PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Kickstart Scheme and Restart Scheme: Part-time Employment (22 June 2021)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of allowing candidates on the (a) Kickstart scheme and (b) Restart scheme greater flexibility to take on part-time placements rather than a fixed number of hours.

Asked by:
Marsha De Cordova (Labour)

The Kickstart Scheme provides flexibility and support for young people who may need to work reduced hours because of their specific requirements, such as a health condition. These are to be discussed and agreed with the Kickstart employer.

Restart Scheme participants can take up part time roles as we have not specified the number of hours someone should work. Restart Scheme providers will receive an outcome payment when a participant earns over a certain threshold (the equivalent of six months’ work at the National Living Wage, with 16 hours worked each week), therefore part-time workers will take longer to reach this threshold, should their income be at a similar level. Based on experience of other programmes, this threshold is considered a reasonable proxy for sustainment of a job outcome and we believe this approach will ensure people are supported to find and stay in sustainable employment.

There are currently no plans to extend the eligibility criteria of the Kickstart Scheme or the Restart Scheme.

Disabled people, including those on Employment Support Allowance, who require more intensive employment support would have access to both the Work and Health Programme (WHP) and Intensive Personalised Employment Support (IPES) and can volunteer for this support at any time irrespective of benefit claimed or no benefit. The WHP predominantly helps people with a wide range of disabilities and health conditions to enter into and stay in work, and is suited to those who expect to find work within 12 months. IPES is an intensive, highly personalised voluntary support package that is flexible to participants’ needs. It supports disabled people with complex barriers to work who would be more than 12 months from the labour market without the benefit of IPES support.

Young people with a disability or health condition on Universal Credit who wish to take up the opportunity of a Kickstart job can discuss what roles they are interested in and any reasonable adjustment they require with either a Work Coach, Youth Employability coach or Disability Employment Adviser. If adjustments are required to enable the young person to take up a Kickstart job these are to be discussed and agreed with the Kickstart employer.

The Restart Scheme will be fully accessible for all scheme participants, including disabled people and people with health conditions. At the core of the programme is the requirement on providers to design and deliver a personalised service that addresses individuals’ support needs. Under the terms of the Equality Act, providers will be required to enable equal access to the provision. Restart Scheme providers will also be required to be Disability Confident Leaders, and therefore to be fully aware of best practice in supporting disabled people.

The department will be monitoring the characteristics of people who participate in employment programmes. We will be evaluating the Kickstart Scheme and Restart Scheme to explore the delivery and outcomes from the programmes. This will include capturing the experiences of a range of participants, including disabled participants.

Answered by:
Mims Davies (Conservative)
30 June 2021