Despite employment minister Chris Grayling’s announcement that the Department of Work and Pensions will pump an extra £5 million into the mandatory work scheme to help unemployed people get off job seekers allowance the investment may have little to no return.
DWP research shows that the scheme is having little effect on job seekers employment opportunities.
The research submitted to the House of Commons Library on Tuesday evening found that in the short term the manatory work scheme was good at getting people off Job Seekers Allowance. However over a five month period those who took part in the scheme were more likely to return to benefits than those who never took part in the scheme.
The study, which compared the outcomes of more than 3,000 Mandatory Work Activity referrals and 125,000 non-referred jobseekers, concluded that the scheme had zero effect in helping people get a job.
Mr Grayling defended the scheme telling the Guardian
“This was a scheme our own Jobcentre Plus advisers wanted to introduce. This impact analysis only covers the first three months of the programme a year ago and is already out of date.”
