of participants who started on the programme between November 2017 and November 2020, 26% achieved a job outcome and 41% achieved first earnings from employment within 24 months (a rise of 2 percentage points on the previous quarter for each metric)

• the latest monthly performance level of the programme is at 96%. This has gradually declined from the all-time high seen in October 2021 (157%) back to pre-pandemic levels. See expectations for more information on how these figures are calculated

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. Note: referrals to the WHP LTU group are only available between April 2018 and October 2022.

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.

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

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. Users can interpret these as the number of job outcomes anticipated when the WHP was rolled out. These are based upon pre-programme expectations which were drawn up by DWP as the performance expectation for the programme when it was designed. When pre-extension referrals ceased at the end of October 2022 it was agreed subsequent cohorts would be assessed against a new contractual profile based upon, although not identical to, DWP’s pre-programme expectation.

Please note that all figures for this release use the pre-programme expectations. For more information on the background to these expectations and to understand how they were created, see our background information note.

Timeline of the roll out of the WHP from November 2017 to November 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. LTU 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.

4. Joining the Work and Health Programme

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

• 430,000 referrals (this counts each referral for individuals referred multiple times)

• 360,000 individuals referred (individuals can have multiple referrals but are only counted once)

• 250,000 starts on the programme

In the most recent two months, the number of individuals referred and starts have increased

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

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

Note: Both the individuals referred and starts measures above are calculated using the month in which referral or start was achieved so caution should be used in direct comparisons between both metrics.

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). 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. They hit their lowest levels in April and May 2020 and rose to their respective all-time highs in March 2021 and June 2021. Both measures then entered a period of stabilisation until sharply increasing in the most recent month.

Across the whole lifespan of the programme, the proportion of individuals referred that have started is 68%. 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 a participant to start on 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-day SLA period.

To date, the largest proportion of individuals who started on the WHP were in the Disability eligibility group

The number of starts to the WHP by eligibility group and referral month, November 2017 to October 2022 and November 2022

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

Of the number of individuals starting on the WHP since it began to October 2022; 188,000 are from the Disability group (77%), 29,000 are in the Early Access group (12%) and 27,000 are in the LTU group (11%). Since the extension of the programme, starting from 1st November 2022, 2,500 were from the Disability group (76%) and 800 were from the Early Access group (24%).

Note: LTU referrals were suspended at the end of October 2022. The labour market employment support landscape changed, with the launch of the ‘Plan for Jobs’, including the Restart Scheme. From November 2022, any LTU, defined as nine months unemployed, will be considered for the Restart Scheme first.

Both the individuals referred and starts measures above are calculated using the referral month. Individuals may not start in the month they are referred so caution should be used in direct comparisons between individuals referred and starts.

In the last 6 months, LTU starts were gradually rising until their suspension at the end of October 2022

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

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

Since the programme began until June 2019, the distribution of starts was falling for the Disability eligibility group and rising for the LTU Group. This trend reversed up until the impact of COVID-19 was seen on the programme, where most starts were in the Disability and Early Access groups. In the latest 6-month period, LTU cases were gradually rising until the latest month where they were suspended to allow any participants unemployed for 9 or more months to be referred to Restart first.

Wales currently has the highest proportion of individuals referred who have started on the WHP

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

To date, Wales has the highest proportion of individuals referred who have started on the WHP.

Table: Number of referrals and starts by area, from November 2017 to November 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	32,700	27,200	18,600	68%
Wales	Maximus	1st December 2017	24,800	22,200	16,700	75%
Central	Shaw Trust	15th January 2018	59,000	49,400	32,200	65%
North East	Reed In Partnership	15th January 2018	76,000	67,500	48,000	71%
Southern	Seetec Pluss	15th January 2018	56,800	48,800	33,100	68%
Home counties	Shaw Trust	15th January 2018	36,600	31,100	19,800	64%
Greater Manchester Combined Authority	Ingeus and The Growth Company	29th January 2018	39,700	32,600	22,500	69%
West London Alliance (WL)	Shaw Trust	26th February 2018	24,500	20,000	11,300	57%
Central London Forward (CL)	Ingeus	1st March 2018	41,400	34,300	23,500	68%
South London Partnership (SL)	Reed In Partnership	1st March 2018	11,500	9,600	6,000	63%
Local London (LL)	Maximus	1st March 2018	23,800	21,200	15,100	71%

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.

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

Up until November 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 proportion of individuals referred who have started is in Wales (75%) and the lowest is in West London (57%).

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

26% of participants who started on the WHP achieved a job outcome within 24 months

The flow of participants referred to the WHP up to November 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.

Of the 185,000 individuals who were referred to the WHP by November 2020, 72% started. Subsequently, of the individuals who started; 26% achieved a job outcome and 41% achieved first earnings from employment within 24 months.

