supply chain contracting

The Work and Pensions Committee argues in its latest report that the Work Programme has the potential to work well for relatively mainstream jobseekers but is unlikely to reach the most disadvantaged long-term unemployed people.

The ACEVO/CDG Work Programme Review Group is inviting contributions to its work through a Call for Evidence and/or a series of consultation events to be held in May.

The review has three key aims:

1. To give third sector Work Programme providers greater visibility of the challenges that might lie ahead over the next year or two, and how they might respond to them;
2. To tease out what learning can be gained from the experience of the third sector’s involvement in the Work Programme to date, to inform the debate around what “Work Programme 2” might look like.

New research into the Work Programme, released by the Third Sector Research Centre, casts further doubt on the quality of services being delivered, particularly to those furthest from the labour market

The research, which involved interviews with Primes and providers, highlights that tier 2, ‘specialist’ providers, appear to be receiving no or very few referrals. This raises concerns about what is happening to those in need of specialist provision.

The Panorama programme on disability and the Work Programme broadcast on 28th January will come as no surprise to thousands of disabled jobseekers in this country. It is clear that the programme is failing many disabled people. The recent data release from DWP showed that just over 1,000 of the 68,000 ESA claimants referred to the programme had sustained work for over 3 months. The Panorama programme highlighted how so many people considered by providers as too hard to help are `parked`; a euphemism for ignored and neglected.

7 out of 10 charity sub-contractors say that their Work Programme contracts are at risk of failure in a new report released by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.

The report found that 47% of respondents felt that their contacts were at risk of failure within the next six months and 26% thought they were at risk of failure before the end of the contract. The report also found that half of the charities (48%) were subsidising the delivery of the Work Programme from their own reserves.

A study by Manchester Business School's Institute for Innovation Research has concluded that the Work Programme appears to be inadequate as a framework for service innovation. It concludes that "a better strategic alignment between government’s welfare reform strategy and locality commissioning could stimulate innovative services for all claimants in spite of austerity".

This is a case study of the UK government’s Work Programme procurement process between 2011 and 2012 and is part of a larger Manchester Institute for Innovation Research Project on Public Procurement and Innovation.

All the Work Programme prime providers have now passed the Merlin Standard. The Standard assesses the supply chain behaviours of providers against four core principles; Supply Chain Design, Commitment, Conduct and Review. Against each of these principles providers are assessed as being excellent (*5% or more), good (70% to 84%), satisfactory (55% to 69%) or unsatisfactory (below 54%.

Individual review reports from the first assessments are available to download at http://www.merlinstandard.co.uk/merlin-accredited-organisations.php

ERSA, ACEVO and NCVO have launched a guide, ‘Perfect Partners: strengthening relationships within employment services supply chains’. The guide uses case studies from a range of different supply chain models to demonstrate examples of best practice from employment programmes, including the Work Programme, Work Choice and Access to Work.

SERCO and NCVO are working together to produce a code to promote good practice and co-operative working between the private sector and voluntary and community sector in the delivery of public services. They’re seeking your comments as they draft this tool.

The National Audit Office has published its investigation into levels of fraud within contracted employment programmes.