Sector to discuss Work Programme crisis

Labour’s shadow charities minister Gareth Thomas MP and shadow employment minister Stephen Timms MP will host a summit of charity, social enterprise and voluntary sector groups to discuss the growing crisis in the Work Programme today.

Francis Maude claimed that 35-40% of the value of the contracts under the Work Programme would go to the Third Sector.

The ‘Invitation to Tender’ for the Work Programme made assurances that the scheme would build on pre-existing 30% levels of charity involvement in Welfare to Work Programmes.

However this has not been the case - figures suggest that the sector represents less than 20% of the Work Programme suppliers. Of the 508 voluntary sector providers announced at the start of the programme, only 423 remained as of the 12th August 2011 – and we don’t know how many more have dropped out since.

This represents a huge loss of expertise in getting people back to work and could be disastrous for those charities who had expected significant work under the Programme.

With 1 million young people out of work; UK unemployment at 2.62m, a 17-year high; and charities facing public sector cuts of £900 million this year and £2.85 billion over the spending review period, the Work Programme was supposed to offer both a credible programme to help the unemployed find work and a new source of consistent and long term funding for charities.

Gareth Thomas MP, Labour’s shadow minister for Civil Society, said: “David Cameron and Francis Maude promised that charities and the voluntary sector would receive more income through the Work Programme, reflecting their expertise in getting people back to work and the huge cuts in other funding they have been hit with. This has not materialised, showing just how out of touch ministers are with the reality facing charities today.”

Stephen Timms MP, Labour’s shadow employment minister, said: “Unemployment has rocketed in the four months since the Work Programme started, and we have more young people unemployed than ever before.

"The Government told us the Work Programme would address these problems. And yet many experienced charities signed up to deliver the Work Programme in local communities – who planned on the basis of Government assurances about demand for their services – have not yet had a single jobseeker referred to them. This needs to be fixed urgently, or unemployment will continue to soar.”