Connect to Work Grant Process - Questions & Answers
To assist your applications, questions and responses have been categorised under the following headings:
Application questions
1. Are bidders allowed to use diagrams or pictures within their answers. Do the words within the diagrams count within the stated word limits?
Diagrams or pictures are allowed and will not count towards the stated word limits.
2. Could the commissioner please confirm if Arial size 11 will be accepted for the form completion?
Yes, Arial size 11 will be accepted. Please adhere to the set word limits.
3. For question 2.7 Risk Management, we understand the response can be one page maximum, can you please confirm if it will be accepted within the one page allowance, to include the table as well as additional narrative outside of the table?
So long as the table and narrative it does not exceed one page this will be acceptable.
4. Can the commissioner advise, are bidders allowed to expand the mitigation margin of the risk table within question 2.7 Risk Management, to better fit the narrative?
Yes this is acceptable but please keep within the one page limit.
5. Page 3 of the application form asks ‘Own/lease premises. Details of lease if appropriate’. Please can you confirm what type of information is required for this i.e. do you require an address of a base location in East Sussex? If the bidder does not have any premises in East Sussex, would N/A be acceptable for this question?
Yes, N/A will be acceptable, but applicants are asked to clearly outline how they propose to deliver the programme in their target area/areas.
6. Please elaborate on what is required to be financially viable
We undertake financial appraisals using a set framework, reviewing applicants annual accounts to make sure that they are financially sustainable and that they do not pose a risk.
7. Is it possible to include an introduction to the mobilisation section, outlining project management approach etc before using each 300 word question to talk about specific mobilisation actions for each cohort? Or does the project management approach need to be included within the word count of each individual response?
We request all applicants to keep within the specified word limits.
8. Can the commissioner clarify if bidders are required to have facilities in East Sussex, or whether it is acceptable to deliver within the community as per the IPS model, as Q 2.1 asks ‘Where is your main delivery base location and facilities (current or planned)’?
Yes, this will be acceptable, but applicants are asked to clearly outline how and where they propose to deliver the programme in their target area/areas.
Below responses added: 26/02/2024
9. Please can the Commissioner explain how they will be evaluating "Timeframe" as it has a weighting of 10%?
It is important that the Accountable Body is assured that applicants for the Grant can mobilise and deliver within the specified timeframes.
10. We note that part of the questions and answers to date refer to Connect to Work technical notes. Our understanding is that these are only available to Accountable Bodies and are not published. Can you please clarify the position re technical notes and/or a link to where they can be found.
Connect to Work Technical Notes have not been published. We are not able to share them at this time. Applicants can refer to the DWP Connect to Work Guidance notes though.
11. Please confirm what is intended in the employment support context by Product Liability Insurance.
All insurance requirements are standard ESCC contractor requirements.
12. The Grant Guidance states the applicant must be:
- a legally constituted organisation with the purpose of providing employment support clearly specified in your constitutional documents (please provide).
- financially viable (Please provide your most recent accounts, providing evidence of reserves).
Is this an area we would be required to submit documents for or are there any exceptions?
We require your most recent audited accounts as submitted to Companies House. If you are legally constituted and deliver employment support, but this is not explicit in your constitutional documents, you will need to evidence that the delivery of employment support is core to the delivery of your mission/business.
13. In section 11 of the application guidance, the second table sets out the anticipated delivery profile (starts) for each grant allocation in year one. Can you please confirm that ‘starts’ means starts into the programme, not starts into employment?
Yes, the profiles table relate to participants starting on programme.
14. We would appreciate clarification on whether TUPE regulations apply. Could you please confirm if there are any implications regarding staff transfer for CTW grant funding?
We will need to seek legal guidance on this matter. If applicable it would form part of the contractual agreement.
15. As per the guidance, to be eligible to apply for this programme, it is stated that applicants must be a legally constituted organisation with the purpose of providing employment support, as outlined in their constitutional documents. Our organisation meets the criteria of being a legally constituted entity. However, our constitutional documents do not explicitly state the provision of employment support as a purpose. Despite this, our organisation has over 15 years of experience in delivering employment services, which is a testament to our commitment and capability in this area.
