Job Grant consultation: response

Overview of the consultation

Background

The purpose of the Job Grant consultation, and associated stakeholder engagement, in 2019 was to gather views on the key eligibility criteria and the proposed payment format, and to identify any unintended consequences of the grant's introduction.

The proposals put forward for consultation were developed following engagement with a wide range of individuals and organisations with experience of the benefits system. This included representatives from the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), Young Scot, Skills Development Scotland, Who Cares? Scotland, and COSLA. The Scottish Government also ran two workshops with young people, facilitated by Young Scot and the Prince's Trust, to hear from them directly about the issues that affect them when moving into work.

Public consultation

The public consultation^[2] on the Job Grant took place between 16 January and 9 April 2019. The key eligibility criteria consulted on were:

a) recipients should be aged 16-24 years inclusive (except for care leavers who will be eligible for a year longer), and should not have previously received a Job Grant;

b) recipients should have been out of paid work and in receipt of a qualifying benefit for 6 months or more (except for care leavers who only need to be out of work and in receipt of a qualifying benefit at the time of the job offer);

c) recipients should be ordinarily resident in Scotland;

d) recipients should be in receipt of an offer of paid employment in the UK, that averages 16 hours per week or more over a four week period, and is expected to last at least three months; and

e) applications can be made 14 days in advance of employment start date and up to 14 days after employment has commenced.

An analysis of the 96 consultation responses report^[3] has been published on the Scottish Government website. Our response to the issues raised by respondents is set out below.

Job Grant survey

The Scottish Government carried out a survey to find out about the experiences of young people applying for jobs and about how they might want to apply for, receive and use a Job Grant payment. This was promoted through stakeholder organisations and social media channels. The results of this survey indicated that the majority of respondents thought that Job Grant is a good idea and that young people would use the money for transport, work clothes, food and drink. The survey results also provided useful information about how young people look for and apply for jobs which informed our design process.

Workshops for young people

The Scottish Government ran seven consultation workshops for young people to hear from them directly about the issues that impact them when moving into work. These workshops were held in Aberdeenshire, East Lothian, Edinburgh, Dundee, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and Shetland, and were facilitated by a number of delivery partners who work directly with young people. The workshops were well attended and included young people from a range of socio-economic backgrounds and with a variety of experiences.

Stakeholder engagement

During the consultation period the Scottish Government carried out a programme of stakeholder engagement to discuss the findings that emerged from the Job Grant consultation. This included the Scottish Local Authorities Economic Development Group , Scottish Enterprise, Citizens Advice Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, Princes Trust Scotland, Child Poverty Action Group, BEMIS, Inclusion Scotland, Who Cares? Scotland and others.

Response to Consultation on Job Grant