Back-to-work initiatives revamped

Published by Ross Macmillan for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Local Government

A 'revolutionary' new Work Programme has been launched by the Government to support more than two and a half million people back into work by 2016.

It is the biggest "payment by results" working programme ever introduced in the UK, according to Employment Minister Chris Grayling, and overhauls much of the support infrastructure already in place in the battle to get people off benefits and into work.

However, the Work Foundation says the scheme will do little improve the prospects of those in economically depressed areas of the country. Around 500 groups in the voluntary sector, including the Citizens Advice Bureau, Mencap and the Prince's Trust, will help deliver the scheme, which aims to assess the needs of jobseekers and labour markets.

Mr Grayling said: "The Work Programme will tackle the endemic worklessness that has blighted so many of the country's communities for decades. It is revolutionary in the way it tailors support to jobseekers' individual needs and pays organisations primarily for getting people into sustained employment."

The initiative replaces support offered through the New Deals, Employment Zones and Pathways to Work projects. The Work Foundation said it would be difficult for private firms to deliver the programme for profit in certain parts of London, Scotland and Wales.

Copyright Press Association 2011