We are also a recognised provider under the current Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Tier 2 Commercial Agreement for Employment and Health Related Services (CAEHRS) Framework. This involvement further demonstrates our extensive experience and suitability for delivering employment support services such as Connect to Work.
We would like to clarify whether our 15 years+ experience in delivering employment services could be considered as meeting the eligibility criteria for the purpose of providing employment support.
Could you please advise whether our experience in this sector will satisfy the requirements as set out in the grant guidance, despite the absence of the explicit language in our constitutional documents?
Please ensure this evidence is included within your grant application and it will be considered.
16. Please can the commissioner advise in terms of the awarding methodology, how is the priority ranking considered?
Our methodology has been decided based on our understanding of what successful supported employment looks like and our experience of delivering successful employment provision across East Sussex.
17. Please can the commissioner provide us with a draft Agreement so that we can review the terms and conditions for this opportunity? If the commissioner is unable to provide the terms and conditions, please can the commissioner confirm that this bid submission is non-binding?
Unfortunately, we are unable to share copies of a Grant Agreement currently. We can confirm the submission is not binding.
18. Within Section 3 of the Grant Agreement, it is stated that further due diligence will be carried out before grant agreements are issued, including confirming insurance levels. However, within the Application Declaration we are required to confirm that we have attached evidence of required insurance cover.
Successful applicants will be required to undergo a financial appraisal prior to any final decision. Applicants are required to provide the above documents to support this process.
19. Please could you confirm if at this stage, it would be acceptable for providers to confirm that they are willing to obtain the required level of insurance by April 2025, should they be successful in their grant application?
Yes, this would be acceptable but if successful at the application stage, no grant will be awarded until due diligence has been completed to a satisfactory level.
20. Please can the commissioner confirm that bidders do not need to include their Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, data protection and safeguarding policies as part of the bid submission?
No, this does not need to be submitted at the application stage but will be required following from successful applicants following assessment.
21. Whilst we understand the Commissioner does not want a detailed financial breakdown for question 2.9, could you please clarify if you would like any costs shown quantitatively in this response?
We are asking applicants how they will use the funding. Applicants are welcome to provide costings if they wish, but this is not essential. The question is asked to ensure that applicants have considered how they will use the allocation to deliver the outcomes for participants. At the point of contracting, we will seek clarification from successful applicants about eligible spend.
22. Can the Authority provide some examples of the kinds of documents that would satisfy the following requirement: "a legally constituted organisation with the purpose of providing employment support clearly specified in your constitutional documents (please provide)." For example, would our company accounts be acceptable?
Acceptable documents may include but are not limited to company accounts, business plans, memorandum of incorporation, charitable objectives/constitution or annual reports.
23. Is there an exit option, if so, what is this process?
We will work closely with grant recipients. Should recipients need to stop delivery for reasons other than underperformance, we will devise an exit plan with them that considers the support to participants at the core.
24. For question 2.4 and 2.8 – where bidders are asked to write 300 words about each allocation. Does the description for the ‘16+ with disabilities, Young People and Unemployed Adults’ Lots need to be identical if you are applying for both Lots for these cohorts? If not, what are the differences between the sets of Lots (other than geographic differences for 16+ with disabilities). We have the same query regarding the Mobilisation question.
Applicants are welcome to copy and paste or to differentiate answers. The application form enables to applicants to write up to 300 words per grant application allowing applicants to outline any changes in approach for the specified cohort. If applying for two like contracts, applicants can copy and paste or explain how they would deliver differently (e.g. by geography). The same applies to both 2.4 and 2.8.
25. Please can the authority confirm what their definition of Professional liability insurance cover is, where these requirements come from and that the stated level is not an error. In our experience, and in relationship to other contracts we hold (large regional central government £multi-million contracts) this is an unusually high level of cover to ask for, Professional Indemnity insurance at a lower level is normally requested. It would be very difficult and expensive to obtain this level of cover for smaller or VCSE organisations.
Please let us know what level of insurance you have and we will discuss further with our legal and procurement teams.
Below responses added: 27/02/2024
26. In the completing pricing/bid submission template – does the commissioner prefer numbers to be inclusive or exclusive of VAT?
We are not including a pricing template in the proposal document.
Grant Allocations
1. Could the commissioner please clarify if the funding profile for Grant 2 is correct?
The year 1 value for grant 2 has been updated on the grant guidance notes.
