Statutory guidance

Annex 1a: Information for London employment support for troubled families

Updated 6 March 2023

Contract Package Area

A1a.1 There are four contracts within the London LEP area:

• Contract 1 covers the North and East London Local Authority boroughs: Enfield; Haringey; Hackney; Waltham Forest; Newham; Redbridge; Barking and Dagenham; Greenwich; Havering; Tower Hamlets

• Contract 2 covers the Central London Local Authority boroughs: Camden; Islington; City of London; Southwark; Lewisham; Lambeth; Wandsworth; Kensington and Chelsea; Westminster

• Contract 3 covers the West London Local Authority boroughs: Ealing; Hillingdon; Barnet; Brent; Hounslow; Harrow; Hammersmith and Fulham

• Contract 4 covers the South London Local Authority boroughs: Richmond; Kingston; Sutton; Merton; Croydon; Bromley; Bexley

Aims and Objective of the Provision

A1a.2 The aim of this provision is to provide bespoke support to participants who are unemployed or inactive and from troubled families who are experiencing problems such as poor school attainment, crime and domestic violence, to assist them in overcoming any barriers that are preventing them from entering and sustaining employment. Through a whole family approach and working closely with services who may already be working with the family, such as local authorities; a flexible and personalised package of support for the individual participant(s) will enhance engagement and work readiness activity for disadvantaged individuals from families facing multiple barriers, to support them into work.

Identification of Potential Participants

A1a.3 This provision is voluntary and you are responsible for identifying eligible participants. As a priority you should in the first instance work with Local Authorities who are already working with the troubled family to identify eligible participants to take part in the provision.

A1a.4 You must also make links with other local organisations to market the provision within the Contract Package Area, ensuring you maximise opportunities in order to achieve sufficient participants. If insufficient participants are identified by Local Authorities you should seek to identify applicants from other sources.

A1a.5 Suitable applicants could be identified from different sources which include but is not limited to:

• Local Authorities
• Jobcentre Plus Troubled Families Employment Advisor (TFEA)
• Provider recruitment
• Jobcentre Plus (JCP)
• Community and voluntary sector organisations
• GPs / Health workers
• Self referrals

Eligibility for this Provision

A1a.6 As of 19 February 2018 the wider eligibility comes into force for all 4 contracts: London Central, West, North East and South as detailed at section A1a.10 below. It is crucial that all Troubled Families providers still target the narrow eligibility at A1a.7 to A1a.8 below to ensure the original contract requirement is being met but you should now supplement this with the wider referral base.

A1a.7 To be eligible for ESF, all participants must be legally resident and have the right to take paid employment in the UK. Participants must be aged 16 or over. There is no upper age limit for participants.

A1a.8 To be eligible for this provision individuals must be unemployed or Inactive in a family where there is multiple and complex barriers to work, including one or more of the following problems:

• Parents and/or children involved in crime or anti-social behaviour
• Children whose attendance at school has caused concern with school or other agencies
• Children who are identified as in need or are subject to a Child Protection Plan
• Families affected by domestic violence and abuse
• Parents and/or children with a range of health problems

For this provision a family is defined as:

• experiencing at least one of the barriers listed under the eligibility criteria above, and
• constituting at least two people, one of whom must be a dependent child, or a group of children. There must be a clear family relationship (not necessarily always by blood relation or marriage/other formal partnerships) and interaction of the family members, with impacts in common, resulting from the problems the family has. Note, for the purposes of this provision a dependent child is a person aged 0 to 15 in a household or aged 16 to 18 in full-time education, in training or unemployed and living with their parent(s)

In addition:

• family members do not necessarily have to be living in the same household

• ex-partnerships may still qualify the members to be treated as a family if there is a continuing relationship affected by the family’s difficulties, for example relating to financial support or joint parenting

• friends/flat mates do not meet the definition of a family for this provision. Although they may share some of the same barriers there is no clear family relationship

Evidence of eligibility, family and self-declaration

A1a.9 You must obtain and retain evidence of a participant’s eligibility for the provision for ESF audit purposes and for this provision you must also have evidence of the barriers to work that they and/or their family members have. The family definition must also be evidenced for ESF audit purposes. A self-declaration is required to provide specific detail clarifying the members of the family, their living arrangements and the barriers to work which they face. Chapter 3 provides further information about evidence and self-declaration. An example of an Eligibility Self-declaration Form can be found at Annex 3; you can use this or choose to create your own. Eligibility evidence must be in accordance with the European Social Fund Evidence Requirements: Eligibility and Results Guidance Document.

