315. cpa14: eos (fourstar) - tender

8/3/2019 315. CPA14: EOS (Fourstar) - Tender

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RESTRICTED COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE

EMPLOYMENT RELATED SUPPORT SERVICESFRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

MINI COMPETITIONS FOR THE PROVISION OFTHE WORK PROGRAMME

Invitation to Tender Form

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Tender Round title: The Work Programme

Organisation Name: FourstaR Employment and Skills Ltd

Lot: Lot 6 West Midlands (1)

Contract Package Area (CPA): CPA 14 Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country

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PART 1: ORGANISATION DETAILS

[1.1] Your response to Part 1 is for information purposes only. If any of this informationhas changed since the Framework Agreement application stage, please state this withinthe table below including a short explanation as to why. If you cannot provide any of theinformation below please explain this within the table.

DWP will not be responsible for contacting anyone other than the persons named in thispart of your form. If any of this information changes during the bidding period you mustinform DWP of the changes by email to:[email protected]

Name of the Legal Entity in whose name thistender is submitted and with whom DWP willcontract:

FourstaR Employment and Skills Ltd

Trading Name (if different from above): As above

Company Registration Number: 06601702

Company Registered address: Unit 8-9 The Pavilions,Cranmore Drive,Solihull,West Midlands,B90 4SB.

Registered in England

Head Office Address, if different: As above

VAT Registration Number: 975397264

Website Address (if any): www.fourstaruk.co.uk

Name, address and company registration numberof parent company, where applicable:

FourstaR Group Ltd,Sterling House,97 Lichfield Street,Tamworth,B79 7QF

Company Registration Number 06526478

Name and Job Title of main contact: [REDACTED]Employment and Skills Ltd

Address: Unit 8-9 The Pavilions,Cranmore Drive,Solihull,West Midlands,B90 4SB.

Telephone no: [REDACTED]

Mobile telephone no: [REDACTED]

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mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Fax no: 0121 713 4611

E-mail address: [REDACTED]

Alternative contact Name and Job Title: [REDACTED]FourstaR Employment and Skills Ltd

Address (if different from above): As above

Telephone no: [REDACTED]

Mobile telephone no: [REDACTED]

Contact e-mail: [REDACTED]

PART 2: TENDERER DECLARATION

[2.1] You must complete this Declaration by Tenderer. Failure to include this declarationmay result in your bid being disqualified.

To: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

For the benefit of the Department for Work and Pensions, we hereby warrant andundertake as follows:

1. We have examined, read, understand and accept in full the proposed Contract

documents and all other documents and Annexes provided with this declaration andthe clarifications issued during the Invitation to Tender period.

2. We have completed and submitted all information required in the Invitation toTender Form in the format and order required.

3. We confirm the information set out in our response is complete and accurate to thebest of our knowledge and belief.

4. We hereby acknowledge and agree that we have read, understand and accept theWork Programme Call-Off Terms and Conditions, the Work Programme Specification

and the draft Order Form.

Scanned Signature: [REDACTED]

Date: 11/02/2011

Name: [REDACTED]

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Job Title: Managing Director

Duly authorised to sign Tenders on behalf of:FourstaR Employment and Skills Ltd

Name of Organisation:FourstaR Employment and Skills Ltd

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Name: [REDACTED]

Scanned Signature: [REDACTED]

Position: Managing Director

Telephone No: [REDACTED]

Date: 11/02/2011

DWP reserves the right to amend any provisions of The Work Programme AdditionalRequirements at any time during the mini-competition procurement exercise.

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PART 4: SERVICE REQUIREMENT

NOTE: MINIMUM SCORE APPLIES TO ALL QUESTIONS THAT ATTRACT A SCORE WITHINTHIS SECTION. BIDS SCORING 2 OR LESS ON ANY QUESTION WITHIN THIS SECTIONWILL BE REMOVED FROM THE COMPETITION. PLEASE NOTE SCORES ATTAINED INTHIS SECTION MAY ALSO BE USED IN A TIE-BREAK SITUATION WHERE APPROPRIATE.

[4.1] Customer Journey - Process

Please submit a process map showing the proposed end to end customer journey(s) andattach the process map as Annex 1.

This should include a detailed supporting description of the customer journey(s) specific tothis CPA. Your response must describe how you will ensure the customer journey istailored to meet the specific needs and barriers of individual customers, and include thecustomer requirements defined in the Specification.

Please note your response to this question will not be scored but will act as areference point for the scoring of questions 4.1a and 4.1b

Insert your response in the pre-set, shaded space of the following pages. Your responseMUST be limited to five sides of A4.

Note: Format requirement and page limit does not apply to the process map which youmust insert as Annex 1.

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4.1FourstaR Employment & Skills (FourstaR E&S) is proposing an efficient and innovativedelivery model for the Work Programme which will deliver the best possible sustainedemployment outcomes for customers. The accompanying process chart provides acomprehensive walkthrough of our customer journey, setting out the key steps within eachconstituent activity area. It illustrates the minimum features of the Work Programme

journey that will be available to all customers.

Although DWP has defined eight high-level customer groups, based on a combination offactors including benefit type claimed, health related barriers and age, we will deliver anindividually tailored service for each customer. This recognises the fact that customersclaiming the same benefit can, indeed, experience very different employability barriersrequiring very different solutions. As such, our starting point is to consider each customeras an individual, rather than define and categorise them simply by the type of benefit thatthey might claim. Whilst our black box approach is designed to ensure maximumflexibility in this regard, it is made up of six core activity types: Fast Track to Employment(FTTE), Self Employment, Work Activity, Volunteering / Work Experience, Social

Enterprise and Specialist Support. Customers may undertake any combination of theseactivities and in any order, but, as set out in our process chart, they are individuallygeared to support customers at different levels of job readiness. Due to the flexibility ofour model, we have the ability to develop an action plan and tailored journey for theindividual customer regardless of whether they are in receipt of IS, IB, ESA or JSA.

Our customer journey lasts for a maximum allotted time of 104 weeks, with a further 52,80 or 104 weeks of in-work support according to the benefit group of the customer andhow well they have settled into employment. Our customer journey also makes provisionfor customers to attend Fortnightly Jobsearch Reviews (FJRs) or Work CapabilityAssessments (WCAs) as required with Jobcentre Plus alongside their Work Programmeactivities. We will also work with Staffordshire & West Midlands Probation Trust to ensurethat customers subject to probation requirements are meeting these in tandem with WorkProgramme participation. In instances where customers are reliant on additional caresupport from local authority social services, we will ensure their action plan is developedtaking into account their specific circumstances.

Our start and attachment approach is set out as Process A. The customer journeyrecognises that customers will join us on either a mandatory or voluntary basis. Whilstmandatory customers will be confirmed via a standard referral from PRaP, we willpromote our provision to help engage voluntary customers. We recognise that we cant

make self referrals, but we can engage people in the community who meet the eligibilityrequirements, and encourage them to approach Jobcentre Plus for formal referral. We willbuild on our relationships with neighbourhood level voluntary and communityorganisations already working with target groups in this respect (e.g. WolverhamptonVSC, Heantun Housing and BVSC). From the point that referral is confirmed, we willensure initial customer contact and commence a two-way documented pre-attachmentdiscussion to confirm start arrangements. Where a customer fails to attend a startappointment, we will apply a cycle of re-engagement, to address the reasons for non-attendance, and to confirm a new start date.

Customers will benefit from a comprehensive initial assessment and documented action

plan process upon joining the Work Programme (Process B). We are adopting a markettested diagnostic, developed by Triangle Consulting, known as the Work Star as ourprinciple assessment tool. The Outcome Star model, of which Work Star is a part, has

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4.1 (continued)already been successfully applied by various local authorities, PCTs, and voluntarygroups in working with vulnerable adults. The Work Star focuses on seven specificemployability principles: job-specific skills, aspiration and motivation, job search skills,stability, basic skills, social skills for work, and challenges. The customer is assessedagainst each of these on a 1 to 10 scale. The results are presented as a pictorial star

diagram, with each principle score represented in the respective length of each point onthe star. This informs the types of activities the customer will participate in to widen theirstar, forming the basis of future reviews. Initial assessment builds a holistic profile of eachcustomer, factoring in the results of supporting assessments completed by other bodies,such as Jobcentre Plus, as well as our own diagnostics. The resultant programme reflectseach customers unique situation. E.g., lone parents and customers with caringresponsibilities may not be able to attend full-time, or take on a full-time job. Likewise,people with educational needs may require a supportive environment. We will offerflexible hours and support through specialist partners, such as the BEST Network (carerssupport, Literacy and Numeracy) and Take Three Days (lone parents) as well as sourceappropriate part-time vacancies, such as formally agreed supported placements through

WVSC (providing access to 600 third sector Black Country organisations), BVSC (provideaccess to a database of 936 third sector organisations) and RAWMs 3,000 members.

