PRESS RELEASE:  Face-to-face health assessments for benefits suspended amid coronavirus outbreak Liaising with Commissioners ERSA continues to talk to all commissioners raising the sector’s concerns and offering practical help to keep organisations delivering throughout COVID-19.   Resources to carry on delivering ERSA is developing a resource bank that all organisations can use when people are…

The government has issued its response to the Work and Pensions Select Committee inquiry into the role of Jobcentre Plus in the reformed welfare system. The government response agreed or partly agreed with 18 of the recommendations and rejected five. Responses of particular interest to ERSA members: While government agreed that regular reviews of initial face…

This paper has been developed following consultation with ERSA’s membership and focuses on those areas of the Work and Pensions Select Committee inquiry into Jobcentre Plus that are of most relevance to the welfare to work industry. The key points in ERSA’s response are as follows: ERSA believes the effectiveness of Jobcentre Plus (JCP) should…

A new report by the National Audit Office has claimed that job centres have coped well in the face of the economic downturn, but has recommended that the Department for Work and Pensions must improve how it tracks and understands Jobcentre Plus performance. Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, the Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP,…