Committees

The Work Programme

Inquiry

The Work Programme, launched in June 2011, replaces more than twenty welfare-to-work schemes. The Programme’s objectives are to increase employment compared with previous schemes, decrease the time spent on benefit, increase the time in employment for those coming off benefits, and narrow the performance gap between easier and harder to help claimants. The Department contracts out delivery of the Programme to providers in the private and third sectors The Department expects to refer 2.1 million people to the Work Programme by March 2016 at a total cost of £2.8 billion. Up to March 2014, 296,000 people had secured work through the programme.

After a poor start, the performance of the Work Programme is at similar levels to previous programmes but is less than original forecast. The Department has struggled to improve outcomes for harder-to-help groups. This inquiry will look at the Work Programme’s current performance and whether it can achieve the higher rates of performance the Department now expects.

Relevant information

Work news

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Work programme: report published
6 November 2014
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Managing delivery of work programme: officials questioned
11 July 2014
Total results 2 (page 1 of 1)

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