Welfare Reform on the Web (January 2011): Social security - UK - welfare to work
Double-dipping: its implications for welfare to work
P. Bivand
Working Brief, Oct. 2010, p. 3-5
In the 2008/09 recession and beyond, involuntary part time and temporary working rose steeply in the UK. As the economy recovers, firms may simply increase the hours of existing staff, rather than recruiting new employees. These trends pose significant challenges for the welfare to work industry, which is under pressure to secure sustained employment for clients when temporary work is all that is available.
Families pay £3,000 a year to workless
R. Winnett
Daily Telegraph, Dec. 30th 2010, p. 6
Figures released by Conservative Central Office show that every working family now pays the equivalent of £3,000 a year to fund benefits for the unemployed. Over the past decade, the annual cost of the unemployed born by each working household has risen by almost £200 in real terms.
Professionalising the welfare to work industry: developing a framework for action
F. Parry and E. Crawford
Inclusion, 2010
This report presents a benchmarking survey establishing core information about the profile of personal advisers in employment services, including their aspirations, professional development needs, and the positives and negatives in the role that may affect recruitment and retention. There are currently no required qualifications to work as a personal adviser and no industry-wide accepted competencies framework for them. The report offers a feasibility study for the development of an industry qualifications framework. This considers the qualifications framework of a number of related industries and provides an overview of the process by which the welfare to work industry could develop one.
The Work Programme: the view from a third sector organisation
S. Swan
Working Brief, Oct. 2010, p. 16-17
The Work Programme will replace all previous Department for Work and Pensions welfare to work schemes by the Summer of 2011. The government has signalled its intention to create a new arrangement with service providers, based on the long-term results they achieve, rewarding those who help their customers return to stable, sustainable employment. This article discusses the opportunities and challenges the new programme will present for third sector employment services providers bidding for contracts.
The Work Programme challenge
H. Clifford
Working Brief, Oct 2010, p. 12-14
There are a number of key challenges within the coalition government's Work Programme, which is central to the process of welfare reform. These challenges are not entirely new to the employment services industry. This article presents three case studies of the experiences of three providers in meeting such challenges, focusing on:
- effective supply chain development and management
- identifying the best prime contractor to work with
- integration into the range of other service provision available in the community, to avoid duplication of effort.