Wider Eligibility Criteria

A1a.10 If you are advised by DWP to widen the eligibility criteria for this provision. Individuals must be unemployed or inactive in a family where there is multiple and complex barriers to work, including one or more of the following problems:

• Caring responsibilities for disabled or elderly (including those returning to employment when caring responsibilities end)
• Child has school or truancy problems
• A child in the family is subject to a child protection plan
• Relationship breakdown
• Debt Management Issues
• Housing issues for example Unsafe housing, overcrowding, security
• Substance misuse
• Disability including sensory
• Antisocial behaviour
• Probation or offending
• Family member involved in crime
• Family affected by domestic violence and abuse
• Drug/Alcohol dependency

A1a.11 Participants who satisfy the narrow eligibility criteria in Para A1.8 can also be recruited onto the provision. See below for information on the Minimum Performance Levels (MPL) for the Wider Eligibility Groups.

Length of time on Provision

A1a.12 The maximum duration of this ESF provision for a participant is a continuous period of 65 weeks from the participant’s start.

Last date for Referrals

A1a.13 Referrals will take place during the 91 weeks from the Service Start Date, and a further 91 weeks for the extention period. DWP will in discussion with you, determine the last date for referrals, taking into account the realistic prospect of you delivering the service and outcomes to participants who will not be able to receive the full provision duration. DWP will make the final decision. Any changes to the starts profiles after 91 weeks will be agreed with you and included in a Contract Variation however; Cohort and Cohort Profiles will remain the same as for the first 91 weeks of the provision Period. See Chapter 7 and Annex 9 for further information on Cohort and Cohort Profiles.

A1a.14 All participants are required to complete provision by the end of the third year of the provision Period. For participants referred after 182 weeks, it may not be possible for them to receive the full provision duration.

Delivering Provision

A1a.15 Some of the activities delivery staff are expected to have experience of, knowledge of and the skills to deliver are given below. These activities are not exhaustive and will vary dependent on the needs of the participant and family.

A1a.16 Provide personalised support for participants to ensure they continue to engage with the provision and ultimately move into and sustain employment, paid at the London Living Wage, where possible.

A1a.17 Use mentoring and advocacy skills to gain the trust of each participant and in turn tailor advice to meet their needs and personal circumstances taking into account the family as a whole and engage with families where appropriate to gain their trust.

A1a.18 Build close working relationships with other services such as local authorities delivering the Communities and Local Government Troubled Families Programme to ensure a holistic service is offered to the family, which wraps around the participant to identify and tackle barriers which are preventing them moving into employment.

A1a.19 Have knowledge of local:

• Services engaging with troubled families
• Labour market and key sectors, especially family friendly employers
• Affordable and appropriate childcare for different ages
• Services that provide participants with employability skills for example Skills Funding Agency (SFA) support, and
• Projects supporting those who are disadvantaged in the labour market

A1a.20 Broker access to a range of other existing services and specialist provision for example literacy and numeracy, vocational and workplace skills training.

A1a.21 Make links with local employers to broker work experience and volunteering opportunities for provision participants to attend.

A1a.22 Visit participants in their community or family home.

A1a.23 Engage with employers to promote and raise awareness of family friendly policies and flexible working.

A1a.24 Where necessary, accompany participants when accessing services, attending work experience placements and job interviews to allay any fears or concerns that they may have.

A1a.25 Provide in work support, if required, which meets the needs of the participant to help them sustain employment.

Integration with Local Services

A1a.26 Integration with other services which are delivering wider support to the family and individuals is vital. You are expected to build sustainable partnerships with existing local services and organisations so that families and individuals can be engaged in employment support which will complement the wider interventions taking place with the family. Integration with local services should aim to join up the support offered to the family and participant based on the needs identified through the assessment and action planning process. Integration should span the public (especially Local Authorities), private, health, voluntary, community sectors and further education institutions.

A1a.27 You must work with LAs and JCP TFEAs to reach local agreements to ensure the provision complements the Communities and Local Government Troubled Families Programme and the support offered by JCP TFEAs, to avoid duplication.

Service Level Agreement

A1a.28 Where working arrangements with the local authority delivering the Communities and Local Government Troubled Families Programme have been agreed and a Service Level Agreement signed, all your staff must adopt and work to the arrangements agreed.

Starting Provision and Action Planning

A1a.29 In addition to the information contained in Chapter 4 you are expected to give the participant a copy of their Action Plan and encourage them to share the details of it with their LA Troubled Families Adviser, in order to give feedback on their progress and agreed next steps, ensuring the information within the Action Plan remains within the data protection rules.

