Responses to Government 

September 2026

September 2026

January 2026

September 2025

Communities that Work submitted evidence to the Work and Pensions Select Committee (WPSC) on employment support for disabled people.

Our submission highlights that disabled people in social housing are more likely to face poverty, ill health, and discrimination, and often fear losing benefits if work does not succeed. We call for more personalised, flexible support rooted in communities, and back proposals including the Government's ‘right to try’ guarantee, which will remove risks for those entering employment.

We also urge the Government to expand our successful JobsPlus pilot and to prioritise partnerships with social landlords and community organisations to create sustainable routes into work.

June 2025

Communities that Work submitted written evidence to the DWP's Pathways to Work consultation, led by Sir Stephen Timms MP. 

We responded to the Pathways to Work Green Paper by emphasising the need for inclusive, personalised employment support for economically inactive social housing tenants.

We worked with the NHF on their submission and shared information on JobsPlus which features in their response to government. 

We advocate in favour of the 'right to try' work guarantee, highlighting the success of community-led programmes like JobsPlus, and urge stronger partnerships between government and social housing providers to improve employment outcomes for disabled and disadvantaged individuals.

May 2025

Communities that Work submitted written evidence to the Keep Britain Working Review, led by Sir Charlie Mayfield for the DWP. 

We emphasised the role of Employers in Employment Support: Successful employment initiatives require employer engagement, offering support and guidance to ensure meaningful work opportunities for those re-entering the labor market. The Supported Employment model provides tailored support for individuals and employers throughout their employment journey.  

We touched on the importance of Community Support: JobsPlus illustrates the significance of in-person, community-based support in overcoming barriers to employment. It emphasizes the need for sustained partnerships to enhance support across communities.  

April 2025

Communities that Work submitted written evidence to HM Treasury for the Spending Review (June 2025) and to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on the Spending Review.

We endorsed a commitment to integrating work, skills and housing services as essential to breaking down the barriers to good work for those who need it most. We introduced CtW’s new Housing, Growth and Green Jobs Alliance, which seeks to advance connections between Government departments to achieve higher employment rates for local people, growth in green jobs and more homes in net zero states, contributing to the Government’s overarching growth mission.

We called for greater support for housing and employment initiatives such as JobsPlus. 

March 2025

Communities that Work submitted written evidence to the Work and Pensions Select Committee Inquiry into the role of Jobcentres and their part in wider DWP plans contained within the department’s Get Britain Working strategy.

We shared CtW views and our members’ experience supporting economically inactive people into good quality work. We recommended expanding support across communities to realise the government’s ambition for an 80% employment rate, bringing around 1.5 million more people into the workforce.

We called for greater support for housing and employment initiatives such as JobsPlus.

Our evidence was accepted and published on 26^th March.  

February 2025

Communities that Work submitted written evidence to the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee on workforce planning needs to develop clean, secure energy.

Our submission focussed on the important links between ‘green jobs’ and social mobility and called for greater cross-departmental working between the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Work and Pensions. We endorsed Skills England’s emerging role and powers to convene partnerships around distinct workforce growth demands across net zero.

We also sought clearer links to social housing to develop employment pathways for people across local communities with diverse employment and skills backgrounds.

Our evidence was accepted and published on 6^th February 2025.

April 2024

Communities that Work submitted written evidence to the Work and Pensions Select Committee Inquiry into the devolution of employment support. Using evidence from our members and across the social housing sector, we shared the widely endorsed calls from our A Future that Works campaign. This campaign ran up to the general election in July 2024 and secured the support of all leading trade and representative bodies across the social housing sector in England.

Our campaign called for a commitment to end employment poverty, to work in partnership, and to go local – including support for JobsPlus pilots in England.

Our evidence was accepted and published on 25^th April 2024. 

Spring 2021

Our response to Treasury's call for submissions ahead of the last Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR).

The Government asked stakeholders to submit a representation to the Treasury regarding what they wanted to see from the Government's Budget and Spending Review. Our response called for UK Shared Prosperity Funds and Social Housing to unite and for green jobs, housing and skills to be mutually linked. We called for digital inclusion to be the norm in the UK.

We also called for JobsPlus pilots to run, linking JobCentre Plus and local housing officers together for better local employment services.