Can the Work Programme work for all user groups? - Work and Pensions Committee First Report of Session 2013–14
This report by the Work and Pensions Committee suggests that the Work Programme is failing to reach the most disadvantaged long-term unemployed people, with the result that the hardest to help jobseekers are at risk of being “parked” because providers consider them unlikely to find sustained work.
Commenting on the Report, Dame Anne Begg MP, Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, said:
“… the Work Programme has proved much less successful to date in addressing the problems faced by jobseekers who face more serious obstacles to finding a job – people with disabilities, homeless people, and those with a history of drug or alcohol abuse”.
In 2012/13 the Government spent £248 million less on the Work Programme than expected because providers’ under-performed and so were paid less. The Committee wants the Government to use this underspend to extend proven, alternative provision for disadvantaged jobseekers. This includes the , Work Choice programme for disabled people, Access to Work as well as further support for individuals who complete their two-year attachment to the Work Programme without finding sustained employment.
For more information see the parliament website.