Prime time for charities in work programme
Further light was shed on how the welfare to work programme1 was going to generate opportunities for charities by welfare reform minister Lord Freud.
Speaking at Action Planning’s Funding the Future conference on 8 March, the former Financial Times journalist told delegates: “How often have third sector organisations been dependent on the goodwill of politicians? You want a system not where you get work because you know the right people but because you can generate results. The work programme puts the relationship on a more results-orientated footing.”
The Department for Work and Pensions currently spends £192bn on various random state benefits, including pensions and needs to make savings quickly. The joined-up approach to make work ‘always pay’ structures the benefits system so that everyone gets the support to do paid work tailored to their needs.
The system of contracting out the tasks to prime and subcontractors is weighted towards the higher payments (on results) being made to the consortia who manage to get the more challenging, expensive to place individuals back into jobs they can stick at rather than remaining on benefits.
Prime contractors will be expected to demonstrate they have utilised the best of the private, voluntary and public sector in their consortia.
The first round of preferred contract bidders will be announced in April 2011. Freud reassured the sector that prime contractors would not be allowed to grab the top fee of £14,000 to place a problem individual in work, get the third sector organisation to do all the work for £1,000 and pocket the £13,000 change. He also said that if the system all worked to plan, other departments such as the Ministry of Justice may adopt the approach.
1. A summary of employment minister Chris Grayling’s summary of this can be viewed at www.apbusinesscontacts.com/the_people_bulletin-pb_5/fairplay.aspx
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