Please note: All grant allocations are for guidance purposes only at this stage and could change pending DWP review.
2. We note that the DWP Grant guidance indicates 1,000 participants and £3.8m compared to 900 participants and £2.68m per the 10 grants contained in your grant guidance. Can you please confirm if and how the 100 customers at £1.12m is being supported/used (in terms of the funding we assume that the majority of this is for administration, systems, and triage services).
In addition, to programme management and administration, ESCC will directly support 100 participants. The four years of income is plotted over five years of delivery, so costs are not as simple as £3.8m a year.
3. Does the Authority have expectations for delivery providers' geographic coverage? i.e. are providers expected to deliver across all of East Sussex?
We understand some applicants will have further reach than others. Question 2.1 of the grant application asks applicants to outline where they intend to deliver their Connect to Work provision.
4. Are Lots 1 and 2 different in any way other than start volume? Are they intended to be county-wide or location specific or either?
Lots 1 and 2 are the same except for start volumes from year 2.
We understand some applicants will have further geographic reach than others. Question 2.1 of the grant application asks applicants to outline where they intend to deliver their Connect to Work provision.
5. Can the commissioner please advise what is the difference between Lot 1 and Lot 2? e.g. does one cover the East and one the West?
Grants 1 and 2 will support all eligible groups outside of specific grant awards.
We understand some applicants will have further reach than others. Question 2.1 of the grant application asks applicants to outline where they intend to deliver their Connect to Work provision
6. Are Lots 3 and 4 different in any way? Are they intended to be county-wide or location specific or either?
Lots 3 and 4 are intended to focus on East and West of the county respectively.
7. Please can the commissioner provide further clarity on Lot 9 (Mental Health), for example whether this is for the whole of East Sussex?
We understand some applicants will have greater geographic coverage than others. Ideally, the specialist provision will be available to any East Sussex resident. Question 2.1 of the grant application asks applicants to outline where they intend to deliver their Connect to Work provision.
8. Some grants are split between east and west while others do not specify. Can the commissioner confirm that grants without a location are expected to be county wide?
Yes, though we do recognise some applicants will have greater geographic coverage than others. Question 2.1 of the grant application asks applicants to outline where they intend to deliver their Connect to Work provision.
9. Can the commissioner clarify what would be the threshold of a participant to fall under Lot 9 e.g. for an adult with mild mental health needs, being referred for Lot 1 or 2, would the referral be acceptable or should this fall under Lot 9?
Connect to Work can support individuals who self-identify as having a disability or mental health need, they do not have to have a referral from a clinical team.
We anticipate many participants having multiple needs. All participants will be assessed by our triage team and if eligible, we will allocate these individuals to the most appropriate delivery partner based on their primary need.
10. The Grant Application documents state that bidders can only win a maximum of two allocations. Are there any combinations which this may preclude. E.g., Allocations 1 and 2 are both for 150 starts for unemployed adults - could these be won by the same bidder?
There are no restrictions on the combination of awards. Applicants are welcome to apply for all grants they believe they can deliver, however, a maximum of two awards per applicant will apply.
11. How many providers are you looking to award contracts to?
As outlined in the grant breakdown, we anticipate awarding grants to a minimum of five and a maximum of 10 providers.
12. Please could the Authority provide a breakdown of the boroughs/districts within the East and West geographies?
East – Eastbourne Borough Council, Lewes District Council and Wealden District Council.
West – Hastings Borough Council and Rother District Council.
Below responses added: 26/02/2024
13. For question 2.4 please can you clarify what is meant by “community networks”. Is this in relation to health services?
This may relate to any local network with community reach in which the applicant is engaged.
14. For question 2.8, can bidders add any text/description before writing about each allocation (300-word limit for each). There appears to be no other word counts stated.
No, we require a 300-word limited response per allocation.
15. Some of the mobilisation details and preparations will be identical for each allocation (particularly for allocations that start at the same time), or should bidders repeat this information under each allocation heading?
Please copy and paste for each allocation that is being applied for, if the details and preparations are the same. Or please state ‘THIS WILL APPLY TO ALL ALLOCATIONS THAT WE ARE APPLYING TO’.
16. Can the authority provide clarification on what is meant by bidders' approach to partnership working in Q2.5? Is this in relation to quality assurance and/or safeguarding, or partnership working with other grant providers?