This diagnosis will establish what is needed to help the customer achieve sustainable paidwork. Harder to help customers will clearly not be immediately work ready, and anyattempt to push them prematurely into work is unlikely to prove sustainable. Others will beready to begin active jobsearch from the outset. Our customer journey provides avenuesfor customers at all levels of job readiness. The action plan approach will document whichactivities are mandatory and which are voluntary as well as set out a cycle of face-to-facereviews, every 28 days, for each customer. This will determine and shape progress, andidentify any requirement to notify JCP where mandatory activity has not been adhered to.The process will also ensure that each customer has a clear understanding of their ownresponsibilities as a Work Programme participant.

From the point of initial assessment every customer will be provided with a dedicatedEmployment Consultant (EC). The EC will case-manage and provide complementarysupport to the customer, alongside our core Work Programme interventions, for theduration of their allotted time. Their role will include keeping each customer continuouslyfocused and motivated to move into work. This will include conducting face-to-facereviews and action plan updates, as well as administering any reclaimable travel andchildcare costs (funded by FourstaR E&S), making better-off-in-work calculations, and co-

ordinating any required MI and PRaP updates with our administration team.

Customers will always be supported to move into work at the earliest opportunity, and atany point during their allotted time. As such, our initial assessment will make an earlydetermination on customers who are essentially job ready. These customers willimmediately enter our Fast Track to Employment (FTTE) initiative (Process C),combining themed group sessions, motivational support, and self-directed job search overthe first two weeks on programme. FTTE is intended as a short, sharp, shock, givingcustomers the confidence and appetite to get back to work. Other customers may enterFTTE at such time as they have achieved appropriate job-readiness through other WorkProgramme activities. Rolling FTTE support is intended to be available to customers as

and when they need it. Some customers may go through the FTTE programme more thanonce. Our FTTE Trainers will support customers to apply for specific vacancies that reflecttheir aspirations and skills sets, as well as setting and reviewing daily job target

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4.1 (continued)applications. Dedicated IT facilities will be provided to support customers in producingCVs and applications, as well as developing their IT skills to the minimum levels expectedby employers. Each of our Employment Training Centres (ETCs), Metro Centres, and keysubcontractor venues will also be registered under DWPs Work Club initiative. This willutilise the same facilities, staff and format as our FTTE initiative, to provide additional

lunch-time and early evening sessions to further support customers to secure work.

Customers assessed as harder to help will receive specialist support tailored to theirspecific employment barriers (Process D) through our network of local and nationalspecialist partners. Specialist Advisers, usually from within the voluntary sector, willsupport customers to manage and overcome such barriers, to a point at which they canrealistically be capable of sustaining an entry level job. A broad range of support will beavailable, targeted to every conceivable employment barrier:

One-to-One Surgeries with experts from the voluntary sector, offering specialisedsupport, delivered in our ETCs and Metro Centres. Our local partners include the BESTNetwork and RAWM offering a broad range of support packages through their 3,050

combined members for issues affecting BMEs, health and substance abuse issues. Right Track is a challenging outward-bounds programme, already used by FourstaR in

the Netherlands. The aim is to support 18-24/ NEET customers to manage behaviourissues such as anger management, substance abuse or gang culture, getting them to apoint where they can meaningfully integrate in other Work Programme activities.

Dedicated Coping With Courses which provide group based support, coaching andgoal setting for customers with specific barriers, e.g. Coping with a Criminal Recorddelivered by NACRO and Coping with Work Over 50 delivered by HTR Outplacement

Dedicated Language, Literacy, and Numeracy support to ensure achievement offunctional skills that meet the basic workplace expectations of most employers.

A Star Quality Programme providing personal presentation, hygiene, motivational,and fitness support, delivered by West Midlands College Networks 15 colleges.

Our Specialist Support services will include Work Health Experts (WHEs), qualified inareas such as occupational therapy, psychology and physiotherapy, providing bespokecondition management support to ESA, Ex-IB, and IB customers. This will besupplemented through a specialist secondee from Rehab Works, operating across theCPA.WHEs will have a strong understanding of the physical and mental constraints ofdifferent jobs, in order that they can match customers to suitable career paths. Forexample, if a Work Capability Assessment suggests that the customer has difficulty liftingheavy weights, the WHE will use the ETC gym to get a more informed sense of this

difficulty. They will work with the customer to attempt different levels of lifting (e.g. 1kg,2kg, etc). Jobs that may involve lifting within the comfort levels of the customer cantherefore still be considered. The WHE also undertakes other triage and specialistdiagnostics, including measuring heart rate, blood pressure, and tiredness tests. WHEswill be supported through Musculoskeletal and Health Activation Programmes by RehabWorks and well being support from The BEST Network members. Special equipment willbe used to test skills such as manual dexterity, for example the ability to tighten or loosena nut using a spanner or the use of a screwdriver. All of this is aimed to more specificallydetermine the precise types of jobs that a customer can do, rather than what they cannot.

Psychological support is also key, giving customers the belief that they can and want to

work. For example, as part of Rehab Works Health Activation programme, groupdiscussions to dispel myths related to health conditions and employment are undertakenalongside a range of physical activity sessions. This is part of a wider focus to get

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4.1 (continued)customers more active through such things as dance classes, walking and swimming,yoga, pilates and Tai Chi (known as Sports Assisted Therapy). Customers who mayperceive themselves as physically limited are often open to participate in such un-threatening activities and, by doing so, start to build both confidence and physicalcapability. This approach includes a Health & Wellbeing Pod, where WHEs conduct on

site surgeries to address basic health needs related to work readiness (e.g. exercise,substance issues, smoking, female support, condition management and well-being).

As customers motivation and work ability improves, they are integrated into other blackbox activity areas, whilst continuing to be supported by their WHE. This is based, forexample, on a graduated build up of ETC activity, from as little as 2 hours in the firstweek, rising in small incremental steps geared to the customers own pace. At the sametime, they are also being supported to address their social and disability barriers to a pointwhere engaging in work related activity is manageable and realistic.

Our black box includes support for customers of moderate job-readiness. Our

volunteering and work placement option (Process E), for example, provides longer termwork experience to build skills, motivation, and confidence. Each customer is placed witha host employer or charity to undertake daily supervised activities in a real-work setting.For example, BVSC have offered local work placements specifically geared for ex-offenders. Opportunities will always reflect real work conditions which enable customersto develop skills desirable to local employers with real vacancies to fill. Establishedpartnerships include; WVSC (in partnership with the 600 voluntary organisations theypossess links with) will provide 4 week to 6 month placements, BVSCs 318 members willprovide 4-6 week placements for ESA and JSA customers and a proportion of the BESTNetworks 3,000 members will provide 6 month placements specifically for people withmental health issues.

