Evaluating the Wise Group and Partners Fair Start Scotland Service

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Cooper, Ben (2025) Evaluating the Wise Group and Partners Fair Start Scotland Service. Fraser of Allander Institute, Glasgow.

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Abstract

Fair Start Scotland was a voluntary employment support service provided in Scotland that was designed to help people who face challenges in finding and sustaining work. Referrals to the programme ran between April 2018 and March 2024, with referrals ceasing in March 2024 and the programme succeeded by the No One Left Behind initiative. Despite this, the service is still ongoing and providing support to remaining participants before it reaches its natural conclusion in 2026. The Wise Group, alongside its partners Enable and The Lennox Partnership, delivered the programme across Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, East and West Dunbartonshire. In February 2025, The Wise Group commissioned the Fraser of Allander Institute to undertake an evaluation of the specific part of the programme delivered by them. Between 2018 and 2024, 5,171 people enrolled in the programme. This included individuals with more complex barriers to employment, including high proportions of participants with disabilities and long-term health conditions.

ORCID iDs

Cooper, Ben ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5985-9016;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)