This is about how the applicant approaches partnership work and may or may not touch on all of the areas mentioned.
17. Please can the commissioner advise why do the starts for allocations 3 and 4 start in September 2025?
The DWP has requested this staggered start to delivery of the programme.
18. If we applied for 2 lots, and were successful in our application for both, could we make a decision to accept only 1?
Yes.
19. The Grant Guidance for Connect to Work Delivery, Section 4 states that ‘applicants may apply to deliver several areas of focus in their application, but we will limit the maximum number of grant allocations to two per delivery organisation.’
Please could you confirm if there is any possibility that a potential supplier is awarded only one of the grants and not two?
Yes.
20. If bidders are interested in the ‘Lots: 16+ with disabilities, Young People and Unemployed Adults’ – can they apply for/be awarded both Lots for the cohort, or will it be a max of 1 per supplier?
We will limit allocations to 2 per successful applicant, there is no restriction on the combination of allocations.
21. Does the ‘16+ with disabilities’ Lot include people with learning difficulties – so all SEND people?
Yes, this includes young people with learning difficulties.
22. For the ‘50+ and carers’ Lot – do the participants need to be both 50+ and a carer. Or is this Lot for people that are one or the other or both.
We anticipate this lot covering support both the 50yrs+ AND the Carers cohorts.
Grant Funding / Finance
1. Please can the commissioner confirm what the contract length will be, as according to the document (Guidance for applicants, Section 11) there could be two scenarios, one where the funds allocated are for 3 years (delivery for 4 years) and one where funds are allocated for 4 years (delivery for 5 years)?
The programme is intended to run until 2030, however it has only been signed off for three years thus far. The Government recognises that funding will need to be committed to funding tail off provision the year after the final year of the contract to wind down the programme.
2. In section 8 of the guidance for applicants, it states:
‘If partners are not delivering in line with their required delivery profile, ESCC will reserve the right to reduce and reallocate funds. Partners will be required to report on their spend monthly’. Could the commissioner therefore clarify if this means that the payment mechanism for the IPS element will be split between service fee and payment by results? If so, could you clarify what the split will be?
Connect to Work delivery is grant funded and a quarterly payment will be made in arrears to providers. We are still waiting on Government guidance on the split. If providers are not delivering in line with targets, ESCC will reduce or cease funding.
3. Could the commissioner please confirm if there will be an annual inflationary increase?
We are awaiting clarification from DWP about this matter. It is best to assume that a set unit cost will be delivered over the lifetime of the programme.
4. Could the commissioner please confirm if they will be using their standard services contract published here as the basis for this contract? https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/business/doing-business/rules-regulations-policies/purchase-orders/purchase-orders-services#Index
If not, please could the intended draft contract be made available for review before the tender submission deadline?
Successful applicants will be appointed and issued with a Long Grant Agreement to deliver the programme. This will be reviewed annually. We are unable to share this at this time.
5. Please can the commissioner share the details of what are considered "Allowable Costs"?
The DWP guidance references documents which are not available to providers, such as the Grant Cost Register and the Grant Funding Agreement.
The Grant Costs Register and Funding Agreement are internal documents between the DWP and accountable bodies. To support grant applicants, we have extracted the list of allowable costs [21.8 KB] [docx] and made this available for download via the webpage.
6. Please can the commissioner advise whether the supplier will be able to co-locate with other services, and if so if there will be a cost to bear for this?
Property costs are allowable costs under Connect to Work guidance, however, budgets have been set for each award, and we require successful providers to work within these. Grant recipients will only be able to claim costs that specifically relate to the delivery of the Connect to Work programme.
7. Please can you provide further details about how you envisage paying providers? Will the grant be evenly split across the months and suppliers will bill for this sum? Some of the commissioner's information indicates that the payment will be based on the reimbursement of costs incurred; if this is the case, then it will not be feasible to retain some budget to spend in the fifth year of the programme (as required by this section: "In 29/30 there will be no allocation as there will be no starts. Organisations will need to spread their four-year allocation over the five years of delivery to enable participants to be supported by Employment Specialists in year five to realise their outcomes." )
Connect to Work delivery is grant funded and will operate under a reimbursement of allowable costs incurred model. Grant recipients will be required to submit claims for allowable costs incurred. Payments will be made quarterly.