The majority of customers will participate in a work related activity period within our ETCs(Process F). ETCs are Skills Supermarkets - warehouse scale delivery venues that offera comprehensive range of employability and vocational skills development support underone roof. Originally pioneered by FourstaR for the delivery of welfare to work provision inthe Netherlands, FourstaR E&S first brought the ETC concept to the UK for the delivery ofFND in Birmingham & Solihull. Customers entering this provision will have been assessedas being of intermediate job readiness, where a period of work related activity will refreshskills and provide current vocationally relevant experience. Work related activity may actas a stand-alone provision, but more typically will be delivered in conjunction with FTTE

and/or Specialist Support activities. Each ETC will contain a number of workplace areas,designed to simulate real environments where customers can develop vocational skillsdesired by local employers. Our ETCs in Birmingham & Solihull have subsidised canteens(doubling as a commercial kitchen training facility), fully equipped gyms (encouraginghealthy lifestyles, as well as fitness sector skills training), and, for the Work Programme,we are introducing on-site childcare facilities (which will also facilitate childcare training).We have established a construction area, a retail unit, warehousing and IT recycling areaand a simulated office. These areas have been linked into local employers, ensuring ourcustomers are gaining the experience required to access local opportunities. Workplaceareas within our new Sandwell ETC will also be linked to similar sectors, prominent withinthe Black Country. Alongside work units developed by FourstaR E&S, we also invite local

host employers into our ETCs, to set up their own workplace areas for customers,replicating their real business activities, and providing an opportunity to trial potentialcandidates, employers already engaged include Tomlinson (tiling, brick-laying and kitchen

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4.1 (continued)fitting) and JSC Media (poster distribution) both based in our Kings Norton ETC. Oursocial enterprise option (Process G) reflects the fact that some customers might benefitfrom sheltered paid employment before competing in the open jobs market. As such, thisoption will be introduced from 2012, to offer customers a paid job on a fixed term contract(for 6 to 26 weeks). We will be implementing our own social enterprises operating out of

our ETCs. These will be distinct new businesses, operating on a commercial basis, suchas commercial cleaning, but with social objectives. Customers entering social enterprisepositions will sign-off benefits, and technically leave the Work Programme, but will benefitfrom intensive in-work support and Work Club activity to move them to a new job, buildingon their experience, when their current contract ends.

Our Self Employment Option (Process H), delivered by Birmingham Chamber ofCommerce, providessupport to customers where self employment offers a viable careeropportunity (e.g. window cleaners, childminders and driving instructors). During 2009-2010, self employment grew 0.7% across the West Midlands, 0.2% above the nationalaverage. A range of group and one-to-one based pre-trading support is provided, to

ensure that the customers business idea is as well refined as possible, increasingsustainable independent trading. The support covers a full range of topics frombookkeeping and marketing, to working from home. A dedicated adviser will sign-off thecustomers business plan, and trading will begin. Customers will receive business supportaimed at addressing teething challenges, as part of a broader range of in-work support.

On confirmation of a job-offer, our in-work support will commence (Process I). OurEmployment Consultants will ensure a warm-handover of customers to our In-WorkSupport (IWS) Officers who will take-over case management from this point. The intensityof support will be linked to a risk assessment of the likelihood of the customer droppingout of work. We will work on-site with employers to provide direct support to customers atgreatest risk, whilst more settled customers will primarily receive lighter-touch telephonysupport from our in-work support call centre. The general intensity of support will befocused in the first 26 weeks, where the risk of job drop-out is statistically at its highest.Customers will be afforded continued voluntary access to our ETCs and incentives, suchas free access to the gym, will be offered to help encourage them to stay in contact withour staff. In work support will include individual, group and call-centre led activity focusedon the greatest threats to job sustainment, such as punctuality, personal presentation,working with others, and following instructions. Similarly, there will be a focus on careerprogression, working with customers to achieve promotions, better pay, and greater jobresponsibility. We will target vacancies with employers committed to work based learning

schemes such as Apprenticeships and NVQ/ Diplomas. By placing customers into suchschemes, they automatically benefit from the in-work support provided by skills providersin helping them to progress to achieve vocational qualifications. We are working inpartnership with The Richmond Fellowship to pilot specific in-work support to people withmental health issues. This will address issues such as building workplace understandingof their condition, medication in the workplace, and coping with mental health at work.

Despite our best endeavours, some customers will not manage to sustain their job. Thesecustomers will be fast-tracked back onto an intensive FTTE programme, aimed tocapitalise on recent work experience and to return to work at the first opportunity.Customers who do not return to work immediately, will be re-integrated back into other

black box activities. Where a customer completes their allotted time and remains onbenefit, our staff will produce an exit report for JCP. This will include their action plan, abrief history of Work Programme activity undertaken and recommendations on next steps.

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[4.1a] Customer Journey - Rationale

Please describe in detail:

your rationale for your proposed Customer Journey(s) detailed abovein 4.1 within this CPA; and

the benefits to the individual customer groups of this approach.

Insert your response in the pre-set, shaded space of the following pages. Your responseMUST be limited to four sides of A4.

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4.1aCustomer Journey Rationale: The rationale for our customer journey, in its simplestsense, is an assertion that this approach will lead to the best sustained employmentoutcomes. Our Employment Training Centre (ETC) concept is at the very heart of this.The industrial strength of these warehouse sized facilities allows FourstaR E&S, localemployers, the voluntary sector, and our supply chain partners to offer customers our

collective expertise under one roof. Our pioneering use of ETCs within FND resulted in usbeing awarded the DWP Supplier Excellence Award for Innovation in 2010. Through ourETCs, our customer journey offers unique experiences that are not otherwise availablefrom traditional welfare-to-work venues. Our established ETCs in Birmingham and Solihullaccommodate a full range of simulated, sector-specific real work environments, equippingcustomers with real vocational skills. This will be replicated within the Black Country. Theyprovide an opportunity for employers to visit and observe customers in a real work settingas part of their recruitment process. There is already compelling evidence of the successof ETCs from our delivery of FND in Birmingham & Solihull, which has provided theinspiration for our Work Programme journey. We believe that this will transfer well to theBlack Country due to similar prominent industries (e.g. distribution, services and

construction) and demographic make-up. As at January 2011 our ETC model haddelivered 1440 short FND job outcomes and 688 sustained FND job outcomes inBirmingham & Solihull. This accomplishment was achieved as a market entrant to the UK,with no prior history of delivering DWP provision. We are confident that our application ofthe ETC model within the Work Programme will build on these results.

The starting point of our customer journey is the specific employability barrier that eachcustomer faces and not the benefit they may be claiming. This approach is deliberate, toensure minimal re-engineering of our journey to accommodate the introduction ofUniversal Credit in 2013; our journey is designed to be fit-for-purpose for the full contractduration. We have factored in a sustainable job entry return for each of our core blackbox activity areas set out in 4.1 (Fast Track to Employment - FTTE, Self Employment,ETC Work Activity, Volunteering / Work Placements, Social Enterprise and SpecialistSupport). For example, figures for New Deal Self Employment (as at March 09) showedthat, nationally, 71% of leavers had achieved job entry. We have therefore applied this asan internal job-entry target for our own self employment activity (Process H), as acontributor to our overall performance offer. Each activity area has, therefore, beenselected and designed with performance achievement in mind.

The journey reflects DWPs stated Critical Success Factors for the Work Programme. TheFND evidence above already shows that the ETC model has proven itself within

Birmingham and Solihull, in terms of increasing off flow rates and moving more peopleinto work. Equally, it has shown it can decrease the average time on benefit for customersand move them into work sooner. The average time that our FND customers spend on-programme before entering a job is 86 days (as at Dec 10). As such, even though themaximum allotted time is 104 weeks (i.e. 712 days), the ETC approach ensurescustomers enter work more rapidly through a greater choice of activity under one roof.

Similarly, our model negates any potential parking of harder to help customers byintroducing a comprehensive range of specialist support for such customers. In theNetherlands, FourstaR is already using its ETC model to support over 2,000 customerseach year on incapacity related benefits on behalf of the UWV (the equivalent of DWP)

and local authorities. These different contracts are geared to support a range of customergroups into employment, including; those who have acquired a disability or illness throughwork, long-standing limiting health conditions, and conditions diagnosed before the age of

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4.1a (continued) 18. The ETC model, in supporting these groups, has achieved results ofbetween 35% and 50% entering work nationally across these different contracts over thepast year. Such results are transferable to the Work Programme. Motivation to want towork is often the biggest psychological barrier for such customers. The work-likeatmosphere of the ETC, with its tremendous choice of work activities, on-site specialistsurgeries, IAG for voluntary customers, 1-2-1 carers support, specialist counselling for

women, anger management and debt advice, combined with amenities such as the gymand canteen, provides an ideal venue to re-engage people who might otherwise havegiven up on work. As already described in Part 4.1, many of the specific features of ourcustomer journey aimed at ESA, IB, and IS customers are drawn from this successfulDutch experience, such as our proposed Work Health Expert role.

