Welcome to the June edition of in touch

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

This edition includes some great news about how customers view their experience of our 'First Contact' service; information on the recent formation of the Employment and Support Allowance communications working group; and an update on the European Social Fund project. There's also the latest information on lone parent obligations as well.

In last month's edition we asked subscribers to give us feedback on in touch by completing our online survey. We were really pleased to hear that most of our subscribers find in touch useful (90 per cent), that the information included is valuable for their work (83 per cent) and that it helps them to better advise their customers (79 per cent). Thanks to everyone who completed the survey for your views and suggestions.

If you have a suggestion for a future edition, or any other feedback about in touch, please send us an email.

Latest news

Jobcentre Plus First Contact Survey

In late 2007, over 2,000 Jobcentre Plus customers who had recently made a new claim for benefit were interviewed as part of the 'First Contact Survey 2007'.

Results were very encouraging with 78 per cent of customers reporting they were satisfied with the new claims service, whether via telephone or face to face. 93 per cent of customers making a claim via our contact centre were satisfied with the new claims call itself, and 96 per cent felt they had been treated fairly and politely by our contact centre staff.

The results reflect the excellent progress we're making. Last year, our contact centres were accredited as meeting wider industry standards, and the latest information shows that over 95 per cent of calls from customers are now answered first time, and over 98 per cent of call backs are completed within 36 hours. We'll also be taking forward a number of recommendations from the research to enhance the service offered to customers.

The results outlined here are just some of the highlights from the research. You can read the full report online. We'll also be undertaking further research, including in depth interviews and focus groups with new claimants, later this year.

Pathways to Work is now available throughout Britain.

In April, the Provider-led Pathways to Work programme went live in the remaining 16 districts. This completes the rollout programme and makes the service available to help more customers move off incapacity benefits and into work.

The full roll-out, which is a significant achievement, builds on our partnerships with organisations in the private and voluntary sector. It also builds on the success of both the first phase of the Provider-led service and the success of Jobcentre Plus-led Pathways to Work that we already offer in a further 18 districts.

We know that working with key experienced external providers can deliver excellent, tailored help to meet the specific needs of our customers.

Our aim is for Pathways to deliver more help, extra support and greater opportunities to those with health problems and disabilities. Not only to help more people get jobs, but to help them stay in work, with a view to helping lift more families out of poverty.

Chief Executive Lesley Strathie said: "Pathways to Work has helped thousands of our customers find sustainable jobs and I am delighted that by working with partners, we can now extend that success nationwide.

Offering the service throughout Britain is vital because Pathways will be the cornerstone of the Employment and Support Allowance regime when it is introduced in October".

Find out more information on Pathways. There's also online information about Pathways for customers.

In focus

Centralisation of Maternity Allowance processing

In December 2007, Jobcentre Plus started to migrate Maternity Allowance work into four Centralised Benefit Delivery Centres. Here's what our maternity allowance processing plan will look like by summer 2008:

• Bury St Edmunds BDC will cover the East of England and the South East (which will be fully migrated by the summer 2008).
• Stoke BDC will cover the East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber.
• Wrexham BDC will cover the North East, Wales and London (London will be fully migrated by June 2008).
• Yeovil BDC with cover the North West, South West and Scotland.

Centralisation of benefits means a concentration of expertise, as we use of staff who are trained to deal with that particular benefit. Most calls are dealt with by the person answering the telephone and the customer's query is dealt with there and then.

Together with the introduction of modern technology, advanced telephony systems and standardised benefit processes, this will enable Jobcentre Plus to deliver a better and more improved service to benefit customers. Indeed, from April 2007 to March 2008 our clearance times were 18.48 days against a target of 20 days.

New European Social Fund projects

People who need extra help to improve their job prospects and skills are benefiting from 750 new European Social Fund (ESF) projects which are being rolled out across England.

The projects were successful in winning funding from the first tendering rounds under the new 2007-2013 European Social Fund programme for England.

The programme is investing £2 billion of ESF funding (of which DWP will manage £0.5 billion), which is matched to £2 billion of government funding.

Over seven years, the new programme will help:

• 200,000 people into jobs
• 140,000 of the most disadvantaged people make positive progress towards a job
• 80,000 disadvantaged young people into learning or a job.

It will also help:

• 160,000 employees gain basic skills
• 175,000 employees gain qualifications.

DWP expects to help in the region of 130,000 customers during the period 2007-2011.

For further information about the new ESF programme visit www.esf.gov.uk.

Stakeholder news

A round-up of business information for stakeholders

Customer Representative Group

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) replaces the current incapacity benefits for new customers from 27 October 2008. To support its introduction, Jobcentre Plus has joined forces with key Customer Representative Groups to form a joint ESA communications working group.

Understandably, the new benefit has been the subject of intense interest among Customer Representative Groups (CRGs). In response, Jobcentre Plus has delivered an ongoing programme of engagement activities, including local and national communication events, media updates and discussions in a range of forums.

Building on this activity, representatives from the Jobcentre Plus ESA programme and the wider Departmental communications community started working with a number of groups. This innovative way of working promises to deliver mutually beneficial outcomes, including:

• improved liaison arrangements between the respective organisations
• a better understanding of the customer's perspective on ESA
• better-focused information and communication products to help CRGs provide support and advice to their customers
• an ongoing review process to ensure that products are accurate and fit for purpose.

The introduction of ESA is a major development in welfare provision, building on the success of Pathways to Work. It ensures that new customers with an illness or disability are assessed in terms of what they can do, not just what they cannot do, and that they receive personalised support to help them return to work where that's possible.

For more information about the new allowance, visit the ESA website.

Customer news

A round-up of information of interest to those advising customers

Changes to Lone parent obligations

As part of DWP's aim to eradicate child poverty, a three year strategy is proposing that from November 2008 lone parents with older children may no longer be entitled to Income Support solely on the grounds of being a lone parent*. Instead those able to work may claim Jobseeker's Allowance. They will be expected to look for suitable work and, if necessary, acquire the skills they need to do so, in return for personalised help and support.

Subject to parliamentary approval, the change will be introduced for lone parents with:

• A youngest child aged 12 or over from 24 November 2008;
• A youngest child aged 10 or over from 26 October 2009; and
• A youngest child aged 7 or over from 25 October 2010.

To underpin this change to lone parent obligations, a series of new measures have been designed to support lone parents into work. These measures will complement existing provision that is already available to support lone parents into work.

As of April 2008 the following support is available nationally:

• Options and Choices Events for Lone Parents
• Guaranteed Job Interview
• National extension of In Work Credit
• The national rollout of the In Work Emergency Discretion Fund
• In Work Advisory Support from Jobcentre Plus advisers
• Piloting the provision of upfront childcare costs in London
• New Deal Plus for Lone Parents' pilot extended to couple parents and running until 2011.

Some lone parents will continue to be able to claim Income Support after November 2008, subject to the existing eligibility criteria, e.g. those who are foster carers, carers, or lone parents with children in receipt of the middle or higher rate of DLA.

Eradicating child poverty and enabling families to live better, more independent lives with brighter futures is a priority for DWP. We are more focused than ever before on helping people who can work to work, and we are reforming the welfare system to equip people to get the skills for work, get into paid work, stay in work and progress at work.

More information about our aims and these changes can be found on the DWP 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.

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