Still 'poor practice' in Work Programme, says housing association

Published by 24publishing for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Communities, Local Government

One of the leading housing associations involved in the Government's £5bn Work Programme has revealed there is still 'poor practice' in the scheme, but prime and sub-contractors appear now to be more "attuned" to the added benefits housing providers can add to the supply chains.

Launched last year, the programme sees the government pay contractors by results in three stages – through an initial attachment fee, a main outcomes fee and cash for sustained employment.

One of the criticisms has been that the prime contractors have been passing on the payment terms to smaller charities and housing associations who might not be able to carry out the employment support and wait for months, even years, before they are paid.

There has also been gumblings about the fewer than expected number of referrals, with two charities walking away from the programme as a result of not being able to make the numbers stack up.

Speaking at the UK Welfare to Work (W2W) conference this week, James Walsh, Bromford's economic inclusion manager, described how only 18 months ago the landlord had to lobby prime contractors to prove its Work Programme credentials, without a great deal of take-up at the time. Yet on the programme’s first anniversary, housing associations were described as "pivotal" to its success by Lord Freud.

However, Walsh stressed that there is still some "poor practice" in the Work Programme with some providers from the third sector having services used by some contractors who haven’t added them to the supply chain or negotiated a payment.

Even in housing, he said contractors were signposting customers to specific work clubs for support and yet not contributing anything towards the service cost.

This point was discussed at the W2W convention with the relevant contractor and will see the start of a progressive contract discussion, Bromford said.

Walsh talked about the 60% of Work Programme customers who live in social housing and the unique relationship housing associations have with customers.

He said: “We have a trusting relationship with customers. We go to their homes, we sit on their sofas and take a client-centred approach where we don’t just look at the black and white of being in or out of work; we set interim milestones that aim to overcome personal barriers to work.”

He added that housing associations have the infrastructure and relationships with specialist providers to deal with major issues such as drug and alcohol dependency, convictions, low skills and mental health.

This support, he said, is what helps more customers get work-ready, in itself an achievement and the main requirement for many private sector employers.

The 26,000-home landlord signed a deal with prime contractor ESG last November and saw a flood of referrals at the beginning of the year. It expects up to 300 this year if current rates are sustained.

He said housing associations also have the ongoing relationship with customers that can measure where they are over their two-year work programme journey which is key to sustainability payments on the Work Programme, something that’s often difficult to track for other providers.

Bromford also now has the technology to assist customers and track and map their own sustainability through the Connect app.

Walsh wants choice introduced in the programme and adds that customers could and should be able to choose the support that best suits their needs.

He also said it should be made easier for smaller providers to be supported in supply chain agreements and meet the tough security and compliance issues.