Our model also draws heavily on the expertise of our voluntary and community sectorpartners. We have engaged with RAWM, a third sector umbrella organisation, directlylinking our ETCs to over 3,000 local third sector organisations, including Age Concern andWomen of Wolverhampton. In addition, our partnership with The BEST Network providesaccess to 50 third sector consortium members offering a range of support measures from

substance abuse to diet. We have directly appointed 11 voluntary sector providers withthe expertise to deliver specialist surgeries to harder to help customers. These includeBVSC, BID Services, and WVSC, whom between them support customers with hearingimpairments, the socially disadvantaged and workless families. This is supplemented withfurther local partners including NACRO, to support ex-offenders, Gingerbread and TakeThree Days providing lone parent support, CAB providing financial advice and Action forBlind People providing sight impairment support. Our voluntary sector partners across thisCPA are vastly experienced. For example, Gingerbread has worked with lone parents forover 90 years. We recognise that such expertise cant be readily replicated on a directdelivery basis; therefore our supply chain of voluntary sector partners brings in-depthunderstanding and expertise in addressing niche social employability barriers.

The ETC approach (Process F) allows us to adapt delivery to the make-up of the jobsmarket across the CPA. Current NOMIS data shows Public Services account for 32% ofjobs in Birmingham, whereas Distribution, Hotels and Restaurants account for 25% of jobsin Dudley, and Manufacturing accounts for 21% of Sandwell jobs. 13% of all vacanciesnotified to Jobcentre Plus in BS&BC in December 2010 were in Distribution, Hotels andRestaurants. These sectors are currently reflected within our 3 current Birmingham andSolihull ETCs and will form the basis of work related activity planning for our newSandwell ETC. Our partners, the West Midlands Employer Coalition will support us inemployer engagement and identifying labour market changes. This combined activity will

ensure the skills support delivered reflects prevalent local employment sectors. Shouldeconomic conditions change (e.g. a decline in public sector jobs - Birmingham, Sandwelland Walsall councils have collectively announced 2,600 proposed job losses) thecomposition of ETC work related activities can be readily restructured. For example, inresponse to an increasing demand for retail staff, we opened a mock DVD store inside ourGarretts Green ETC in August 2010. Over the course of four weeks, customers assignedto the store fulfil different roles, including ordering stock, taking deliveries, and designingmarketing promotions. In the first week of FND delivery in 2011, FourstaR E&S placed 13customers on Retail MWRA at the Aston ETC. By their second week on placement, 3 hadsecured employment. Likewise, the vocational focus of other elements (self-employment,volunteering and social enterprise) can be readily adapted.

The Benefits to Individual Customer Groups: The full range of needs and barriersacross all customer groups in every locality within the CPA will be fully addressed by our

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4.1a (continued) proposals. We have conducted in depth demographic research tounderstand this range of needs, through sources such as NOMIS and ONS, to map themost prevalent local issues of social disadvantage, and where specifically they areconcentrated. This knowledge has been supplemented by intelligence from stakeholders,supply chain partners and our existing staff with first-hand knowledge of BS&BC. Theoverall amount of JSA claimants is 2.4% higher in this CPA than the rest of the UK; 22.5%

of the working age population claiming JSA have been doing so for over 12 months 6.3% more than the national average; 30.5% of JSA claimants are aged 18-24, which is2.6% above the national average; 18.6% of residents have no qualifications (compared toa 12.3% UK average); the unemployment rate within the working age disabled populationis 7.6% above the national average at 10.8%. In recognising and mapping prevalentsocial disadvantage indicators, we will ensure that the specialist support interventionsprovided directly respond to these needs. For example, our proposition includes dedicatedLanguage, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) courses to ensure customers with such needscan attain a minimum level of workplace skills desired by local employers. DfE figuresshow that 18% of working age adults in Birmingham have ESOL needs. As such we haveengaged the BEST Network who has 14 members who deliver the Neighbourhood

Learning in Deprived Communities funded Journey to Work Birmingham, of which oneof the priority groups are BMEs. DfE figures further reveal 31% of working age adults inBirmingham have numeracy skills below Entry Level 3. West Midlands College Networkwill provide short training courses to help these customers develop skills needed within aworkplace. This labour market intelligence will be updated continually, to ensure that thespecialist services available reflect current customer needs.

Our ETC approach particularly lends itself to concentrated urban communities, as typifiedin the BS&BC CPA. Customers currently accessing our Birmingham ETCs generally travelup to 40 minutes to access provision. Similarly, in the Black Country, customers will haveaccess to Work Programme venues in each of the four local authority areas, within nomore than 40 minutes travel time. Our established ETCs are all positioned in areas ofhigh unemployment and/or deprivation, Aston is Birminghams most deprived ward withconcentrated levels of claimants. Sandwell was selected as a new ETC location within theBlack Country reflecting its high proportion of JSA claimants. This concentration ofcustomers allows us to focus provision under one roof in a unique multi-disciplinaryenvironment. Most customers do not have to travel across a range of venues for differentactivities; assessment, action planning, jobsearch, specialist support, work related activityare all delivered in the same place within the community.

At our peak, around the end of Year 2, our case flow analysis suggests that we may have

18,234 customers in total on-programme in this CPA, and a further 9,917 accessing in-work support. Over 78% of these customers will be JSA claimants, and over 47% will beJSA 25+ customers. As such, the scalability of our ETC model ensures appropriatecapacity to accommodate such volumes, within each customer group, and provide eachwith a meaningful programme of work related support. Evidence from our FND deliveryshows that, as at October 2010, our current ETCs had supported 13,720 customers.

The versatility of our black box measures is reflective of the needs of all customers,across the spectrum of JSA, ESA, IB and IS. Our package of Specialist Support for theHardest to Help (Process D) has been specifically engineered with consideration of theneeds of the most disadvantaged of these customers in mind, and especially in

consideration of those with limiting health conditions. The customer journey includes theoptions of bespoke condition management delivered by our Work Health Experts, ourHealth & Wellbeing Pod and specialist health-related surgeries delivered by voluntary

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4.1a (continued) sector experts. These measures are designed to provide support acrossall of the core health conditions experienced by customers; mild to moderate mentalhealth, cardio-vascular, and muscular-skeletal. Evidence from as far back as 2001 (DWPResearch Report 143) states that support provided to disabled job-seekers needs to beflexible and empowering, to allow choice, and to be realistic in terms of the local labourmarket. Our customer journey fulfils all of these things. All of our customer-facing staff

(and those of our subcontractors) will receive disability awareness training, to ensure thatour journey continuously reflects the needs of customers with limiting health conditions.

Our package of specialist support is directly mapped to local labour market evidence. Forexample, according to NOMIS/ONS, 14% of JSA claimants within BS&BC are aged over50, we have therefore engaged with HTR Outplacement - specialists in providing over 50sjob search support. In response to 30.5% of JSA claimants in the CPA being aged 18-24,we have devised our Right Track outward bounds programme to manage any behaviouralissues this customer group may possess. Other specialist partners, Richmond Fellowship,Rehab Works and The BEST Network, will provide specialist in-work support andcounselling to the 42% of ESA/IB claimants within the CPA affected by mental illness.

12% of all households within the region are lone parent; as such, lone parent supportprogrammes and group sessions (including a dedicated Work Club) will be deliveredthrough Take Three Days, with access to Gingerbreads Single Parent Helpline. TakeThree Days have also advised us on specific needs of Lone Parents in receipt of IS.

The approach will also contribute to a decrease in numbers of workless households(another critical success factor). Our process map shows the inclusion of collective casereviews of assessments and action plans of customers from the same households(Process B), as well as specialist circles of support bringing together partners and familymembers who are attending the Work Programme at the same time (Process D). Ourapproach draws on evidence from the Australian Family Centred Employment Projectthat began in January 2010, which is supporting 150 workless households. This includespractical advice on issues such as childcare, coping with relationship breakdown, andchallenging traditional gender roles (e.g. where mum might be better placed to get a job,whilst dad takes on the house-husband role).

The needs of customers clearly evolve once they enter a job. DWP research published in2008 into the role of In Work Support (IWS) within Pathways to Work showed that it wasmost effective where it was responsive to the nature and level of customers needs; it wastimely, provided as and when customers needed it; and there was a comprehensive rangeof support offered. Customers who felt that the IWS had had a direct impact on their job

retention were typically those who had received more intensive support. Our IWScustomer journey (Process I) clearly reflects both this research, combined with ourpractical experience of delivering IWS for FND customers, ensuring that our IWS offercomprehensively meets the needs of customers in employment. Specialist support fromthe Richmond Fellowship, Gingerbread and our own Coping With courses will add to this.

