DWP Commissioning Strategy

Disability Employment Support: Looking Forward 25th July 2013

Dan RamseyProvision Performance and Controls Division, Department for Work and Pensions

2Department for Work & Pensions

DWP Commissioning – where we’ve come fromPrior to the 2008 Commissioning Strategy:• £1bn a year spend through 20+ programmes, 1300+ contracts, 600+ providers

Issues:• A fragmented market • Process driven• Low on innovation• Performance not where we wanted it to be• Too much performance measurement – not enough focus on improvement• Not strategic

What change did we need:• Freud Review (2007) • A marketplace fit for welfare-to-work reform:

– A focus on the individual and on tailored solutions – amongst other things– Step change in what we deliver and how we deliver– Changes in programme structure to support this

3Department for Work & Pensions

Market-wide approach - 2008 Commissioning Strategy

• Market structure

• Market development and stewardship

• Provider capabilities

• Commercial strategy

• Performance management

• DWP capability

• Customer experience

4Department for Work & Pensions

What followed… and why look again at this now?

What we got:• Significant reduction in labour market programme contracts directly managed

by DWP; these are delivered through a smaller core of prime providers operating with supply chains.

• A more dynamic welfare-to-work market: e.g. learning, consolidating, developing.

• Market response to Work Programme, at prime level: some new entrants, lots of more established providers, developing their approach.

BUT… Five years since the last strategy:• Experience from Work Programme, Work Choice, etc.• Key developments in DWP strategy and delivery – Social Justice, Universal

Credit.• Cross-government – a number of developments, including Open Public

Services, Civil Service Reform.

With key commissioning challenges in the pipeline, it is time to revisit our approach.

5Department for Work & Pensions

2013 Commissioning Strategy

Where’s the focus this time?

• Market structure and stewardship

• Driving performance

• Working in partnership

DWP Commissioning Strategy 2013 Consultation

6Department for Work & Pensions

Tensions?

• Outcomes for claimants/service users• Strategic market oversight• Capability, specialist capability• Control environment• Competition • Collaboration• Resilience • Outcome-focused payment models• Service levels, quality monitoring• Lean, efficiency• Innovation• Open data• Flexibility (in partnership)• Co-commissioning• Best Value

7Department for Work & Pensions

We’re beginning a consultation shortly…

Get in touch through: COMMISSIONING.STRATEGY@DWP.GSI.GOV.UK