Overall, the number of participants achieving first earnings and job outcomes has fallen since the post-COVID high

Number of participants achieving first earnings from employment and job outcomes by month in which they occurred, November 2017 to November 2022

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

Note:

• both the first earnings from employment and job outcome measures above are shown by the month in which they were achieved. Participants who have had both may appear at different points in the chart so caution should be used in direct monthly comparisons between both metrics

• a seasonal effect is seen in the first earnings data, where the number of participants achieving first earnings from employment decrease during the winter months each year

• first earnings from employment and job outcomes are not directly comparable as job outcome figures include those who are self-employed while 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

The number of first earnings and job outcomes have 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. Since then, job outcomes have been gradually declining but remain above levels observed pre-pandemic. Of the total number of participants who started between November 2017 and November 2022, 63,000 participants have reached the job outcome earnings threshold or 6 months of being in self-employment with 1,500 of these being achieved in the most recent month (November 2022).

The number of first earnings reached an all-time high in May 2021 and appeared stable until November 2021. At this point there was a sharp decline, however, since January 2022 an overall rise in first earnings from employment has been observed. As of November 2022, 100,000 participants have achieved first earnings from employment with 2,300 of these being achieved in the most recent month (November 2022).

Since the pandemic, first earnings sharply increased for all measures but are stabilising for the 6-month measure with increased data availability

Percentage of starts achieving first earnings from employment within 6 months (December 2017 to May 2022), 12 months (December 2017 to November 2021) and 24 months (December 2017 to November 2020) of starting, by starting month

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

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 until the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020). 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 until the most recent six months which have seen a slight rise. 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. The 24-month measure reached a peak of 62% in October 2020 and had been on a steep upwards trend from April 2020. For the first time, the 24-month measure includes participants who may not have required the programme prior to the COVID-19 pandemic due to the changing composition of the labour market, with providers catering to new industries.

Within each time period, the Early Access group has the highest percentage of starts achieving first earnings from employment

Percentage of starts achieving first earnings from employment within 6 months (November 2017 to May 2022), 12 months (November 2017 to November 2021) and 24 months (November 2017 to November 2020) of starting, by eligibility group

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

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

• from 26% to 39% and then to 43% for those from the Disability group

• from 28% to 41% and then to 45% for those from the Early Access group

• from 17% to 27% and then to 32% for those from the LTU group

For all groups there is a notable increase in the proportion of individuals achieving first earnings between 6 and 12 months. There is a further smaller increase between 12 and 24 months. Please note that the 6, 12, and 24-month measures all include cohorts following COVID-19 when the composition of the Disability and Early Access groups changed, which brought some participants closer to the labour market. This is more noticeable in the 6 and 12-month measures, as they contain more participants who have achieved a job outcome since the pandemic.

Since the pandemic, job outcomes sharply increased for all measures but are stabilising for the 6-month measure with increased data availability

Percentage of starts achieving job outcomes within 6 months (December 2017 to May 2022), 12 months (December 2017 to November 2021) and 24 months (December 2017 to November 2020) of starting, by starting month.

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

The percentage of participants achieving a job outcome within 6 months had been 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 trend for the 6-month measure gradually declined between February 2021 and December 2021 before eventually rising and stabilising between January 2022 and May 2022. The 12-month measure reached a peak of 32% in January 2021 and continues to gradually decline. The 24-month measure reached a peak of 46% in October 2020 and had been on a steep upwards trend from April 2020. For the first time, the 24-month measure includes participants who may not have required the programme prior to the COVID-19 pandemic due to the changing composition of the labour market, with providers catering to new industries.

Within each period, the Early Access group has the highest percentage of starts achieving job outcomes

Percentage of starts achieving job outcomes within 6 months (November 2017 to May 2022), 12 months (November 2017 to November 2021) and 24 months (November 2017 to November 2020) of starting, by eligibility group

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

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 21% and then to 28% for those from the Disability group

• from 9% to 23% and then to 30% for those from the Early Access group

• from 4% to 12% and then to 18% for those from the LTU group

Please note, for participants who have achieved first earnings from employment and/or a job outcome:

• the 6-month measure includes participants who started between November 2017 to May 2022

• the 12-month measure includes participants who started between November 2017 to November 2021

• the 24-month measure includes participants who started between November 2017 to November 2020. 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 November 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 November 2020). For this reason, each proportion across the three measures will examine different cohorts of participants meaning they should be considered individually.

