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New deal for people aged 25 and over

Labour Market Trends, Sep 2003

News and research

DEPARTMETN FOR WORK AND PENSIONS NEWS

ASSESSMENT OF the New Deal programme for people aged 25 and over (ND25 plus) has found that, for men, ND25 plus participants were 4 percentage points less likely to be unemployed 12 months after entering the programme than if it had not been introduced. For women, the impact was negligible.

A report published by the Department for Work and Pensions brings together the available evidence from research into ND25 plus. It covers both qualitative and quantitative analysis, and new analysis of administrative data for clients who have participated in ND25 plus over the past four years.

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The national ND25 plus programme has passed through three distinct phases of operation: the original programme (June 1998 to April 2000); the enhanced programme (April 2000 to April 2001); and the re-engineered programme (April 2001 to present day). In addition, a number of pilots operated in 28 areas between November 1998 and March 2001.

There were a little below half a million ND25 plus entrants between June 1998 and June 2002. Around one in six entrants were women, around three-quarters were aged 25 to 49, and over time there was an increasing percentage of entrants from ethnic minorities and from people with a disability. For leavers, around one half returned to claim JSA, while roughly one in six went into unsubsidised employment.

In the pilots, roughly 8 per cent more pilot participants had left JSA 18 months after entering ND25 plus than members of a comparison group. There was some evidence that pilot participants were more likely to leave JSA to go into work. There was no evidence of any increase in a range of measures of employability, and mixed evidence on the quality of jobs achieved by pilot participants.

The re-engineered programme introduced in April 2001 addressed some of the problems identified with the earlier programmes, creating an individually tailored package of provision for participants and greater flexibility for PAs. The change to mandatory programme participation after the Gateway meant that many more participants took an active role in the programme through participation in the Intensive Activity Period (13 weeks' activity following the Gateway). Some concerns remained about the follow-- through stage, where clients' needs were varied.

Employers have played a key role in ND25 plus. Many employers were motivated by the reduction in costs from the employment subsidy, and in general employers felt the size of the subsidy was about right in terms of covering additional costs and making long-term unemployed recruits economically viable.

The report shows that Personal Advisers (PAs) have played a key role in all aspects of the programme, and the experience of PAs led to positive programme changes. Training for NDPAs was often felt to be disappointing, particularly when their role was expanding.

The report (Ref W 161) was compiled by David Wilkinson of the Policy Studies Institute. It is available from DWP Research Management, Level 2, Kings Court, 80 Hanover Way, Sheffield S3 7UF, tel. 0114 209 8299, fax 0114 209 8190, e-mail research-- management@dwp.gsi.gov.uk. It can also be downloaded from DWP website www.dwp.gov.uk.

New deal for people aged 25 and over

Labour Market Trends, Sep 2003

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