Open Public Services 2012 & Work Programme & Jobcentre Plus

In July 2011, the Government published the Open Public Services White Paper. They promised in that Paper to provide regular reports on progress in opening up public services. This paper, as well as giving details on the major reforms of the core services, also constitutes the first such progress report on the reforms across the public services as a whole.

Under the section ‘Commissioned services’ it says:

Activity - Providers held to account – delivery of the Work Programme
Commitment - The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will hold providers to account for delivery of the Work Programme by monitoring performance more closely than under similar programmes and ensuring that they meet minimum performance levels specified in contracts.
Status - In progress
Update -  For people using pensions and benefits services, a complaints process will ensure that their concerns are addressed – providers could be charged £5,000 if complaints against them are upheld. Transparency indicators will be published on the Number 10 website showing whether or not the Work Programme is meeting its objectives.
The first indicator of the ‘Other Data Sets’ on DWP’s Quarterly Data Summary will monitor the proportion of customers who have been on the Work Programme and achieved a job outcome payment. The first data for this measure will be available from Q4 2012/13.

Under the section ‘Ensuring diversity of provision’ it says:

Activity - Diversifying provision – Jobcentre Plus
Commitment - Two Jobcentre Plus districts are becoming ‘local autonomy trailblazers’, testing an approach that gives frontline staff the freedom to deliver services in the way they see fit for their local areas.
Building on these pilots – and with two more districts to follow later this summer – the Government will look at how this approach can be extended to more Jobcentre Plus districts across the country.
Status - In progress
Update - Under current plans for extending local autonomy, we want to set up at least four more pilot districts over the next year.
By 2015, we want to roll out a national model of autonomy within the business model for Universal Credit. The design of this model will be informed by research to explore the experience of the initial local autonomy pilots.
As part of our fundamental reforms, we will re-evaluate the role of the Jobcentre Plus network in the context of Universal Credit. Findings from the first two pilots will be reported in mid-2012 and will inform the development of forthcoming local autonomy pilots.

Open Public Services 2012