We will continuously monitor customer needs across the lifetime of the contract. This willbe informed by our initial assessment results for each customer, collective analysis ofwhich will inform us of where certain customer needs may be reducing, whilst othersmight become more prevalent across our customer population as a whole. Our ETCManagers will be responsible for producing a quarterly customer needs analysis summary

to this end, reviewed by our Area Director and Senior Management Team. Through thiswe will ensure that our delivery proposals evolve, to ensure our obligations in meeting theneeds of every customer are continuously achieved.

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[4.1b] Service Requirement

DWP expect all customers to receive a minimum level of service. Please clearly define:

Your minimum service delivery levels for all customers within this CPA;

Your rationale that supports your approach:

How it addresses the needs by customer groups.

Insert your response in the pre-set, shaded space of the following pages. Your responseMUST be limited to two sides of A4.

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4.1bMinimum Level of Service: We are proposing the following minimum levels of service,which we will adopt as contractual Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and communicateto customers as part of their induction. The same KPIs will be a contractual requirementupon our subcontractors. We will publish our success rates against these KPIs on amonthly basis throughout our partnership network. We will ensure that;

85% of all customers will start within 15 days of referral from Jobcentre Plus, All customers will receive meaningful monthly contact during their allotted time,

The maximum travel time by public transport from a customers home to a primaryWork Programme venue (ETC or subcontractor site) will be 40 minutes,

The average number of days from start to job placement for JSA 18-24, 25+ and EarlyAccess customers will be less than 100 days.

The average number of days from start to job placement for JSA Ex-IB, ESA Ex-IB,ESA Volunteer, ESA Flow and IB/IS will be less than 300 days.

At least 30 employers per year will act as host employers in our ETCs in this CPA,

The minimum resources and facilities that customers can expect to benefit from at any

one of our ETC locations is documented and agreed with DWP, At least 50 Work Programme outcomes per year (from 2012) in the CPA will be newly

created jobs in the social enterprise sector which we will directly support the creation of

At least 5% of all job outcomes in this CPA will be direct progressions intoApprenticeships, Adult Apprenticeships or other work-based learning programmes.

100% of exit reports for customers completing their allotted time are received byJobcentre Plus within 10 working days of a notification.

Rationale: We have identified a suite of KPIs through which we will assure the overallminimum service level to all customers across the life of the contract. These KPIs can beeasily monitored without adding unnecessary administrative costs, which are readily

understandable to customers, and provide a clear and objective snapshot of the quality ofthe customer experience.KPI results will be entered by our Employment Consultants onour MI system after each customer review, ensuring that service level data is alwaysavailable in real time. Our stated KPIs reflect compelling achievement evidence againstsimilar indicators from our current delivery of FND in Birmingham & Solihull. For example,

As at January 2010, 87% of our FND customers to date had started on programmewithin 15 days of referral against a contractual target of 85%.

As previously stated, the average time, up to January 2010, that our FND customersspend on-programme before entering a job is 86 days. This success reflects the factthat, as at December 2010, 43% of our FND customers had completed 4 weeks of

continuous Mandatory Work Related Activity within 16 weeks of programme start. We secured the commitment of 30 different external employers to act as host

employers across our three Birmingham & Solihull ETCs in the first year of FND.

We have never been referred an FND customer within the Birmingham & Solihull CPAwho lives further than an 40 minute journey from one of our delivery venues.

These current service levels form a baseline for achievement and improvement within theWork Programme. There are other KPIs that we are specifically introducing for the WorkProgramme itself, including our commitment to Apprenticeship progressions, socialenterprise vacancy creation, and the average days for job placement for harder to helpcustomers. Each of these measures reflects the wider policy intent of the Work

Programme. Our approach is pioneering, as these are measures that have not beenmonitored in the context of past welfare-to-work contracts. As a best practice benchmarkfor each is yet to be defined, we have set what we feel to be appropriately challenging yet

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PART 5: SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

[5.1] Delivery Strategy

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Please describe in detail your delivery structure for all elements of the Work Programmeprovision across this CPA and explain why you consider your delivery strategy to be thebest approach for customers in this CPA. You should clearly state how you intend to workwith your sub-contractors and how you will ensure the needs of all your customers,including the hardest to help, are fully addressed from within your supply chain includingvoluntary sector organisations where appropriate.Please also complete:

Annex 2 to show the structure to be put in place within the supply chain todeliver the Work Programme provision in terms of overall percentage ofdelivery, specialism and geographical coverage; and

Annex 3 (Sub-contractor Declaration) for your proposed sub-contractors asappropriate.

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5.1 Our Delivery Strategy: Our strategy combines directly delivered provision byFourstaR E&S with subcontracted services. Our supply chain includes end-to-endsubcontractors, delivering the full customer journey for the full allotted time, and specialistsubcontractors delivering specific expert interventions as part of the customer journey.Once a customer is referred we will apply a proportional assignment methodology todetermine whether their customer journey will be delivered by FourstaR E&S or an end-

to-end subcontractor. End-to-end subcontractors are expected to replicate the minimumcustomer journey, including all black box delivery activities, to the same consistentstandard as our direct delivery. The exception to this is Employment Training Centre(ETC) Work Activity, which will be exclusively delivered by FourstaR E&S. End-to-endsubcontractors will, nevertheless, have the option to refer customers to ETC Work Activitysupport as required, and we have built in ETC capacity to accommodate this support forevery customer who needs it. We have mapped travel times from subcontractor venues tothe closest ETC and a customer can travel between sites within 15 minutes.

Our ETCs will be the focal point of our strategy. ETCs are essentially warehouse sizedskills supermarkets, typically around 32,000 sq ft in scale, offering all Work Programme

activities under one roof. They offer an experience that replicates real workplaces,alongside more conventional space for Fast Track to Employment (FTTE) activity. Thespecific training units are linked to local in-demand employment sectors, providing skills inareas such as Construction, Retail, Warehousing and Hospitality. We recognise, however,that not all customers will need to access the full range of ETC facilities every time theyengage in Work Programme activity. As such, we have positioned our network of ETCs inlocalities of concentrated unemployment, in Aston, Garretts Green, Kings Norton andSandwell. These hub locations are supplemented by our spoke network of High StreetMetro Centres and subcontractor venues across the rest of the CPA. The Metro Centresare geared to accommodate initial assessment, action planning, review and FTTE activityat a more localised level. Customers can, of course, access our ETCs whenever theyneed to, and we expect that the average customer will spend between 2 and 12 weeksattending ETC Work Activity at some point during their allotted time.

Our self-employment option will be exclusively delivered by the Birmingham Chamber ofCommerce. Customers assessed as being suitable for self-employment will beimmediately referred to this provision from the point of attachment. They will also be ableto access FourstaR E&S ETC activities in tandem with their self-employment activities, asrequired, including the subsidised canteen and free access to the gym. Our network ofspecialist subcontractors will primarily offer one-off interventions to address specialistemployment barriers such as debt or health condition management (e.g. Citizens Advice

Bureau, BEST Network). Such interventions will be accessible at any point, as required,within the customer journey. Wherever possible, specialist sub-contractor staff will be co-located within our ETCs and Metro Centres, operating on a surgery basis. We haveenlisted national mental health charity The Richmond Fellowship to provide a dedicatedIn-Work Support Adviser providing employment aftercare specifically for customers withmental health needs. Our wider supply chain also includes a network of approvedpartners, such as West Midlands College Network, incorporating 15 colleges, from whomwe will spot-purchase short course qualifications for customers (e.g. CSCS cards, SIA,Food Hygiene) where such qualifications may be a pre-requisite for a customer to securea particular vacancyor where this is part of an agreed screening and selection processes.As detailed in Annex 2, we are working in partnership with 6 subcontractors across the

CPA, with which we will invest [REDACTED] of total contract revenue, based on theindicative volumes and our performance offer. By return, they are targeted to deliver[REDACTED] of our

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5.1 (continued) total contract performance offer for job outcomes (13/26 weeks). This issupplemented by a further 15 specialist expert subcontractors, 4 of which are third sectorumbrella organisations affording links to over 4,500 organisations CPA wide, accountingfor[REDACTED] of the contract value. Of the 21 partners, 52% have charitable status.