Grant allocations have been calculated based on participant counts but include costs for the final year delivery. Though there will be no starts in year 4, delivery partners will still be able to submit claims for costs incurred – up to the maximum grant award.
8. Can the Authority confirm whether delivery partners will be able to include central overheads costs, property costs and any profit line in their budget if successful?
Overheads and property costs are allowable costs under Connect to Work guidance. A full list of eligible expenditure will be provided to Grant Recipients to help manage budgets.
We have indicated our proposed budget per grant area (although this is subject to DWP funding agreements with ESCC and could change). Successful bidders will need to work within the allocations. Grant recipients will only be able to claim costs that specifically relate to the delivery of the Connect to Work programme.
Please note, the grant will be made purely for delivery of the Connect to Work programme and will be paid quarterly in arrears after expenditure has been checked. ESCC nor any of its delivery partners may generate profit through delivery of the programme.
9. Are providers able to use subcontractors for delivery of parts of this contract?
As outlined in our Stakeholder event and subsequent FAQs. We are not able to have more than two tiers of contracting. DWP is contracting with ESCC. ESCC is contracting with providers.
Note: The no subcontracting policy only applies to the delivery of the Connect to Work programme and not services that are provided as a part of the partner’s Connect to Work delivery offer.
10. Could the commissioner please confirm that an applicant VAT registered should not include VAT in their costs?
Where the applicant is VAT registered and/or exempt, VAT should be recovered directly by the applicant from HMRC and cannot be included or claimed as part of project costs.
Below responses added: 26/02/2024
11. In response to your answers regarding the central CRM system, can the Authority confirm that providers should not cost in the use of their own CRM system and that the central CRM system will have full functionality for programme delivery?
Yes, ESCC will provide successful delivery partners with access to a programme specific CRM.
12. If the split of 'out of work' vs ' job retention' participants changes during delivery from the suggested 85:15 split, and therefore impacts our staffing costs due to changes to FTE, will the Authority flex the proposed grant payment agreed?
The 85:15 percentage split is accounted for within the grant allocations, and we do not foresee this having an impact on staff costs. Providers will be asked to try to adhere to this split. If capacity becomes an issue, we will reserve the right to allocate referrals to an alternative delivery partner.
13. If referrals sent to a provider exceed the volumes anticipated in the contract, will the Authority cover any increased cost e.g. increased Employment Specialist headcount?
We will monitor caseload sizes in line with DWP fidelity, if a provider has reached capacity, we will allocate referrals to an alternative delivery partner.
14. The Grant Guidance for Connect to Work Delivery, Section 8. Payments and reconciliation, states that the ‘funding for spend will be paid quarterly in arrears.’ and Section 11. Grants, states that ‘In 29/30 there will be no allocation as there will be no starts. Organisations will need to spread their four-year allocation over the five years of delivery to enable participants to be supported by Employment Specialists in year five to realise their outcomes.’
Please could you confirm what will need to be submitted in order for grant to be paid, and whether a flat 1/4 of the annual value will be paid each claim or whether it will be based on cost recovery. If it is based on cost recovery, how do we receive the final (5th) years’ worth of income?
The allocation is based on total starts over the first 4 years. We anticipate splitting this award and making a grant payment to delivery partners at the end of each quarter, including during year 5. DWP are yet to publish their final guidance on payment and cost validation and are yet to approve our proposal for spend. We will share further details once these processes have been confirmed.
15. The Grant Guidance for Connect to Work Delivery, Section 8 states that ‘Partners will be required to report on their spend monthly.’ Please can you confirm what the expectations and requirements for this reporting are?
DWP are yet to publish their final guidance on payment and cost validation. We will share further details once these processes have been confirmed.
Below responses added: 27/02/2024
16. Has there been any HMRC guidance that Connect to Work can be considered a grant to the frontline suppliers and is therefore outside the scope of VAT? There are various points in the HMRC guidance which imply that Connect to Work could be in scope for VAT (such as the payments being made for particular services to your clients; imposing specific targets for quantity, quality and timeframes of delivery). This is a risk from our point of view, so we are keen to understand the Commissioner's approach.