Proportion of participants in the Early Access eligibility group who have achieved a job outcome within 24 months has risen in last three months

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 November 2020

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

When considering the percentage of all participants starting that proceeded to achieve a job outcome within 24 months, the Disability eligibility group more than doubled following the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (between April and May 2020) and continued to gradually rise in the following months, until slightly decreasing in the most recent 2 months (from 40% to 38%). Over the last quarter, a small rise was observed in the Early Access group, whilst no change was seen in the LTU group, following the notable decrease between May and June 2020.

Of the total number of participants who had started on the programme between November 2017 and October 2022, the Disability group accounts for the largest number of starts, and they also make up most job outcomes, accounting for 80% of the total number of job outcomes. The Early Access group and LTU groups each account for 13% and 7% of the total number of job outcomes respectively.

Of the total number of participants who had started in the Disability Group between November 2017 and November 2020, 28% achieved a job outcome. For the Early Access Group, 30% of those that started achieved a job outcome and for the LTU Group, 18% of those that started achieved a job outcome.

Figures after November 2020 are not presented in section 5, 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 up to and including November 2020 have been on 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: although support on the programme ends at 21 months the time to accumulate earnings to achieve a job outcome finishes at 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.

Whilst more males start on the WHP, the rate of job outcomes achieved within 24 months by both males and females is comparable within eligibility groups

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

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

Of the total number of starts to the programme, 59% are male, 40% are female and the remaining 1% are unknown. Despite the proportional difference, the rate of job outcomes achieved within 24 months of starting by both groups is comparable (26% of males and 27% of females). Outcomes by male and female are comparable across the eligibility groups. In the Disability group, 28% of males and females have achieved a job outcome in 24 months. In the Early Access group, 29% of males and 30% of females have achieved a job outcome in 24 months. In the LTU group, 18% of males and females have achieved 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 28% for the Disability group, 30% for the Early Access group and 18% for the LTU.

The highest proportion of job outcomes within 24 months of starting are achieved by 18-24 year-olds, with Wales being the highest performing region

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

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

The percentage of participants who have started on the WHP and have achieved a job outcome within 24 months varies by region and is lowest for West London (Shaw Trust) at 22% and highest for Wales (Maximus) at 33%.

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 who have started on the WHP and have achieved a job outcome within 24 months is lowest for the 60+ age group at 15% and increases as the age groups decrease, to a high of 37% 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. Users can interpret these as the number of job outcomes anticipated when the WHP was rolled out. These are based upon pre-programme expectations which were drawn up by DWP as the performance expectation for the programme when it was designed. When pre-extension referrals ceased at the end of October 2022 it was agreed subsequent cohorts would be assessed against a new contractual profile based upon, although not identical to, DWP’s pre-programme expectation.

Please note that all figures for this release use the pre-programme expectations. For more information on the background to these expectations and to understand how they were created, see our background information note.

The latest monthly performance level of the WHP was 96% in November 2022

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

In the latest month, actual job outcomes decreased below expectations

Number of actual job outcomes achieved compared to expected number, by outcomes month for September 2018 to November 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 until July 2022.

In the most recent month available (November 2022), the actual number of job outcomes has fallen to 1,500, which falls below the expected number of job outcomes (1,600). 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.

In November 2022, the Disability eligibility group had the best performance against expectations

Actual job outcomes as a proportion of expected job outcomes, for each eligibility group, by outcome month for September 2018 to November 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. From September 2020 to January 2021, the performance of the Disability and Early Access groups rapidly increased to meet expected performance levels. Another increase in performance levels of these groups was observed between June 2021 and the all-time high seen in October 2021. Since then, overall performance levels of the Disability and Early Access groups are gradually returning to expected levels. The LTU group followed a similar trend from June 2021. In the most recent quarter overall, only the Disability group performed above expectations, until the most recent month. In the most recent month, performance levels were at 99% for the Disability group, 90% for the Early Access Group and 72% for the LTU group.

Provider context

There are key contextual differences to consider 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.

Overall performance meets or exceeds expectations in Wales and the North West between November 2017 and November 2022

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

Source: WHP statistics data tables.

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 November 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.

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.

In the most recent 6 and 12 months, actual job outcomes as a proportion of expected job outcomes are highest in West London and the North West areas respectively

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

Source: WHP statistics data tables.

Across all regions and providers, except for Local London (Maximus), the actual number of job outcomes continues to exceed the expected number, for the 12-month measure (between November 2021 and November 2022). This ranges between 97% (Local London, Maximus) and 130% (West London Alliance, Shaw Trust). In the most recent 6-month period available (between May 2022 and November 2022), actual number of job outcomes against expected job outcomes ranges between 81% (Local London, Maximus) and 128% (West London Alliance, Shaw Trust).

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 are 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 May 2023 we are not making any major changes.

Feedback and queries

Authors: Daniel O’Hagan, Craig Mejury 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 the EPASS Team.

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: 978-1-78659-491-4