Why the Approach is Best for Customers: We believe that our approach is best for

customers as it offers them the most effective mix of work focused resources andexpertise. The delivery strategy builds upon the proven approach which we have alreadydeployed within our current FND contract in Birmingham & Solihull, combining ETCs andhigh street subcontractor venues. As evidence of our effectiveness in supply chainmanagement, in the first year of FND in Birmingham & Solihull we subcontracted[REDACTED] of funding across 5 subcontractors ([REDACTED] of our total contractrevenue). By return, these subcontractors have contributed, proportionately, 19% of ourtotal job outcomes in the same period. The approach has been recognised through usreceiving the DWP Supplier Excellence Award for Innovation in 2010, specifically for ourETC delivery strategy. We are not complacent though, and our Area Director and SeniorManagement Team will review our delivery strategy every six months, ensuring that it

continues to meet customer need, and revising it accordingly if it does not continuouslyachieve performance gains.

The proportionate focus on direct delivery enables us to concentrate the necessaryinvestment that the ETC approach requires, and to supplement this with specialistsubcontractor expertise targeted on the hardest to help. The ETC model providesoptimum capacity potential and economies of scale that could not be achieved by a stringof traditional welfare to work centres. The clear majority of customers will be able toaccess all Work Programme activities at a single ETC location, under one roof. Forexample, 49% of all JSA claimants and 46% of all ESA/IB claimants in the CPA currentlyreside in Birmingham where 3 existing ETCs are located. In addition, an ETC site isproposed in Sandwell, where there were 12,417 JSA claimants in December 2010 and16,130 ESA/IB claimants residing in the area in May 2010. All customers live within a 40minute commuting distance of an ETC, and a 20 minute commute of their nearest WorkProgramme venue (including subcontractor sites and Metro Centres). In this respect, ourselection of subcontractors has supported our objective to offer full CPA coverage andmaximise customer convenience.

Our key criterion for selecting subcontractors reflects their delivery track record within thisCPA. For example, Steps to Work have delivered employability provision, including NewDeal and ESF, over the last 12 years to 42,434 customers. In the past year our collective

supply chain has supported over 6000 long term unemployed people within the CPA tosuccessfully return to work. This included Crossmatch Solutions delivering the SFAfunded programme Starfish which worked with disadvantaged customers (primarilyBMEs, Lone parents, 50+) from 11 Deprived Area Wards in the Birmingham area. Assuch, our supply chain already has an intimate knowledge of the local customer groups,their typical needs, and how these needs can be effectively addressed.The approach maximises investment in work focused activity, which would be lessachievable if, for example, we had advocated a managing agent approach. Theeconomies of scale that are possible by concentrating resources into ETCs means thatthese facilities can offer resources that you would not expect to find in conventionalwelfare to work venues, such as simulated work activity areas that are equipped with the

same tools, machines and resources that would be found in a real workplace. The ETCapproach also provides scalable capacity to engage the maximum number of customersin work related activity. For example, our existing Aston ETC can already cater for up to

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5.1 (continued) 420 customers on site at any one time, meaning that more customers areactively involved in the Work Programme on any given day.

Working with Subcontractors: We fully support the DWP Code of Conduct and theMerlin Standard, and are committed to achieving formal accreditation to the Standard byJune 2012. This follows a successful Merlin pilot assessment of our FND provision in April

2010. Whilst no official grading was allocated, the assessment report highlighted 36separate strength areas with regard to compliance with the Standard. As such, we areconfident that our current supply chain arrangements meet the Merlin criteria, and that wewould have achieved formal accreditation had this been a real assessment. We havealready factored in feedback from the pilot assessment into our Work Programmepreparations, an improvement from which saw us host a dedicated subcontractorpartnership event in the CPA at our flagship Aston ETC in October 2010. The principlesand criteria of both the Code and the Standard have already been mapped within ourContract Performance Management Policy and Quality Manual, and form part of our day-to-day contract delivery approach.

Subcontractors are fully integrated within our strategy, and are essentially treated as anextension of our own staff team. This includes, for example, regular case conferences toshare ideas and solutions on supporting different local customer groups into jobs. We willhold quarterly forums with our full supply chain to review cross-cutting issues for thecontract as a whole, as well as joint information sharing and training events to help buildtheir delivery capability. We will appoint a dedicated Partnership Manager at a CPA level,to oversee all aspects of our Work Programme supply chain; managing the cycle ofmonthly contractual and performance reviews. The Partnership Manager will beresponsible for ensuring that excellence within our delivery strategy is continuouslyachieved. This will include conducting an annual supply chain review and makingrecommendations to our Area Director in terms of where new types of subcontractor mightbe introduced, to ensure the needs of customers are always effectively met.

Ensuring the Needs of Customers are met: Our delivery strategy has been whollyconsidered to address the needs of customers. By drawing together a mixed economy ofsubcontractors from across the private and voluntary sectors, we are catering for anequally broad mix of customer needs and circumstances. The strategy ensures a fullcomplement of work focused, sector-specific and personal / holistic support choices atruly black box approach! It recognises the specialist expertise of niche suppliers, and inparticular that of the voluntary sector. Four of our six formal end to end subcontractors arefrom the voluntary sector, specifically selected for their expertise in addressing specific

social disadvantage. For example, EU statistics infers that there are over 8,000 blind andpartially sighted working age adults in the West Midlands. A Network 1000 report stated66% of visually impaired people are unemployed. To reflect this, our supply chain includesAction for Blind People, who provide multi-disciplinary tailored support to this customergroup, including employment/ self-employment programmes and IAG relating to welfarerights, income maximisation, independent living, health and wellbeing. 19% of the CPApopulation are from ethnic minorities, compared to the 11.8% as a national average. Oursubcontractor Steps to Work has successfully delivered multiple services specifically forthis customer group throughout the West Midlands, including a Local Authority fundedConnecting Communities programme, an outreach service assisting customers to entertraining and employment. In addition, 45% of our customers through FND are from BME

communities allowing us extensive knowledge of the specific barriers to work thiscustomer group faces. Affording customers the very best expertise in this respect canonly serve to be in their best interests in securing sustainable employment.

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[5.2] Management Structure

Please provide:

a description of the proposed management structure and how the requiredmanagement skills and expertise, including working with local stakeholders, have

been identified and will be delivered. You should also include a description ofassociated responsibilities and reporting lines ;

a description of how you will work with the management teams of any supply chainorganisations and key delivery partners; and

explain why your management structure is appropriate for the Work Programmewithin this CPA;

Please include an organisation chart (attach as Annex 4) showing the proposed managementstructure for the Work Programme for this CPA.

Insert your response in the pre-set, shaded space of the following pages. Your response

MUST be limited to three sides of A4.

Note: Format requirement and page limit does not apply to the organisation chart(s)which you must insert as Annex 4.

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5.2Management Structure: The organisation charts enclosed at Annex 4 show the reportinglines from our Managing Director through to our front line staff. This structure reflects andbuilds upon the high performance structure which we already effectively deploy withinFND delivery. It is designed to be as flat as possible, with the minimum number ofreporting tiers, ensuring responsive decision making. The effectiveness of this is

evidenced by the fact that we were the first FND provider to sign-off our contract withDWP, to fully implement all of our proposed FND resources, and to successfully undergoa PAT audit. The robustness of our structure further ensures that investment is focusedon delivery rather than management roles; only 26% of our total staff spend in 2010 wason management roles. Effective management is further ensured by maintaining amanager to line-report ratio of no greater than 1:20 at all tiers of our business.

The expertise, capability and capacity of management teams was a key criteria in ourselection of subcontractors for the Work Programme. Subcontractors were required todocument their management arrangements for staff delivering the Work Programme,ensuring appropriate supervisory ratios (no less than our own). This included details of

any delivery reliance on staff based outside of the CPA (e.g. Head Office teams). Theyare also required to inform us any revisions or new appointments to this structure,throughout the contract lifetime. Subcontractors will sign up to minimum service levels forthe defined level of management resource they will dedicate to their subcontract over thecontract lifetime, which will form part of the subcontract monitoring criteria.

