Mr. John McKeon:

Okay. In summary, people with children under seven years of age have access to virtually the full range of services. The principal difference is that engagement is voluntary rather than compulsory.

A final group sometimes identified as being outside the scope of existing supports is made up of working-age adults who are qualified adult dependants on a primary claimant’s jobseeker payment. This payment has no conditionality in respect of the qualified adult himself or herself being unemployed. Indeed, it is estimated that approximately 40% of those involved are actually in employment. Nevertheless, qualified adults who are not the primary claimant on a jobseeker claim can access the full range of employment services and programmes and become full participants in the activation regime, if they voluntarily self-identify as unemployed and register for a jobseeker payment in their own right. This will bring with it both the responsibilities and rights, in terms of employment services and programmes, that attach to jobseeker payments.

The Pathways to Work 2015 strategy includes a commitment to develop and evaluate actions to extend services, as resources allow, to people not on the live register and improve the promotion and communication of existing activation options. As outlined, some steps have already been taken through the reform of the one-parent family payment and the introduction of JST. Further measures are now being considered as to how activation can be extended to other people of working age in the context of the development of an updated Pathways to Work strategy for the five-year period 2016 to 2020. In this regard, the Department initiated a consultation programme during the summer in the form of an online survey of approximately 200 stakeholders and held a consultation forum for stakeholders on 9 October. The inputs received through this process are now being collated. Inputs are still welcome and can be sent to the following email address, . It is intended that an updated Pathways to Work strategy taking account of the inputs received will be drafted and submitted to Government by January of 2016.

We are happy to answer questions and provide any additional material that members require.