We are currently investigating this with DWP. Please submit your proposal and we will clarify this with our internal finance teams and DWP with successful applicants.
Programme Delivery
1. A true IPS fidelity model requires the Employment Specialist to undertake the full customer journey, however given the volumes and the wider eligibility (compared to an IPS/SEQF service) is it permissible, and within the CtW fidelity requirements, for referral generation activity be supported by roles other than the Employment Specialist to support achievement of programme start KPIs?
DWP fidelity model detail is due to be published later this year. However, it is our understanding that alongside Employment Specialists other roles can be funded to support the programme (referrals, employer links, management)
2. Can the Authority provide more information on their proposals for managing referrals, including integration with DWP's PRaP system? Will providers be required to integrate with PRaP and does the Authority envisage providers needing to allocate resource/Employment Specialist time to managing referrals?
As accountable body we will oversee the referral process and will be appointing a central triage team who will assess all referrals for eligibility and suitability. The triage team will be required to liaise with a central DWP team for final eligibility checks and PRaP registration prior to allocating participants to delivery partners. We do not expect delivery partners to integrate with PRaP currently. However, we will expect providers to report on participant progress and to maintain participant and financial records, some of which will be undertaken via a Management Information System. Staff time should be considered in respect of this.
3. Can the authority provide more detail on the MI System. Will this function as a CMS/CRM in addition to an MI system and therefore bidders will only require the use of this system for delivery?
We currently employ a CRM for existing employability projects. This is being reviewed and adapted ahead of Connect to Work delivery. Successful grant applicants will be required to use this CRM as part of their delivery to monitor participant progress through the fidelity model.
The CRM will support grant recipients with participant engagement and provide real time MI for ESCC as the accountable body.
4. Will Connect to Work client data/records be stored on a centralised system or is this for bidders to provide?
We currently employ a CRM for existing employability projects. This is being reviewed and adapted ahead of Connect to Work delivery. Successful grant applicants will be required to use this CRM as part of their delivery.
The CRM will support grant recipients with participant engagement and provide real time MI for ESCC as the accountable body.
5. Will any centralised training be provided to the delivery partners/subcontractors?
Yes, as accountable body we are in the process of procuring IPS and SEQF training and anticipate this being in place prior to go live in 2025. Grant recipients will be required to attend this training regardless of their start date.
6. Please confirm how the triage/referral service will work - is there an expectation that providers will source their own referrals?
Our central triage team will be responsible for processing all referrals, including DWP eligibility checks. Delivery partners are expected to support with participant recruitment, identifying and referring interested residents to our central team for assessment.
7. Will there be a mechanism to track and allocate self-referrals generated back to individual suppliers please?
Yes, we anticipate many of these referrals will return to individual partners, however, we will reserve the right to allocate elsewhere if we feel another delivery partner is best suited to meet their needs.
8. Is the expectation that there will be a shared responsibility to market the programme and in the generation of referrals please?
Yes, we expect delivery teams to work in partnership with regards to marketing and delivery. Delivery teams will be provided with materials that meet DWP Connect to Work marketing guidelines.
9. Does a starter on the in work retention support who transfers to the out of work support count as a new starter?
If an ‘In-Work’ Retention Support Participant’s circumstances change and they fall out of employment, they should continue their existing journey until it’s conclusion, including consideration of an extension of Connect to Work.
After the conclusion of ‘In-Work’ Retention Support, if the individual still requires employment support, appropriate provision including Connect to Work ‘Out-of-Work’ should be considered and normal processes applied.
10. Can the Authority confirm the evidence required for a self-employed job outcome?
HMRC data does not include self-employed earnings. It is our understanding that delivery partners will need to retain evidence of self-employment for manual reporting, however, we are waiting on final DWP guidance regarding this.
11. For the avoidance of doubt, can the Authority confirm what happens to a participant who achieves a higher earnings outcome before the end of their 12 months of support. Do they exit the programme and no longer receive support or is there a requirement to continue providing support for the full 12 months regardless of when the higher outcome is achieved.
Participants accessing the Out of Work pathway receive up to 12 months support (if not extended). If a participant achieves a higher outcome before the end of their 12 months, it will be the responsibility of the Employment Specialist to review the Vocational Action Plan to assess any ongoing need and decide if a participant is ready to exit.