Required Skills & Expertise: We have developed a competency framework and personspecification for all of our management roles, including our Senior Management Team(SMT). These have been informed by the skills and expertise of our current managers,benchmarked against person specifications for recently advertised management roles inthe sector by other DWP Framework providers. Our current SMT collectively holds 43years of experience of implementing and managing welfare to work contractsinternationally. We expect management staff (at ETC Manager level and above, includingsubcontractor management teams) to demonstrate a broad management experience,including strategic leadership, focussed on human interaction and outcome delivery. Theywill also have related career experience and skills, such as:

strategically leading winning teams

financial and commercial acumen

project management

implementing complex contracts

achieving outcome targets

stakeholder networking skills

understanding labour market needs

designing effective delivery solutions

Area Directors and ETC Managers will have career experience and skills specific to theCPA. Our current management team in Birmingham & Solilhull individually each haveover a year of FND experience, along with prior experience within predecessor DWPprogrammes, and already possess numerous established networks with relevant key localstakeholders. The lead manager for each subcontractor is expected to possess similarskills. Steps to Work Operations Directors, for example, have a minimum of 12 yearsexperience of economic regeneration. MBR Promotions Ltds Director has worked withinthe music industry for 30 years. The Crossmatch Solutions Contract Manager hasmanaged a DWP project from inception to completion and is also an experienced Chairperson. The Team Leader Employment Co-ordinator for Action for Blind People has

proven experience in a similar environment with at least one at a supervisory level. Eachmanager will also hold skills and professional qualifications appropriate to their specificjob role and area of responsibility.

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5.2 (continued)These skills will be delivered in practice through our delivery as a matter of course; theskills identified are implicit to each management role, and as such each manager willinvariably demonstrate them on a daily basis. Rigorous recruitment checks (e.g. referencechecks and interviewing) establish that successful management candidates have the rightskills. This is supplemented by twice-yearly appraisals for all managers, ensuring that

good skills are being demonstrated in practice, with access to ongoing personaldevelopment support to continuously improve skills levels. For example, we are currentlyputting our managers through the GOALS programme, to develop skills in motivating anddriving programme performance. Subcontractors are also required to provide verificationof management team skills and qualifications as required.

Associated Responsibilities / Reporting Lines: Our management reporting lines areclearly set out in the organisation chart at Annex 4. Our SMT is led by our ManagingDirector, the senior lead executive for the company, and further comprises our OperationsDirector, Finance Director, HR Director, Director of Business Development & ExternalRelations, and Director of Quality & Control. This team is primarily responsible for the

financial, contractual, and qualitative performance and business growth ambitions forFourstaR E&S as a whole. Each Director has lead accountability in their respective fieldacross the business. Our Operations Director is directly responsible for our current FNDcontract in Birmingham & Solihull, our sole current contract with DWP. If we only won asingle Work Programme contract, we will retain the same structural approach. If, however,we won two or more contracts, we would replace the Operations Director role withseparate Area Directors for each contract, reporting directly to the Managing Director.This proposed structure is illustrated in Annex 4.

The Area Director will be specifically responsible for the financial, contractual, andqualitative performance of this contract. Individual ETC Managers and Metro CentreManagers will report to the Area Director, and will be responsible for the financial,contractual, and qualitative performance of their specific delivery venue, in how thisproportionately contributes to the wider contract. The ETC and Metro Centre Managershave, in turn, a network of Department Manager line reports. Department Managerssupervise groups of front-line staff within the same job role across the CPA (e.g.Employment Consultant Department Managers and In-Work Support DepartmentManagers).

Supply Chain Interface: Each subcontractor partner will be required to nominate a leadmanager, based within the CPA, who will be responsible for the contractual and

qualitative targets. Our Partnership Manager, who reports to the Area Director, willinterface with each lead manager as the focal point of each subcontractor relationship.The Partnership Manager and subcontractor lead will meet on a monthly basis to reviewthe performance of the subcontract, supplemented by day-to-day e-mail and phonecommunication as required. Such meetings will alternate between our own and thesubcontractors premises. Our central Quality & Control Teamwill support this interface interms of the quality and compliance processes that underpin delivery. End-to-endsubcontractors responsible for delivering to a scalable proportion of total customers (e.g.Steps to Work) will be subject to a greater and more regular level of contact and scrutinythan subcontractors delivering specialist interventions (e.g. Rehab Works).

All subcontractor leads will further attend a quarterly subcontracting forum, consideringcontract-wide performance and delivery issues. This will include an open invitation to keystakeholders and employers to equally participate. For example, the introduction of our

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5.2 (continued)current In-Work-Support (IWS) officer role within FND was first conceived through oursubcontractors forum, a role that has since been implemented across our supply chain.We will also run thematic sessions for management staff in the same responsibility area,as needs arise. So, for example, our Finance Director will bring together the lead financialmanagers from across our supply chain to consider the implications of the Work

Programme funding model. Similarly, our HR Director will invite the lead HR managersfrom the supply chain to discuss matters pertaining to TUPE.

Why Structure is Appropriate to this CPA: Our management structure has beeninformed by the current FND structure that we already deploy in Birmingham & Solihull.This structure has been effective in the running of an area-based initiative, comparable innature and scalability to the Work Programme, through a mixed infrastructure of ETCscombined with subcontractor locations. In this respect, we are building on a tried-and-tested structure.

Our priority has been to establish a localised management structure, devolving as much

decision making as possible to our Area Director and his/her team within the CPA itself.This will ensure that decision making is fully responsive to real-time contractual andlabour market developments. It also means that our own management tiers reflect thoseof key local stakeholders. For example, the decision making level of our Area Director willbe mapped to that of Jobcentre Plus District Managers and Local Authority Heads ofEconomic Development, ensuring that the actions from local stakeholder meetings can befollowed up without needless recourse and sign-off from higher authorities.

Our experience of delivery within Birmingham & Solihull along with our carefullyconsidered extended delivery strategy into the Black Country has led us to our hub andspoke model for this CPA. This involves a hub of ETCs within the Birmingham andSolihull area due to the higher amount and proportion of work benefit claimants residing inthis sub-region. The spoke part of our model is implemented across the Black Countrywith an ETC placed within Sandwell and Metro Centres in Wolverhampton and Dudley.This is further supplemented by our end to end subcontractor, Steps to Work, covering theWalsall vicinity.

The structure further ensures an effective devolution of decision making across our widerteam. For example, our Employer Engagement Department Managers will have expertknowledge of locally in-demand employment areas. Similarly, our Work ActivityDepartment Managers will have an implicit understanding of the specific skills needs of

specific local employers. This expertise will ensure that management decision making isalways informed by the latest local labour market conditions.

There are other aspects of our structure that make it appropriate to the Work Programme.The introduction of our dedicated Partnership Manager, for example, reflects the fact thatwe will have 21 subcontractors in this CPA, who will each be supported by this role. Thislean nature of our management teams maximises investment in customer-facing roles. Atthe same time, our management resources are appropriately scalable to size of thecontract in volume terms and, in particular, reflective of the anticipated managementcommitment needed to achieve our performance offer. At the commencement date, all ofthe management roles proposed by FourstaR E&S will be exclusive to the Work

Programme, ensuring that this contract receives our full and undivided attention.

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[5.3] Management of Delivery

Please clearly describe:

How you and your supply chain will manage and monitor the quality ofdelivery of the Work Programme to ensure that the whole provision within this

CPA is of a consistently high standard and meets your minimum service levels;

Your approach to performance improvement activities for your supplychain as a whole, outlining how you and your supply chain will act on thefindings of any monitoring activity including the resolution of issues from withinyour own supply chain, partners or other bodies.

Insert your response in the pre-set, shaded space of the following pages. Your responseMUST be limited to three sides of A4.

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5.3Managing Quality: Our whole supply chain approach is based on the concept of sharedownership for quality of delivery across the supply chain, which as Prime, we have aprinciple duty to facilitate. Supply chain partners will be actively encouraged and involvedin managing programme quality, in a number of ways e.g. active participation in internalsteering groups, consultative input into devised processes or providing training support to

the wider supply chain in their areas of specialism. Our management approach capturesan ethic of mutual support, whilst also promoting healthy competition and transparencyacross the supply chain to drive performance, e.g. the circulation of an inter-supply chainleague table and success stories. We will manage individual supply chain partners asbefits their organisations to in turn engender high quality delivery and support minimumservice levels (as defined in 4.1b). We offer flexible support to the supply chain, reflectingindividual capacity and/or processes, rather than imposing overtly prescriptive systemsand/or terms. Under FND for example, members of our IT Team supported oursubcontractor Crossmatch Solutions, free of charge, in configuring their systems to bemore effectively aligned to the data reporting formats of PRaP. These supportivemeasures directly resulted in desired qualitative gains.