Activities to Support the Provision

A1a.30 The provision is expected to include (but is not limited to) the following activities as agreed with individual participants. Your activities will include:

• Personalised flexible and responsive support which includes careers advice

• Identifying participants and family-related barriers (for example housing, health management, childcare, behavioural difficulties, abuse)

• Understand and influence participants motivation and attitudes and support to overcome barriers/ hurdles be they physical, psychological or emotional

• Support participants to improve confidence, self-awareness and self-esteem and reduce social isolation

• Financial management, directly or by referral which could include budgeting and debt advice, better off calculations, help applying for Working Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credits, Council Tax Benefit

• Assist participants to explore employment options and challenge their expectations where appropriate

• Support participants to develop modern job search skills which includes using IT to search and apply for work, CV writing, setting up a Universal Jobmatch account, completing online application forms and using social media to seek work

• Employability training – communication skills, self-presentation, time keeping, attitudes/behaviours at work, team building, working relationships, work related literacy and numeracy support

• Effective interview techniques, including mock interviews and feedback

• IT skills – Basic IT skills, to include setting up an e-mail account if participants do not already have one

• Work skills specific to, and in partnership with, local employers. Where possible you should seek to identify appropriate skills provision which is funded by the Skills Funding Agency

• Providing or sourcing vocational training as appropriate to employer requirements, such as Food Hygiene Certificate, Health and Safety CSCS

• Deliver or source as required, modular provision for the participant to help them overcome barriers for example managing your condition in order to access employment, help with substance misuse or alcohol abuse, managing health issues. This can be in the form of guidance, counselling, or a specific course, dependent on the need of the participant

• Enable participants to gain experience of work by arranging voluntary work opportunities with employers and providing advice and support to the participant

• Discussing opportunities for self-employment and referral to enterprise start-up programmes if appropriate

• Signposting participants to a range of DWP and non-DWP provision where further support is required. Services can include but are not limited to:

  • New Enterprise Allowance
  • Prince’s Trust
  • sector based work academies
  • Apprenticeships /Traineeships
  • National Careers Service
  • Basic Skills support
  • Specialist support suited to the needs of the participant
  • ESF provision provided by Skills Funding Agency and/or the Big Lottery Fund

These options are not exhaustive, and will vary across locations according to participant needs.

Employer Engagement

A1a.31 You are expected to engage with local businesses to encourage them to offer family friendly, flexible placements and sustainable jobs to unemployed and inactive people. You are expected to promote and raise awareness with employers of the business benefits of flexible work arrangements and should work to broker more flexible employment opportunities such as part time work.

Minimum Performance Levels – Wider Eligibility Groups

A1a.32 The following additional Minimum Performance Levels will apply if you are advised by DWP to extend the participant eligibility criteria to include the eligibility groups in Para A1.10 and will be in addition to MPLs 1 to 8 in Annex 9.

• 9: The providers specified percentage increase that will be applied to each Short Job Outcome Cohort conversion rate in relation to the Wider Eligibility Groups shall be a Minimum Performance Level. Short Job Outcome Cohort conversion rates and Cohort Profile will remain the same as submitted by the provider for MPL6.

• 10: The providers specified percentage increase that will be applied to each Sustained Job Outcome Cohort conversion rate in relation to the Wider Eligibility Groups shall be a Minimum Performance Level. Sustained Job Outcome Cohort conversion rates and Cohort Profile will remain the same as submitted by the provider for MPL7.

Performance relating to eligibility criteria

A1a.33 You will be performance managed against the Minimum Performance Level number 3, ‘as a minimum the number of provision starts will never be below 85% of the cumulative starts profile’ (See Annex 9). This will be monitored throughout the lifetime of the contract, for the eligibility criteria stated at Para A1.8 above for this provision.

A1a.34 DWP will review performance against starts from the specific groups identified in the eligibility criteria at Para A1.8 above. This will be undertaken on a monthly basis, looking at the previous rolling six months of performance. If the performance is below [70%] of Profile for starts within any six month period, this will be the trigger point for DWP to consider widening eligibility to include eligibility groups set out at Para A1.10. This will be done in consultation with the LEP. DWP will reserve the right to extend eligibility.

Eligibility criteria extended to additional groups in Para A1.10

A1a.35 If DWP exercises its right to extend the eligibility criteria in accordance with Para A1.10 to include Wider Eligibility Groups, you will be required to include the percentage of additional Short and Sustained Job Outcomes achievement from starts for the Wider Eligibility Groups. This additional percentage will be applied to each Job Outcome Cohort conversion rate with Cohort Profiles remaining the same.

A1a.36 You will not be asked to achieve specific volumes of starts in relation to the additional eligibility groups; rather the performance measurement in relation to these groups will focus on the conversion of starts to outcomes. For example, if a provider’s tender shows they will achieve a 20% conversion of starts into Sustained Job Outcomes for each Cohort conversion rate for the eligibility groups above and show that by opening up the provision to include the additional eligibility groups they will increase outcomes by a further 2 percentage points, then for each Cohort DWP would expect a 22% outcome conversion rate. DWP will use this metric of additional outcomes achieved as the performance management tool for these additional eligibility groups. This will be a separate and additional performance metric to that being used to deliver the provision requirements in respect of the eligibility groups set out at Para A1.8 for this provision.

