Pathways - DWP planned changes and implications

We have had notification from DWP that there is going to be a change to the referral process for Pathways from March 15th. Basically the way it works now is that as soon as someone makes a claim to ESA they have their first Work Focused Interview (WFI) with JCP then are referred straight to Pathways Provider. We then conduct monthly WFI's. Throughout this time, clients are waiting on their medical appointment date coming through - usually they have this month 3 whilst they with us. Approx 80% of people are found fit and moved to JSA. We then have a 6 week window to find them work and be able to claim job outcome. So overall we have about 4 to 5 months to place people who will during the process be found fit to work. (Sometimes medicals are sooner and we lose people before having a chance to work with them but this is not the norm.)

What DWP are now saying is that to prevent people who will end up on JSA being referred to Pathways (in their opinion - inappropriate referrals), they will stop all referrals coming to us until they have had a medical. I am not sure if they have really considered the implications of this and are just expecting this to delay referrals rather than reduce them. Obviously this will have massive impact on volumes and financials for Pathways providers.

Has anyone else clocked this?

Sybil