Contractual quality is overseen by our Director of Quality & Control (Q&C) and our centralquality team, using processes already aligned to the delivery of DWP contracts by virtueof our FND experience. Under the stewardship of this team, qualitative targets arefactored in to all management roles. So, for example, whilst the Director of Q&C isresponsible for qualitative performance at a company-wide level, the Area Director will beresponsible for this at a contractual level, and ETC Managers will be responsible forqualitative compliance specific to their own centres. Qualitative responsibilities ofsubcontractors are equally clearly set, with their nominated lead managers holdingaccountability. All such accountabilities across our supply chain are clearly documented,so there is no ambiguity as to who is responsible for what. Performance and KPI targetsfor the contract as a whole are devolved and cascaded to each delivery site and ultimatelythe individual staff member. Internal benchmarks, linked to KPIs, will be put in place,ensuring consistency of delivery and approach to performance management.Subcontractors will be required to adopt and mirror these benchmarks as applicable.

Alignment to Industry Standards: The strength of our quality management approach isevidenced by the fact that we have taken an active role in industry standards anddevelopments. This has included participation in the DWP Merlin Standard pilotassessment for our FND provision in May 2010. We were also one of only two FND PrimeProviders invited to support DWP with the pilot of the new Quality Assurance

Questionnaire process. We are currently represented on DWPs Self Assessment Toolkitworking group. We were the first FND Prime Provider to be audited by the DWP ProviderAssurance Team which occurred within 7 months of contract start, resulting in aReasonable Assurance rating, the highest level available at the time. The internalexpertise we have built up through our staff base and inclusion in DWP pilot systemsprovide a level of assurance that our internal tools, ethos and processes will fully embedand mirror DWP frameworks.

Monitoring Quality: Our quality regime is mapped to the criteria of the DWP QualityFramework, Provider Guidance, the Merlin Standard, and contractually agreed minimumservice levels. Our Director of Q&C is responsible for keeping up to date with any

revisions to these, and related, qualitative standards and guidance. Our current KPIsdeployed through FND cover a range of customer, employer and stakeholder measuresincluding; service delivery excellence; customer choice; customer complaints; stakeholder

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5.3 (continued)satisfaction; employer engagement; equality and diversity; and sustainable development.These will be carried forward to the Work Programme. Attainment against these KPIs,ensuring a high quality service is delivered and the minimum service levels are achievedwill be reviewed in several ways:

A monthly report of contract specific qualitative metrics submitted by the Area Director

to the Director of Q&C, Managing Director and Board. A review of qualitative performance against KPIs, between the Area Director and ETC

/ Partnership Managers, supplemented by informal day-to-day monitoring.

Documented quarterly cycle of on-site Quality Monitoring Visits to each venue, led byour Quality & Control Team, based on sampling checks of contract records and MIdatabase entries, and observed delivery of services.

Production of a comprehensive annual Self Assessment Report, led by our Director ofQ&C, based on DWPs Supplier Guidance requirements.

An annual review of KPIs, ensuring that they remain appropriately stretching and fit-for-purpose, with upward target revisions and new KPIs added as applicable.

Our monitoring approach, and in particular the quality monitoring visits and SAR, aims toidentify Strengths, Weaknesses and Satisfactory points, and actions to maintain Strengthsand upgrade areas of satisfaction and weakness. KPIs will be monitored via a TrafficLight system (Red High Risk, Amber Medium Risk, Green Low Risk). To ensurethere is no slippage to Red, continued Amber performance will result in remedial action(see performance improvement activity below). Delivery is further monitored againstmonthly outcome performance and KPI profiles by line managers, with data logged andcaptured on the MI system so that a real time picture of performance is always known.

The monitoring approach is designed to be collaborative and light touch. We have

introduced a self regulation approach to quality, whereby up to 50% of the primarybenchmarks (eg, initial assessments, action plans) are cross checked by 2 members oflocal staff. Through onsite visits, the Quality and Control team will audit the self regulatedfiles and the processes sitting behind this. Error levels are in line with risk and should it berequired, the Quality and Control team will conduct a full review of all customer files. Todate, a full local review has not been required. This process is designed to avoidoverburdening subcontractors with excessive monitoring requirements and selfassessment that distracts from improvement, rather than encouraging it. Qualitystandards are further underpinned through the application of documented processes andprocedures (Process Manual and Quality Manual) covering and standardising all elementsof the customer journey across our supply chain. The results of monitoring activity will be

published across our supply chain, and shared with DWP. The aim is not only to informeach ETC and subcontractor of their current position against their own KPIs, but toencourage comparative benchmarking and self-driven improvement across the supplychain. In this respect, we will always expect each ETC and subcontractor to progresstowards emulating the KPI and performance results of our best performing ETCs andsubcontractors in the same CPA.

Performance Improvement Activities: Our improvement strategy will be linked to thefindings of monitoring activity, identifying where improvement action may be required toensure that minimum service levels are maintained. This will include both performanceand qualitative contractual outcomes. It will equally include responding to both internal

and external findings (e.g. SAR, PAT and Merlin Standard reports). Even where we aremeeting contractual expectations, we will continuously seek to improve our qualitative andperformance results. This is underpinned through regular desk top audits conducted by

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5.3 (continued)the Quality and Control team on a spot check basis. They complete sample checks onareas such as in-work support (frequency and content of calls) and the policy andprocedures that underpin all activity. The findings from the desk top audit directly feed intoall performance improvement activities that delivery sites follow. Our approach will buildon the improvement methodology that we already apply within FND.

A documented, ongoing Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) is maintained for eachdelivery venue (ETCs and subcontractors) detailing time-bound targets and actions to beachieved each month to resolve, and continuously improve, quality and performanceissues. Teams and individuals who underperform will be afforded support to get themback on track. The first focus will always be one of support, to consider the symptoms andcauses of underperformance and to advocate remedies. ETC staff and subcontractorswho consistently underperform in any 3 months within a 6 month period are placed on aHigh Risk PIP, from which, as a last resort, they may be replaced if improvement within isnot then achieved. All quality monitoring activity, including monthly KPI and SAR findings,are fed into a resultant Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) at CPA and national levels. The

QIP will set out the key actions by which identified areas for improvement will be achievedand strengths will be consolidated. The QIP will be ETC / Metro Centre / Subcontractorspecific where required to ensure that all areas for improvement are identified and a levelof consistency in delivery is achieved. The QIP will present clear yet thorough dashboardgraphics (e.g. graphs) of actual quality achievement against each KPI. A series ofimprovement milestones will be documented against each KPI, with clear accountabilityand time-lines, showing the desired improvement and how it will be achieved.

Improvement activities will always be bespoke to the performance or qualitative issue inquestion, its severity, and the urgency with which it must be resolved. All staff andsubcontractors will be supported to ensure that improvement plans highlight the practicalsteps by which improvement will be achieved, and not just the desired outcome.Examples of the range of measures we will apply include:

Process Review: Refining our customer journey and operational models to ensurethat design features, in themselves, do not create obstacles to high performance. Anyunnecessary bureaucracy and administration will be removed.

Focus Groups: Regularly bringing together all supply chain members as a think-tankto consider qualitative and performance improvement, and the effective exchange ofbest practice. For example, with FND we operate a Management Information SteeringGroup involving all supply chain partners.

Training & Development: We will run a rolling cycle of workshops and courses

(including annual refresher sessions) over the lifetime of the contract, open to both ourown and subcontractor staff. These are focused on developing high quality and highperformance skills and behaviours.

Re-assigning Volumes: Following the principles of DWPs own market shiftmethodology, we will similarly trigger volume shifts from lower performing ETCs andsubcontractors to higher ones. Not only does this focus effort on our best performingresources, but it also provides for an opportunity for lesser performing resources tobuild capacity through a more manageable workload.

Releasing New Investment: Introducing new premises, staff or subcontractors to thesupply chain as a whole, to ensure that our financial commitment is proportionate to theimprovement need, to ensure that qualitative and performance gains are made.

Staff Incentives: Commission based pay structures and team incentives are applied tomotivate and reward exemplary performance.

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