12. Can the Authority confirm if the threshold outcomes are cumulative and can comprise of different jobs (i.e. if a participant drops out of work and is supported back into a new job the 13/26 weeks does not start again but continues from the point the participant dropped out of work)
Connect to Work outcomes will be measured using HMRC data including first earnings, lower income and higher income thresholds. Earnings can be counted from one or multiple spells of employment. Note – employed earnings and self-employed earnings accrue separately from one another and cannot be combined.
Below responses added: 26/02/2024
13. Can Applicants for the programme specify the provider they would like to work with?
Yes. Although the triage team will ultimately determine the most appropriate delivery partner with the participant.
14. Can a provider refuse a referral - if they don't feel they can meet the needs of the applicant?
ESCC will assess eligibility, suitability and determine the most appropriate delivery partner. If a delivery partner meets with a participant and does not feel they can meet their needs, then this can be reviewed.
15. Will applicants the be made aware their income is being monitored for this purpose? Who will advise them?
There will be a privacy notice issued to those registering onto the scheme about the use of data.
16. Will the monitored start date for each applicant be the same as the date of the referral to the provider?
For Connect to Work purposes, the start date is determined by completion of a vocational profile between the participant and employment specialist.
17. If a provider has been allocated a West of the County grant but an applicant from the East of the County wishes to work with that provider - can an exception be made?
The triage team will discuss the feasibility of this with the participant and provider.
18. In relation to co-location, will there be any desk-space available in any of the commissioner's premises for use by Connect to Work suppliers, and if so, what would the commissioner charge for this?
We are not anticipating that co-location will be required due to the nature of the target cohorts that our project is working with. However, we would suggest that delivery partners explore colocation options within their networks if they feel that this would benefit delivery for specific cohorts.
19. The Grant Guidance for Connect to Work Delivery, Section 7 states that ‘The applicant will be required to provide participant data to ESCC monthly and to complete quarterly monitoring reports by the end of each third month. Templates and details of reporting requirements will be provided with the Grant Funding Agreement.’ and ‘The DWP will track participant outcomes (earning thresholds etc) using its PRAPs system.’
The Grant Application Form requires applicants to commit to: ‘use our Management Information System to input all data required.’
In addition, sections 153 and 154 on National Connect to Work: Grant Guidance for England state that ‘Accountable Bodies will be expected to work with DWP on developing automated systems’ ‘This may mean that some elements of MI that start as manual collection move, in time, to be automated.’ and ‘Further details on which MI requirements are currently digital or to be reported manually along with their frequency will be provided in the future Technical Note: MI.’
Please could you confirm if the DWP ‘PRAPs system’ referred to in the Grant Guidance Section 7, is the same system as the ‘Management Information System’ (MIS) referred to within the Grant Application Form?
No, the ‘Management Information System’ (MIS) refers to our own CRM which will be used for day-to-day delivery and reporting. The PRaP system is separate from this and will be used by DWP to monitor programme participants and earning data.
20. The successful applicants will be required to input all data onto the MIS from the commencement of the Grant, or will this be introduced at a later date and in the interim period be required to provide data manually?
Our CRM is currently being reviewed and adapted for CtW delivery. We anticipate this being in place prior to our first participants being recruited to the programme. Note – there may still be a requirement for some additional reporting outside of this system.
21. In addition to the Employment Specialists, the Managers and Performance Analysts will also be able to have full access to the automated Management Information System?
Successful grant applicants will be required to provide details of employees, their roles and their responsibilities as part of the onboarding process and to nominate staff that they wish to access the MIS.
22. Successful applicants will be able to extract data from any automated Management Information System, enabling them to monitor the quality of data and performance of the contract, and to complete the required performance monitoring reports?
Our CRM is currently being reviewed and adapted for CtW delivery, including our reporting functions. We anticipate delivery partners having access to this function to monitor their own delivery.
23. The definition of ex-offenders states that they have completed a custodial or community sentence. Will those that have completed a custodial sentence still be on licence?
Potentially yes, referrals will be assessed on an individual basis both for eligibility and suitability. In this case it will be wise to assess any restrictions, needs or availability for work to determine whether now would the right time to access the programme.
24. Are the maximum caseloads for advisers inclusive of in-work support given to out of work participants who have a job entry?
