One in four working age people who are economically inactive live in social housing. This is linked to associated characteristics – people in social housing are more than twice as likely to be disabled, more than three times as likely to be lone parents or to have no qualifications. Social housing is now largely focused on providing affordable housing options for people who can’t afford to rent or buy a home on the open market. While there are more working age people living in social housing who are in work than not, they are more likely to be in low paid work compared to other types of housing.

There is a clear case for further action to support people in social housing to secure decent work and progression opportunities, particularly as many will not be accessing any form of employment support. Supporting more people in these communities into work is crucial, if the Government is to achieve an 80% employment rate.

This is why L&W has been working with Communities that Work (CtW) and housing associations, to get a trial of JobsPlus off the ground in the UK. It’s a model that is backed by evidence in the United States, showing that it can lead to better long-term labour market outcomes for residents and possibly their children 20 years later.

DWP are now funding the JobsPlus pilot programme in ten sites across England through HM Treasury’s Labour Market Evaluation and Pilots Fund. L&W is leading the programme working in collaboration with CtW and Institute for Employment Studies (IES), with additional support from MDRC, the US-based research organisation behind the conception of JobsPlus, and nine housing associations.

What is JobsPlus?

JobsPlus is a community-led employment support model. It provides intensive employment and wrap-around support, combined with work/rent incentives, and is delivered in partnership with key local agencies. These are the four core principles or components, based on the US model:

1. On-site employment services 

JobsPlus is delivered in community hub settings alongside other services, such as education and skills providers, childcare and transport providers, and other social services and health providers.

2. Community support for work 

It takes a community-led approach, where residents help shape provision and volunteer to champion engagement and provide peer support. Peer support included coaching support, networking, and informal childcare in the US.

3. Financial incentives  

The financial incentive built into the US model helped to address issues around withdrawal of rent support as earnings increased – with rent rules leading to an effective tax of up to 30% on earnings. Given social housing rent operates differently in the UK and benefit income reduces while rent levels stay the same, the UK pilot include a one-off ‘into work bonus’  £400, once JobsPlus participants have sustained new employment or self-employment for at least two months.

4. Saturation 

Finally, JobsPlus is open to all residents within a defined geographic area, a distinctive feature of the model. The model is also designed to be implemented at saturation-levels so that all residents in a Jobs Plus site benefit from the programme, either directly, as they are enrolled and receiving services from JobsPlus, or indirectly, by building a culture of work.

Where are the JobsPlus sites?

Nine housing associations are delivering JobsPlus across 10 different neighbourhoods across England, with up to 1,000 households in each JobsPlus site.

How will you know whether it’s worked?

The JobsPlus pilot programme forms part of our work to build the evidence on what works. L&W are working with IES to evaluate JobsPlus. The evaluation will look at how successfully JobsPlus, and its core components, have been implemented in the UK context, and what difference it’s made. We’re also working with Youth Futures Foundation to extend the programme into 2025/26 and to look at how effective this all age, community-led model is for young people.