Written answers

Tuesday, 23 May 2017

Department of Social Protection

JobPath Implementation

Photo of John BradyJohn Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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336. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if JobPath providers (details supplied) hired 10% of their staff from the live register; if not, the percentage of staff that were hired from the live register, as committed to in a social clause in the contract between the providers and his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24480/17]

Photo of John BradyJohn Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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337. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if monitoring and measuring of employer satisfaction with the JobPath service providers (details supplied) has taken place to date; the frequency with which this monitoring takes place; the way in which it is conducted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24481/17]

Photo of John BradyJohn Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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338. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if the fees payable to both JobPath providers (details supplied) have been reduced by between 4% and 16% since the introduction of Jobpath in view of changes in employment levels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24482/17]

Photo of John BradyJohn Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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339. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who have been reported to his Department by the JobPath providers (details supplied) for repeatedly failing to engage with the providers; the number of payments that have been reduced or suspended as a result of this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24483/17]

Photo of John BradyJohn Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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340. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of audits his Department has carried out to date as part of the obligation that contracts with service providers (details supplied) will be performance managed by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24477/17]

Photo of John BradyJohn Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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341. To ask the Minister for Social Protection when the econometric evaluation of Jobpath by the Labour Market Council committed to in 2016 and 2017 will take place; the estimated time for publication; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24551/17]

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 336 to 341, inclusive, together.

As the deputy will be aware, the State’s Public Employment Service is managed by my Department and delivered directly by its own Intreo service as well as by contracted private companies, such as JobPath, Local Employment Service and Job Club providers. The Department has contracts in place with in excess of 60 companies for the provision of these services. This includes two contracts with JobPath service providers.

The JobPath providers are subject to regular on-site checks and inspections to ensure that JobPath is delivered in accordance with contractual obligations. To date, 33 on-site inspections have been carried out at provider locations around the country. The inspections cover a variety of subjects including service delivery, suitability and standard of accommodation, staffing, signage, Irish language compliance and complaints procedures. Regular inspections will be conducted for the duration of the JobPath contract.

With regards to employer satisfaction both JobPath providers seek to monitor employer satisfaction on an on-going basis by gathering feedback from employers through a variety of means including: regular contact with employers (to see for example if clients placed into employment require further support and assistance), providing employers with dedicated contact points, early engagement with employers to facilitate the recruitment of staff (which may involve the pre-screening of candidates, facilitating recruitment days, in centre interviews, facilitating clients to complete on line applications, training for clients to access specific routes to employment, the funding of work wear and equipment). Both companies will also be undertaking a survey of employers later this year to seek additional feedback to further enhance the services they are providing.

With regard to the fees payable to providers, the department has as part of its contract management approach built in various safeguards relating to the cost of the service - these include mechanisms linked to economic performance and the possible retention of fees should contractor performance not meet the expectations of the department with regards to, for example, the quality of the service being delivered. My Department has reserved the right, at its sole discretion, to discount registration and sustainment fees if employment levels in the economy exceed the reference employment levels asset out in the request for tender: as reported in the results of the quarterly national household survey (QNHS) for the last quarter of each calendar year. The discount is applicable to the fees to be paid in the subsequent calendar year. I can advise the deputy that, in the context of the increase numbers of people in employment in recent years, discounts have been applied to the fees payable to the JobPath providers.

The JobPath request for tender also specified that the successful companies would be required to ensure that no less than 10% of employees recruited to administer the service would be persons who in the period immediately prior to their recruitment had been registered on a national unemployment register within the EU or EEA for a continuous period of at least 12 months. Both JobPath providers have confirmed that at least 10% of their employees were on the live register for at least twelve months prior to being recruited.

With regard to the number of clients engaged with the service who have had a penalty rate applied to their jobseekers payment, failure of a jobseeker to engage, without good cause, with the Department’s employment services can have consequences for the jobseeker’s payments. However it is important to note that the rules and processes for the application of a reduced rate of payment are the same across all of the Department’s employment services whether they are delivered directly by the Department’s own Intreo service or through its contracted services. It should also be noted that only a departmental official (not contractor’s staff) can make such a decision.

The process with regards to such decisions includes written / verbal warnings and an opportunity for the jobseeker to re-engage with the services prior to the application of a reduced payment rate. Of the approximately 95,000 clients who started their engagement period with the service since its inception in July 2015, approximately 19,000 non-engagement cases have arisen. However a reduction in jobseekers related payments has only occurred in circa 4,000 cases.

In relation to the econometric evaluation of JobPath, it is important to note that jobseekers may be supported through the service for up to 30 months - under the service jobseekers have access to a personal adviser (PA) who works with them over two phases. During the first phase, of 12 months duration, the PA provides practical assistance in searching, preparing for, securing and sustaining employment. The second phase starts if the jobseeker is successful in finding work. During this phase the PA continues to work with the jobseeker for a further period of at least three months, and up to 12 months. In addition to the two phases jobseekers may also undertake training while with the service and this may extend the period the jobseeker is supported through the service for up to a further 6 months.

It will therefore take time to accumulate a sufficient number of clients (who have completed their engagement period with the service) for complete and robust outcome data to be available. With this in mind, it is intended that the econometric evaluation of the service will commence at the end of 2017. The Department has however commenced publishing initial cohort reports on the performance of the service, with the first such report having been published on the Department’s website in January. The next such report will be published on the department’s website shortly.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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