Yes, Employment Specialists will support participants throughout their entire journey.
25. Does the maximum caseload of 25 for IPS include the "In Work" cohort?
Yes, caseload sizes are outlined in the IPS and SEQF fidelity frameworks and will apply to both the Out of Work and In Work Retention Pathways.
26. Is there an expectation for providers to pay employment advisors in line with the NHS grade 5 pay scale? Would providers be obliged to match changes to the NHS grade 5 pay scale that the NHS may implement during the contract term? Will providers be able to start new starters at the bottom of the grade 5 pay scale (£29,970) or would they need to start on the higher bands if they have the right number of years' experience in similar roles?
DWP or ESCC is not mandating any specific pay scales or banding for delivery staff.
27. On Q2.6. 'How do you ensure effective governance and reporting?' it states 'you can include Project Management, data management, timely reporting, risk monitoring, evaluation and audit/external scrutiny, use of management information systems, accounting etc'. Please can the commissioner clarify, does risk monitoring relate to performance risk?
The question relates to all aspects of grant management and delivery, including performance against target.
28. Alongside the earning notification which comes via HMRC, will the Authority require any further evidence of a job outcome to be gathered by the provider?
DWP will clarify the data requirements over the next months. We believe further evidence will be required for self-employed earnings but this is not yet known.
29. To what extent does the Authority expect delivery to be conducted virtually or is face-to-face delivery the expected norm? For example, could in-work-support be delivered virtually to make it easier for participants to attend?
We would expect support to be tailored to the needs of the participant.
30. Can the Authority clarify how KPI's / performance will be monitored during the contract and if this will be the responsibility of the provider?
Providers will need to monitor delivery against KPIs and ESCC will monitor KPIs and performance as the Accountable Body. Providers will be required to ensure that they are delivering against the DWP fidelity models (IPS and SEQF) and this will be inspected by the DWP. Our CRM is being developed to facilitate monitoring by all parties.
31. Please can you confirm – are providers able to bid for part of a lot e.g., could providers apply for 50 starts out of a lot that has150 starts? (e.g. split lot)
No. Bidding for split lots will not be considered.
32. Please could you confirm expected service delivery for the final year of the service. Is the service expected to close during year five and if so, at what point?
The programme is to be funded for three years and pending the spending review and evaluation of the programme, may be funded for one year plus one year. If the programme runs to five years, then year five will only see In-Work starts. Providers will need to support those starting on the programme in year four to complete in year five (to receive up to 12 months of support). The same would apply to year four if the programme is only funded for three/four years.
33. On page 2, Section 1 (Eligibility) of the 'Connect to Work – ESCC Grant Application Form' Providers are asked to 'please provide your most recent accounts, providing evidence of reserves'. Our most recent accounts run from June FY23 to June FY24, could the commissioner please confirm that these accounts will suffice?
Yes, most recent audited accounts will be required.
34. We would like to confirm that suppliers cannot make any profit from Connect to Work. This is not aligned with any of the government or DWP messaging. ESCC has not set an explicit requirement for suppliers to be voluntary sector or not-for-profit. Please confirm what your requirement is.
As the Accountable Body, ESCC requires the Connect to Work grant to be used fully for the benefit of local residents and would not expect to see any profit being made.
35. For cohorts 3 and 4, how are young people defined (what is the age range)?
The age range is 18-24. We may have (in exceptional cases) young people aged 16-18 eligible to participate on the programme.
36. For cohorts 3 and 4, are these young people only those with care experience/care leavers or identified as being involved or at risk of being involved in serious violence – or may these young people also be homeless, ex-offenders, carers/ex carers, victim/survivor of domestic abuse, or have drug dependencies?
Those aged 18-24 may have multiple barriers to employment.
37. At the stakeholder event the team confirmed Access to Work can be used alongside this funding - can you please confirm at which point in the employment journey this can be applied for?
Connect to Work guidance does not state when an application can be made, only that Access to Work remains a part of the measures available to Participants moving into work and to those within the in-work cohort.
38. We understand there will be a core employer engagement team, and we wondered how employer referrals to providers will be allocated and shared?
We will have a small employer engagement team to support providers with job matching but will also expect providers to identify vacancies. Employer engagement will be a standing item on partnership board meetings.