A1a.37 You will be managed against the Minimum Performance Levels for both sets of eligibility criteria (eligibility criteria at Para A1.8 for this provision and the additional eligibility groups at Para A1.10), i.e. Minimum Performance Levels numbered 6 (Annex 9) and 9 (above) in relation to Short Job Outcomes and those numbered 7 (Annex 9) and 10 (above) in relation to Sustained Job Outcomes. If either is not achieved, Performance Improvement Notices may be issued. If improvements are not realised then DWP may terminate the contract. Not only does this impact on this particular contract, but it may also be taken in to account if you submit tenders for any future public contracts.

Completing Provision and Change of Address and transfer to other DWP ESF 2014-2020 Employment Support for Troubled Families in London

A1a.38 This section contains information which differs to that in Chapter 5 and therefore they should both be read in conjunction.

A1a.39 The definition of a Completer for this provision is:

• where a participant completes the defined provision duration they will be defined as a Completer. In addition, participants who have been referred after 182 weeks of the provision delivery and remain on the provision at the provision will be defined as a completer.

A1a.40 Participants who change address during the provision period, such that they reside outside of the London LEP Area, can choose to change to another DWP ESF 2014-2020 provision outside London if they are eligible.

A1a.41 If a participant changes address during the provision period and moves outside the CPA but stays within the London LEP area, it will not be permissible for them to move from one DWP ESF Employment Support for Troubled Families contract to another. They will however be able to move to other DWP ESF 2014-2020 provision if it has a different focus or is outside the London LEP area.

A1a.42 Once a participant has completed provision, including early completion, they can only access DWP ESF 2014-2020 provision if it is outside the London LEP area or has a different focus.

Supplying Information to the Local Authority

A1a.43 Where working arrangements with the local authority delivering the Communities and Local Government Troubled Families Programme have been agreed and a Service Level Agreement signed, you must ensure you gain the participants consent to share information with the LA Troubled Families Adviser, who is working with the family. Information should be shared when:

• the participant starts provision
• completes early, or
• completes provision

London Employability Performance Rating

A1a.44 You are required to participate in the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) London Employability Performance Rating (EPR), which uses management and performance information, supports participant choice and collects evidence of customer satisfaction. The London EPR provides an evidence- based track record of delivery against contract; improves transparency of performance management and provides a framework for lead providers to performance manage themselves and sub-contractors.

A1a.45 Participation in the London EPR is in addition to and can form part of DWP’s Performance Management Regime described in Annex 9.

A1a.46 The London EPR system is a tool to benchmark the achievements of employability service providers in GLA. The London EPR awards a performance rating based on three key areas:

• Contract Delivery Performance
• Quality
• Compliance.

A1a.47 Contract Delivery Performance - Performance Scoring will be taken from published Short and Sustained Job Outcomes. 60% of the London EPR total score is weighted on performance.

A1a.48 Quality - This assessment criteria will call on your knowledge and awareness of the quality of the provision, continuous improvement and participant satisfaction. You will be expected to complete a self-assessment questionnaire and participant satisfaction surveys. 30% of the London EPR total score is weighted on quality.

A1a.49 Compliance – This includes timeliness of claims returns; variance of claim forecasts; accuracy of returns and general adherence to customer service levels. 10% of the London EPR total score is weighted on compliance.

A1a.50 Further information about the London EPR and your role in the process can be found on the GLA’s website. This website includes the London EPR provider guidance which gives a detailed process of your role in capturing and reporting against the required performance, quality and compliance scores.

A1a.51 To ensure you have the right understanding of these products and can apply your learning to the London EPR tool you should refer to the guidance on the GLA website. The GLA and DWP will work together to provide further support where necessary.

A1a.52 You are required to undertake the initial phase of the London EPR assessment using the calculation tool accessible in the hyperlink above. The information that you enter into the tool will generate a series of scores. These scores will be transposed into a star rating.

A1a.53 It is a requirement of London EPR that you also undertake a separate rating of your sub-contractors. You will also need to report your sub-contractor star rating to your Performance Manager (PM).

A1a.54 You must complete the London EPR calculation tool on a yearly basis throughout the lifetime of the contract and submit to your PM by 10th working day of April.

A1a.55 DWP will conduct checks to verify the information you provide. DWP will liaise with you if there are any discrepancies before the ratings are issued to the GLA for publication. DWP will submit the agreed London EPR to the GLA during May each year to ensure they are published in time for the annual summer release.

A1a.56 Provider ratings will be published by the GLA on a yearly basis.