Links Thinks - Policy and Research update from Community Links

 

If you're having problems viewing this message, please click here.   Links Thinks Community Links Policy and Research Update   October 2014 Forward to a friend   Hello and welcome to the latest email from the Policy and Research team at Community Links. This month we launch our new report, Deep Value Assessment, which sets out how employment support services can better understand jobseekers' needs and abilities. We've also been to the Labour and Conservative party conferences to meet with MPs and others about our work on welfare reform. Please join the conversation. Feel free to forward this e-mail to your colleagues and respond to anything here with a comment on Twitter using the hashtag #LinksThinks.     Ben Robinson Head of Policy Community Links ben.robinson@community-links.org       New report: Deep Value Assessment     Our new report, Deep Value Assessment, sets out how employment support services could get better at understanding jobseekers' needs and abilities. It calls for a more ongoing, participatory approach to assessment; one which focuses on jobseekers' strengths as well as their needs. The proposals have important implications for future commissioning of the Work Programme and for how Jobcentre Plus should operate under Universal Credit. >> Read the launch blog >> Download the briefing     Community Links at 2014 party conferences      Last month we attended the Labour and Conservative party conferences. We met with several MPs and other policy makers to discuss our research into the impacts of welfare reform. Both conferences set out the changes that future governments would make in the area of welfare and employment support. >> Read Liam's blog on the Conservatives' welfare announcements     Welfare     Eligibility, conditionality and sanctions Liam gave a presentation at The Westminster Briefing's day-long event on Welfare Reform. The presentation covers how conditionality within the social security system has changed in recent years and how this fits within a broader, long-term change towards increasing the amount of conditions that people have to comply with to receive their benefits. The presentation highlights the need for better evidence about how well the current system works, and a better understanding of how conditionality affects the relationships between benefit claimants and their advisors. >> See the presentation in full here     Reviews and consultations Over the last few months we've been inputting into several consultations happening around welfare - most recently the Social Security Advisory Committee's consultation on waiting days in Universal Credit. The SSAC referenced Community Links' submission in their recent publication on waiting times for JSA and ESA.     Early Action     The Fourth Emergency Service? Early Action and Social Security We've recently been working on a paper about what an early action social security system could look like which will be released in early November. In this blog post, Luke gives an indication of some of the arguments and sets out why we should stop seeing social security as a bill of failure and instead should see it as an investment in society This blog begins to set out some of the points from our paper on an Early Action Social Security system, which will be published next month. >> Read Luke's blog here     Communicating Early Action This month, David gave keynote speeches at the Association of Charitable Organisations national conference and at Lewisham Mental Health Conference - talking about how to take a more early action approach. Luke spoke about early action at an event jointly hosted by Voluntary Action Camden and Camden Clinical Commissioning Group. The purpose of this event was to work out how people from different sectors and organisations could work together to improve health outcomes and reduce demand on acute services. >> See Luke's presentation here     Upcoming Work   Reports on welfare reform and social security This autumn we will be launching two new reports. The first will be an update on our monitoring of welfare reform in Newham, following on Tipping the Balance which was published in April. The second is a report asking how the social security system would look it if were designed from an early action perspective.  Look out for these reports and get in touch if you would like to find out more. You can email me on ben.robinson@community-links.org     Stay in touch with Community Links on social media:   Blog Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Twitter     © Community Links 105 Barking Road, Canning Town, London, E16 4HQ. Charity Number 1018517 Company registration number 2661182