Employment Schemes
Work and Pensions
Liam Byrne (Birmingham, Hodge Hill, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has advised job centres to prioritise new claimants for entry into the Work Programme.
Chris Grayling (Minister of State (Employment), Work and Pensions; Epsom and Ewell, Conservative)
No. Claimants are referred to the Work Programme at specified times depending on the benefit they are claiming, the duration of their claim and their particular circumstances. These referral points are set out in Jobcentre Plus and Work Programme provider guidance and summarised in the following table.
| Claimant group | Referral point |
| JSA claimants aged 18 to 24 | Required from nine months into their claim |
| JSA claimants aged 25 and over | Required from 12 months into their claim |
| JSA claimants facing significant disadvantages in the labour market | Required or optional from three months into their claim (depending on claimant's circumstances) |
| JSA claimants who are prison leavers | Required from the first day of a claim to JSA within three months of release from prison |
| New income related ESA claimants with a prognosis of three or six months | Required from date of WCA outcome |
| All other ESA claimants | Optional from date of WCA outcome |
| Income Support and Incapacity Benefit claimants | Optional from benefit entitlement (in England only) |
| Pension Credit claimants | Optional from 12 months from start of benefit claim or from day one if claimant has a health condition |