Welcome to the November edition of in touch

Each month, in touch keeps you up to date with the latest news from Jobcentre Plus.

In this month's edition you can find out more about how Jobcentre Plus is responding to the economic slow down, and a new guide to the benefits, training and support that Jobcentre Plus can offer. There's also news on improvements to the way customers move between benefits and work, and details of our new benefit fraud campaign.

If you have a suggestion for a future edition, or any feedback, please let us know.

Latest news

Supporting people back to work

As you will have seen from recent employment figures, an increasing number of people are coming to Jobcentre Plus for help to get quickly back into work. For many this may be the first time they have needed our services and for everyone, it is of course a worrying time in their lives.

To ensure that people get the support they need we have:

• Retained staffing at the level used to prepare for the introduction of Employment & Support Allowance. This is some 2,000 more than originally planned, so that we will be well placed to help deal with rising unemployment.
• Doubled the investment in our Rapid Response service which will be offered to every employer with 20 or more redundancies and in local communities who have been disproportionately affected by multiple smaller scale redundancies. Jobcentre Plus will work with partners such as Regional Development Agencies and local authorities and skills agencies in England, Scotland and Wales to help employees facing redundancies. This help could include skills matching, help with jobsearch skills and access to training and reskilling opportunities.
• The service works with both employers and employees. Further information is available from your Jobcentre Plus District Office.
• Updated our Jobkit for individual customers. This provides advice on finding work, including CV and interview tips, and on claiming benefits.
• Published a new customer leaflet called 'Find your way back to work' which is a simple guide to our services, benefits and training. Copies of the leaflet can be obtained by calling 0845 850 8880. This line is open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday. The leaflet can also be downloaded from the Jobcentre Plus website as can a new leaflet for employers called 'Find your way to help' which sets out the services offered by Jobcentre Plus.

We will continue to review the way we work to ensure that we can offer the services people need during this difficult economic period. We will keep you informed of developments.

Successful launch for Employment and Support Allowance…

Employment and Support Allowance went live across the country on 27 October as planned, bringing in a new way of helping customers with an illness or disability move into work rather than stay on benefits.

Jobcentre Plus contact centres successfully handled over 30,000 calls in the first few days after go live and the first benefit payment under ESA was made on 29 October. Call volumes have been high due to the number of existing Incapacity Benefit customers ringing to ask how ESA affects them. We are explaining that, as you will know from our factsheets, it does not affect them at all at this stage.

The systems and procedures that support the delivery of Employment and Support Allowance are settling in well so far and staff are quickly adapting to their roles. It's been a great start but this is only the beginning and we will inevitably have a range of issues to address as our shared customers move through the Employment and Support Allowance journey.

Information and downloadable material about Employment and Support Allowance has been expanded and can be obtained from the DWP website. They include a visual representation of the customer journey through a claim, a series of detailed factsheets and a number of customer stories. The factsheets also explain the rules about 'linked claims' for customers who have previously claimed Incapacity Benefit or Income Support.

The site will continue to be updated and enhanced in the coming weeks and months so that you can continue to advise your clients appropriately.

Stakeholder news

In and Out of Work Pilots

October saw the start of national implementation of the In and Out of Work processes, following six successful pilots that developed new processes to improve the way benefits and credits are paid to people moving in and out of work.

In the past, customers had to supply information separately to Jobcentre Plus for Jobseeker's Allowance and Income Support, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs for Tax Credits and local authorities for Housing and Council Tax Benefits. Working together, the three organisations have developed a new system where Jobcentre Plus collect information for all these benefits, then shares it securely enabling simultaneous calculation of entitlements.

Evaluation has revealed that not only does the new process provide faster payments, on average 15% end to end, but has also increased customer confidence in taking the step into the labour market, thanks to a smoother transition between work and benefits.

The first phase of rollout will commence in December with 14 new local authority areas adopting the new service. Full national implementation is expected to be completed over the next 18 months. More information about the pilots can be found at the DWP website.

Customer News

Benefit changes for lone parents

Benefit changes being introduced from 24 November 2008 mean that most lone parent claimants with a youngest child aged 12 or over will have to look for paid work and will no longer be able to make a new or repeat claim to Income Support. They will be able to apply for Jobseeker's Allowance or, if unable to work due to a health condition or disability, Employment and Support Allowance.

These changes will not apply to lone parents entitled to Income Support for other reasons. For example, if they:

• have children who are entitled to the middle-rate or highest-rate care component of Disability Living Allowance
• get Carer's Allowance
• are fostering and have a foster child living with them.

This list is not exhaustive and lone parents are asked to speak to an adviser if they are unsure about whether the changes apply to them.

If, on 24 November 2008, the Lone Parent is already a full-time student or taking part in a full-time course of training as part of New Deal for lone parents, or similar, they should be able to continue receiving Income Support until their course ends, they stop attending or their youngest child reaches the age that applied when they started the training.

Further changes will be introduced from October 2009 for lone parents with a youngest child aged over 10 and, from October 2010, for lone parents with a youngest child aged 7 or over.

Lone parents making a new or repeat claim will be told about the changes when they contact Jobcentre Plus to make a claim to benefit.

Existing Jobcentre Plus customers affected by the change will receive a letter in November, confirming the changes, and, 8 weeks before they are due to lose their Income Support, they will receive an invitation to a voluntary interview to discuss the changes and get help to make a new claim.

You can find out more about the changes by reading the information for advisers at the DWP website, and information for customers at the Jobcentre Plus website.

TV ads home in on benefit thieves

TV screens across the UK have been carrying a warning message for benefit thieves since 3 November in two new commercials launched by the Department for Work and Pensions.

The ads mark the national roll out of the current benefit fraud campaign, "We're Closing In". They feature two 'fly-on-the-wall' benefit fraud scenarios: a man receiving cash in hand for casual labour whilst claiming benefit and a woman claiming that she lives alone even though she is living with her boyfriend. The commercials bring home the "We're Closing In" message that there's no escape from detection. The national roll out also includes internet, press and PR activity as well as more local press, radio and outdoor advertising across 30 local authority areas.

The campaign hots up again in early 2009 when a further 10 local authority areas join in. You can find out more about "We're Closing In" at the DWP website.

National Identity Scheme

The implementation of the National Identity Scheme starts on 25 November 2008 with the introduction of Identity Cards for Foreign Nationals. Identity Cards for Foreign Nationals replace the vignettes (or stickers) previously placed in passports of those granted permission to remain in the United Kingdom.

The ID Card for Foreign Nationals will be issued on a roll-out programme based on the immigration category under which the migrant has been granted leave to remain. The first categories to be rolled out are student and marriage/civil partnership categories.

The credit card sized cards will provide evidence of the holder's nationality, identity and status in the UK and will confirm whether the holder has eligibility to public funds and/or right to work.

DWP will accept identity cards as a primary form of ID, and customer facing staff in Jobcentre Plus are aware of the introduction of the cards and how to check them.

Further information about the identity cards for foreign nationals including images of the card and the security features contained on the card is available on the UK Border Agency website.

About in touch

in touch aims to provide you with short summaries of the latest news, progress of our modernisation programme, forthcoming changes to benefit rules, updates on performance, as well as news on important policy issues which affect our shared customers. in touch complements Touchbase, the quarterly publication from DWP, by providing a monthly focus on Jobcentre Plus related issues.

If someone you know might like to receive in touch, they can subscribe online. Jobcentre Plus will not pass on any details to a third party. Your information will only be used to provide you with information on Jobcentre Plus and DWP business.

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