Government committed at Spending Review to continued employment support for the Long Term Unemployed. DWP have already announced a future employment service for out of work Universal Credit claimants in four eligible groups – long-term unemployed people, young people, lone parents and lead carers, and disadvantaged groups. The estimated go-live date will be in February 2028. Further detail can be found in the pipeline notice, published 2^nd April 2026: Future Employment Support - Find a Tender and market engagement notice, published 28^th April 2026: Future Employment Support - Find a Tender.

Details of any extension to the Restart Scheme contracts will be published on Contracts Finder Restart Scheme - Contracts Finder in the normal way.

By the end of April 2026, around 1.1 million individuals had started on the Restart Scheme. 280,000 participants have subsequently achieved a job outcome. This is against a (minimum) contractual expectation of 240,000 job outcomes. The current number of job outcomes therefore represents 118% of the minimum performance level.

The 2024 Qualitative Evaluation has indicated that the Restart Scheme has supported participants to achieve positive employment outcomes. This includes not only sustained employment, but also a range of wider benefits such as improved wellbeing, the attainment of qualifications, increased proximity to the labour market, and enhanced job-searching skills. Findings from a longitudinal cohort study suggest that participation in the scheme is associated with improved employment outcomes. Specifically, 35% of Restart Scheme participants were in work compared with 26% of a comparable group of non-participants.

A quantitative impact assessment of the Restart Scheme is underway and is due for publication later this year.

The Restart Scheme is designed to provide tailored and intensive support to help people move closer to, and into, sustained employment.

The value delivered by providers is not limited to matching participants with a specific vacancy. Providers work with individuals to address barriers to work and improve their employability through activities such as careers advice, CV development, interview preparation, skills training and confidence building.

The scheme is underpinned by a robust performance framework and Customer Service Standards (CSSs), which providers are contractually required to meet. These standards ensure that participants receive the high-quality, personalised support required by DWP.

The outcome payments have been calibrated at a scheme level to account for the fact that in some cases outcomes will occur partially or fully because of factors other than the support delivered by the provider, like support provided by Jobcentre Plus or independent job search by the participant.

The Department is currently undertaking a quantitative impact evaluation of the Restart Scheme. This evaluation will assess the overall effectiveness of the scheme nationally, including areas of high unemployment, but will not necessarily be able to draw conclusions about these areas in isolation, we aim to publish the findings by the end of this year.

In addition, the Restart Scheme Evaluation, published in May 2024 The Evaluation of the Restart Scheme – May 2024, provides analysis of delivery across different Contract Package Areas.

The Department undertook a mixed-method, multi-strand evaluation of the Restart Scheme, delivered by external research providers Learning and Work Institute (L&W) and Ipsos. The research comprised three strands: a longitudinal cohort study, a survey of Restart Scheme providers, and case study research of 12 geographic areas. The report was published in May 2024 and can found on gov.uk here The Evaluation of the Restart Scheme - GOV.UK.

Official Statistics on the Restart Scheme are published bi-annually and can be found on gov.uk here Restart Scheme statistics - GOV.UK.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to her previous Question UIN 50919.

Cabinet Office Statistics publish some of the Serco Key Performance Indicators on a regular basis. The latest publication is available here.

Ongoing performance reviews have identified a need for performance improvement in the two Contract Package Areas (CPA) CPA1a and CPA6 that Serco delivers in. Therefore, the department has implemented intensified support and heightened monitoring as part of our established performance management intervention regime.

This activity incorporates more frequent and more senior scrutiny and includes requiring Serco to implement comprehensive action plans to address concerns, with the intensity of support and challenge increasing at higher intervention levels.

Serco’s performance against the contracted Key Performance Indicators has been varied. As part of our established performance management intervention regime, the department has therefore implemented intensified support and heightened monitoring for the two Contract Package Areas in which Serco delivers.

Decisions about the future direction of the work, health and skills agenda will be set out at the multi-year spending review in 2025, building on the ambitions set out in the Get Britain Working white paper.

The evaluation of the Restart Scheme, including research using geographical case studies, is being used to inform delivery of the Restart programme.

Referrals to the current Restart Scheme will be made up to June 2024, offering participants up to a year of support. As of the end of February 2024, around 150,000 people were receiving support and the majority will continue participating into 2024/25; in addition, around a further 50,000 are expected to start before June 2024. Spend over the next three financial years relating to supporting these people is expected to be around £400m, with the scheme operating on Payment by Result contracts.

In the Autumn Statement 2023, funding was approved to extend the Restart Scheme, taking referrals between July 2024 and June 2026. It is estimated that the extension will support around a further 500,000 people from two years of referrals. Funding of around £1bn has been agreed for the extension, with some of this expenditure expected to fall beyond the 2026/27 financial year due to the fact the scheme operates Payment by Results.

Please note

• The number of people starting on the current Restart Scheme and associated costs are estimates for planning purposes, underpinned by assumptions about future unemployment forecasts, which could change, and do not meet the standards required to be included in the Official Statistics. Therefore, these values need to be treated as guide figures rather than actual figures.
• Payment by Results means that fees are paid to providers based on the number of people reaching sustained employment. This takes time to achieve, following a support period of up to 12 months. For example, this means that people starting in 24/25 financial year will contribute to the estimated costs in the 25/26 and 26/27 financial years.

There is no current plan to publish the full results of the first Customer Satisfaction Measure survey. DWP already publish the overall Customer Satisfaction Measure rate. The full results are used internally to improve delivery.

As announced in the 2023 Autumn Statement, DWP is looking to extend the Restart Scheme for an extra two years with final referrals being made in June 2026.

DWP publish Key Performance Indicators for the Restart Scheme, which includes the overall Customer Satisfaction Measure rate. The full results are used internally to improve delivery.

The department plans to publish the next experimental statistics for the Restart Scheme in December 2023.

The Customer Satisfaction Measure (CSM) results of the Restart Scheme are not currently published; however, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) retains the right to do so in the future.

Department for Work and Pensions review the findings from the Restart Scheme customer satisfaction surveys quarterly and identify key themes or feedback and share these with providers, to improve performance.

If any specific issues are identified, DWP works with the relevant parties to address these at Contract Package Area or national level. Any participants with a health condition receive a tailored action plan which takes into consideration their individual needs. However, DWP has not received any feedback specific to this claimant group.