The DWP released figures for the Access to Work programme which is very similar in scope to the programme the TPA suggested in our report Work for the Dole. Thus far, 162,000 people have taken part in one of the three regimes on offer, which seems an encouraging start.
40,000 people have joined the Daily Work search programme which offers daily advisory sessions for jobseekers.
51,000 have joined the Community work placement programme with just under half (25,000) having started a placement – promisingly the last month for which data is available (June 2015) had the highest number of individuals starting a placement of any single month.
And 70,000 have joined then Mandatory Intervention Regime which offers intensive support both with a JC+ coach and other local help.
Take up is generally highest amongst the 25-34 and 35-44 age groups but this is closely followed by the 18-24 age group (despite being a significantly smaller age range) which is certainly encouraging.
Outcomes are hard to determine at this early stage so it will be interesting to see how this develops.