The ONE Survey

Why was the survey carried out?

The survey was part of a large evaluation project being carried out by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Employment Service and the Benefits Agency. The research was designed to evaluate ONE, a new approach to benefit provision which aims to offer a common service to all clients of working age which is capable of being tailored to the needs of individuals. ONE is intended to encourage clients to think of work and independence from the onset of their claim where possible. ONE is being piloted in 12 areas in Great Britain.

Which organisations were involved in the survey?

The evaluation project comprised a large quantitative survey and several qualitative studies. The survey was conducted by a consortium led by the Social Survey Division of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and including the Policy Studies Institute (PSI), the Tavistock Institute (TI) and the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB). Fieldwork was split between ONS and BMRB.

How was the survey carried out?

The survey covered the three largest groups of people of working age receiving state benefits: lone parents, sick or disabled people and the unemployed. Interviews were carried out in the 12 ONE areas and 12 broadly matched control areas. There were two cohorts: fieldwork for cohort 1 took place when the service was voluntary and for cohort 2 when a meeting with an Adviser to discuss work was compulsory. Each cohort had two waves of interviews about 6 months apart and the second cohort had an additional wave of interviews with lone parent clients. Thus the progress of clients in the ONE areas and the control areas can be compared. Comparisons between the two cohorts allowed the effect of compulsion and the effectiveness of some variants to the service organisation to be assessed. The achieved sample size was 4300 for cohort 1 and 14,500 for cohort 2.

What topics did the survey cover?

The main topic areas covered by the survey were: work histories before and after claiming benefit, contacts with benefits offices and jobcentres, job search activities and training, barriers to working and attitudes to working. The questionnaire also included sections on health, education and income.

When did the research take place?

Main stage field work took place in January-March and July-Sept 2000 for cohort 1 and September-December 2000 and April-June 2001 for cohort 2.

Where can the results be found?

Reports have been produced after each wave of each cohort:
"The First Effects of ONE" (ISBN 1-84123-281-5)
"The Medium-Term Effects of Voluntary Participation in ONE" (ISBN 1-84123-393-5)
"The Short-Term Effects of Compulsory Participation in ONE" (ISBN 1-84123-416-8)
"The Final Effects of ONE" (ISBN 1-84123-540-7)

A summary of this can be viewed at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/126summ.html

The main reports of each wave and details of how to obtain the printed versions can be found at:
www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrep126.html
www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrep149.html
www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrep156.html
www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrep183.html

DWP In-House reports can be found at :
www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/IH84.pdf
www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/IH87.pdf
www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/IH103.pdf

For more information about SSD or the surveys we carry out contact:
SSD Project Support Branch Tel: +44 (0)20 7533 5500 or e-mail: ssdpsb@ons.gov.uk

This page last revised: Monday, 31 March 2003