1. Work and Health Programme Diagnostic Tool Workshop CONFIDENTIAL
Department for Work and Pensions
18th April 2016

2. Welcome and Introductions

3. Disclosure Notice: By attending the Work and Health Programme Diagnostic Tool Workshop on Monday 18th April 2016 in the Jaguar Suite in Birmingham, you are confirming that you will not disclose information regarding the discussions and content of the meeting. Please note that Regulation 21 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 permits the Department to disclose information provided to it on a confidential basis if it is required to do so by law or regulation.

4. Aims of the Day: Key Messages:
Aim of today is to walkthrough our early thinking on the development of a Diagnostic Tool for Work and Health Programme (WHP)
Initial planning stage on the Diagnostic Tool and no decisions have been made at this stage.
The Diagnostic Tool will be a CRITICAL design feature of Work and Health Programme (WHP) for Voluntary claimant group.
The Department wants to engage and consult early with stakeholders to determine the right approach to the Diagnostic Tool.
The Diagnostic Tool for WHP will align with the wider work the Department is currently developing on segmentation.

5. Aims of the Day: Key Messages:
Our approach to the design of the Diagnostic Tool is to develop a national tool but may amend in the Devolved areas to take into account any local variances to delivery of WHP.
A big part of today will be to gather your views and we have structured the workshop with this aim.
A real mix of stakeholders have attended today from JCP Work Coaches, current Contracted Employment Providers, representation from Devolved Areas (Local Authorities) and experts from the Department – you are the experts with operational experience and we want to tap into this.
Working to tight timescales with a prototype for the Diagnostic Tool to start initial testing towards the end of the year, so will need to move at pace.

6. Who is the eligible group for the W&HP?
Claimants with a health condition or disability:
should be referred at the most appropriate time before 2 years,
on a targeted voluntary basis, when:
the individual can be helped by the offer;
JCP has already helped the individual with their core job search activity;
the claimant needs more support than can be provided within the standard JCP offer; and
the claimant has signed up to the goal of finding and/or increasing their employment within a realistic time period.
NOTE: If a claimant met all the above criteria they would be eligible even if they had previously been on the WP – to identify this marginal group we require a Diagnostic Tool
Long term unemployed claimants:
should be referred when they reach 24 months in the intensive work search regime in Universal Credit,
on a mandatory basis.
NOTE: Limited exemptions will apply.

7. Who will the programme not help?
The programme will not support the following groups, as we do not believe it is appropriate and therefore will not add value to these claimants:
People with a health condition or disability who:
are furthest from entering employment. We would instead seek to support claimants through JCP or through other support such as the Specialist Employability Service (SES)
are closest to the labour market, who should be being supported within the JCP.
LTU claimants who are outside of the full conditionality group.
The programme excludes those who have previously been on the current WP (unless they have a health condition or disability) however, we recognise that this group could benefit from the programme. Therefore, if we are able to secure additional funding, we would extend support to include this group.

8. 2. Use of a Diagnostic Tool to confirm eligibility and suitability
How will we help Work Coaches make the right referral decision for claimants with a Health Condition or Disability?
Step
Action
1. Work coach support
A work coach will spend time getting to know their claimant, their support needs and providing support with core work search skills within the JCP or using local provision to provide this.
To support this, work coaches will use information collected about the claimant including at the Health and Work Conversation, as well as available attitudinal evaluation tools and making use of data that has been collected on the UC system.
2. Use of a Diagnostic Tool to confirm eligibility and suitability
The work coach will use a diagnostic Tool to confirm that the individual they think would benefit from the programme is both eligible and suitable.
We plan to test the decision tree in advance of October 2017, learning the lessons from SES, to ensure it is sufficiently robust to identify the right individuals in the right numbers.
3. Quality Assurance
There will be a need to ensure the tool is being used effectively and we are looking to see how this can be achieved without holding up referrals.

9. When should we send people onto the programme?
A claimant with a heath condition or disability should go onto the programme:
at the most appropriate time as assessed by their work coach.
the work coach will make an appropriate judgement and ensure core jobsearch activity has taken place including Basic Skills
Most referrals will take place between 3-12 months BUT work coaches should not delay a referral to the programme when it is the most suitable support – the ‘gatekeeper role’ can help with this.
LTU Claimants should go onto the programme:
when they have been unemployed for 24 months; and
who are in the intensive work search regime.
Claimants would be mandated at this point.

10. Key principles for Diagnostic Tool?
The WHP Diagnostic Tool will need to –
Align with Universal Credit and legacy benefit (JSA & ESA) claimant Journeys
Enable JCP Work Coaches to assess claimants suitability for WHP with a consistent and structured approach
Not be too onerous or complex and risk non-compliance
Avoid duplication and use existing data on claimants where possible
Be responsive to policy changes or local delivery i.e. contract variations
Consider cost and licensing fees if purchasing a software package
Ensure that the right people are referred to the programme.

