Evaluation of Pathways to Work

[ employment-and-welfare  health-and-well-being  difference-in-differences  duration-analysis  ]

Pathways to Work (‘Pathways’) was introduced on a pilot basis following proposals in the 2002 DWP Green Paper ‘Pathways to Work: helping people into employment’. Since then, it has been rolled out in stages, achieving nationwide coverage in April 2008. Pathways is aimed at improving opportunities among people claiming incapacity benefits. To this end, it introduced a number of innovations for those beginning an incapacity benefits claim, including: a faster Personal Capability Assessment; a series of Work Focused Interviews (WFIs), mandatory for most customers, carried out by specially-trained advisers; a package of new and existing voluntary provision known as ‘Choices’, including the New Deal for Disabled People and the Condition Management Programme- a new programme run in collaboration with local health providers to help individuals manage their disability or health condition; a Return to Work Credit for those entering full-time employment; and In-Work Support and other help for those entering employment. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) commissioned a consortium of research organisations to undertake a major programme of research into the effect of Pathways.

Outputs

Bewley, H. and Dorsett, R. (2009) The impact of Pathways to Work on the under 25s DWP Working Paper 65

Bewley, H., Dorsett, R. and Salis, S. (2009) The impact of Pathways to Work on work, earnings and self-reported health in the April 2006 expansion areas DWP Research Report 601

Bewley, H., Dorsett, R. and Ratto, M. (2008) Evidence on the effect of Pathways to Work on existing claimants DWP Research Report 488

Dorsett, R. (2008) Pathways to Work for new and repeat incapacity benefits claimants: evaluation synthesis report DWP Research Report 525

Bewley, H., Dorsett, R. and Salis, S. (2008) The impact of Pathways on benefit receipt in the expansion areas DWP Research Report 552

Dorsett, R. (2007) The effect of Pathways to Work on labour market outcomes National Institute Economic Review 202: 79-89

Bewley, H., Dorsett, R. and Haile, G. (2007) The impact of Pathways to Work DWP Research Report 435

Funder

Department for Work and Pensions