21 October 2004 - Publication of DWP research report: Jobcentre Plus’ Delivery of New Tax Credit Policy
Research published today by the Department for Work and Pensions explores how Jobcentre Plus staff understand and deliver New Tax Credits (NTCs), identifies good practice in relation to this and considers Jobcentre Plus customers’ perceptions of the delivery. The sample included interviews with a range of customer groups to reflect eligibility for NTCs: lone parents, couples with children, childless JSA claimants over 25, customers with disabilities and customers aged over 50 and focus groups with staff. In order to explore the potential incentivising effects of NTCs, customers were also further segmented into those who had moved into work and were claiming NTCs (referred to as the ‘In-work’ group) and those who had discussed NTCs with an adviser but remained out of work (referred to as the ‘Out-of-work’ group).
The analysis was carried out by BMRB between January and March 2004 and was based on in-depth interviews with customers and focus groups with staff.
The main findings are that overall customer perceptions of NTCs were good and that a number of Jobcentre Plus advisers were knowledgeable and successful at delivering to lone parents in particular. The research also highlights that there are some lessons to be learnt on training and implementation.
Staff Training and Confidence:
- Training plans and systems were introduced to support the delivery of NTCs. However staff did not feel fully prepared to deal with NTCs. For example the training was considered to be too generic and theoretical and it was common for staff to state that the trainers were often unable to answer queries that arose. They also reported that they had lacked the opportunity to put into practice what they had learnt.
- Staff confidence in delivering NTCs varied considerably. The confidence was often related to the Personal Advisers (PAs) understanding of NTCs and whether they had previously delivered Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) or Disabled Persons Tax Credit (DPTC). The more confident staff were the lone parent advisers who had previously considered how tax credits could be used to encourage work. The lone parent PAs (LPPAs) tended to act as a resource for other advisers in the Jobcentre Plus office.
Understanding and Delivery:
- Greater customer recall was generally associated with the amount of time advisers spent discussing NTCs and whether or not a Better off Calculation (BoC) was carried out. Lone parents were taken through NTCs in considerable detail, often in their first interview and showed the greatest level of understanding. The over 50 and disabled customer groups show a little less awareness in comparison. Couples with children and single people were less likely to state that they remembered the discussions about NTCs. There was no difference in recall between the In-work and Out-of-work groups. This range of customer experiences reiterates the variation in different advisers delivery of NTCs.
- In contrast to WFTC, which according to the respondents had been promoted as more of an in work ‘top up’, advisers generally presented NTCs as part of a wider financial package that could make work financially viable.
Conclusions and Good Practice:
- Jobcentre Plus advisers reported a generally positive reaction to NTCs. From their perspective NTCs were seen as one of the major tools that they had in helping and encouraging people to consider a return to work.
- To improve effective delivery of NTCs, individual Jobcentre Plus offices have adopted numerous innovative practices including: practical sessions using the BoC, after-hour sessions, an on-line chat facility and drop in clinics. Staff also set up informal links with local Inland Revenue tax offices to ease lines of communication.
Notes for editors
- The research was conducted by Abi Francis and Andrew Thomas of BMRB International. The research was based on 101 in-depth interviews with Jobcentre Plus customers as well as eight focus groups with 48 members of staff. The research was carried out in eight rolled out Jobcentre Plus areas across the UK.
- Jobcentre Plus’ Delivery of New Tax Credit Policy (report series number 220) is published on 21st October 2004. A summary and a copy of the report is available on the DWP website: www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5
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