11. Early Thinking on the Diagnostic Tool
The Diagnostic tool will be published on the Government website for claimants to access although JCP Work Coach interview would still be required to confirm eligibility
Devolved Areas having access to the Diagnostic Tool and identifying suitable claimants for WHP although the final decision and referral will be conducted by JCP Work Coach
As part of the referral process to WHP, to share the rationale/reasons for the referral with WHP Providers – outputs of the Diagnostic tool
Pilot the use of the Diagnostic tool prior to go-live of WHP
On-going evaluation of the success of the Diagnostic tool to ensure we are referring claimants which meets the policy intent of the programme.

12. High Level Timeline for WHP Diagnostic Tool
Gain internal sign off for key design principles of the Diagnostic Tool at Programme Board - May 2016
Develop a prototype for the Diagnostic Tool including guidance and implementation products including some initial testing by end 2016
Pilot the use of the Diagnostic tool in a number of JCP Districts prior to go-live of WHP Early 2017
Consider findings from the pilot and make any amendments in readiness for go-live Summer 2017

13. Key Themes from Local Authority Questionnaires
You told us:
We should make use of the information we already hold and avoid duplication where possible.
It is important to ensure the customer provides input on what support they believe they need to allow them to enter the labour market.
Use of the Diagnostic tool by work coaches should be mandatory
There are a number of tools currently being used by LA’s which have proven to be useful.
We will:
Review all sample products you have provided and consider any key principles which can be incorporated into any bespoke products we develop.
Investigate the cost efficiencies and practicalities of implementing products already in use.
We will use your feedback to help us to develop a comprehensive tool that will allow for the effective assessment of customer needs

14. Research Findings – Contracted Employment Providers
We discussed existing tools & processes with six suppliers
We took a cross-section of suppliers from Work Programme, Work Choice, and Specialist Employment Support
KEY FINDINGS:
Claimants can essentially be categorised into 4 groups:
Willing and able
Willing but not able
Not willing and not able
Not willing but able
Segmentation comprises two stages:
Initial holistic assessment
We selected a cross-section of our current suppliers from Work Programme, Work Choice and Specialist Employment Support, and held individual meetings with them to discuss their existing segmentation tools and process. Some of these suppliers have joined us today. From these discussions, we extracted some common findings and insights that may be helpful to us in the development of the WHP tool.
Findings:
Essentially claimants can be segmented into 4 categories (permutations of willing and/or able). Willing refers to their motivation to find and keep work. Able refers to any barriers that prevent this, such as health conditions or other personal circumstances. Most providers use some version of these groups to segment claimants for the purpose of identifying the most suitable course of action. Some use stages of a ‘journey towards’ employment, which also cover similar elements.
Segmentation process comprises two stages:
An initial assessment. Most providers use a holistic, psychosocial assessment that asks about wider personal circumstances and motivation (e.g. housing, finance, relationships, feelings towards work). Providers mentioned the importance of building trust and moving at a client’s own pace in order to collect this sensitive information.
Using this information, a decision on how to categorise the claimant. Most providers rely on advisor expertise for this. The advisor (and sometimes other experts) review the information and group the claimant accordingly. These groups are not restrictive, they are simply for ease of identifying the most suitable activities. Claimants can and do move between these categories.
Advisor-led decision based on information gathered
Information gathered feeds into…
Segmentation decision

15. Research Findings – Contracted Employment Providers
OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION
Importance of using positive language and moving at the client’s pace
Information can be provided directly by the claimant (e.g. online) or gathered by the advisor (e.g. face to face discussion)
Most provider tools and processes developed in-house
What does this mean for the WHP tool?
1. Initial information gathering should be holistic, taking into account wider personal circumstances and motivation
Other useful information:
All providers emphasised the need to use positive language, focussing on what the claimant can do, rather than can’t do. They also highlighted the difficulties in gathering lots of sensitive information from claimants. They suggested it was important to build trust with the claimant, make them feel comfortable, and move at their pace.
Most providers used an advisor-led discussion to gather the information. Claimants attend a face to face appointment, and the advisor collects the information through discussion. Some have the claimants complete the questions with advisor support, and some complete it in their own time (e.g. online) – or a combination of these methods.
Most providers developed their own bespoke tools and processes in-house. Some used off-the-shelf elements. No real formal evaluation has taken place as providers tend to evaluate the whole customer experience.
What does this mean for the development of the Work and Health Programme referral tool?
Ideally we should undertake an initial information gathering process that is holistic – i.e. assessing wider personal circumstances, motivation, abilities etc. This could be led by the work coach who completes the questions through discussion with the claimant, or completed online by the claimant – or a combination of these methods.
The tool should automatically generate a suggested decision on whether or not the claimant should be referred to WHP. However the work coach should have the final decision on this, providing their rationale if they disagree with the tool.
Ideally all of this information should sent to providers as part of the referral.
2. The tool should suggest whether the claimant should be referred to WHP. The work coach should have the final decision.

16. GROUP SESSION 1 – Critical Questions to assess claimants suitability for WHP

17. GROUP SESSION 1 – Critical Questions to assess claimants suitability for WHP - Feedback

18. GROUP SESSION 2 – Views on early thinking for Diagnostic Tool

19. GROUP SESSION 2 – Views on early thinking for Diagnostic Tool - Feedback

20. Next Steps

21. Summary and Close