Indus Delta Welfare to Work Newswire - 17 September 2011

Parkhouse Bell: building recruitment relationships

Parkhouse Bell is a recruitment consultancy that provides a confidential and specialist service across all levels within the welfare to work industry.  For more information visit our website or our dedicated jobs page on Indus Delta.

What's new on Indus Delta?

Indus Delta improvement plan: feedback

We have had a great response to our request for feedback on how to improve the Indus Delta website so far - and are continuing to review your thoughts.

Ideas include:

• Revamping the site’s tag clouds so they are more relevant – and provide quick access to themed information on key issues, such as older workers.
• An Ask an insider discussion board – where claimants can pose questions to the site’s user base of in the know, expert industry professionals.

We are in talks with our web development team about implementing these ideas and many more – so watch this space!  And, in the meantime, please feel free to keep sending us your suggestions.

Latest news

Women in Welfare Sleepout for Centrepoint  

Seven women working in the sector - Kim Pattison, Deborah Tillett, Helen Richardson, Lucy Pope, Alison Bunney, Liz Armstrong and Fran Parry - will be taking part in the Centrepoint Sleepout on 10 November in central London.   Read more here.

Over 65s employment falls as government plans raising pension age to 67 faster  

Whilst government ministers last weekend mooted bringing forward state pension age to 67 by 2026, the latest employment figures show that the number of people aged 65 and over who are in paid work actually fell by 25,000 in the three months to July to 862,000.   Read more here.

Policy Exchange report on employment support and JCP calls for a more personalised welfare service

Think Tank, Policy Exchange, released a new report this week, Personalised welfare: rethinking employment support and jobcentres.  Read more here.

Is debate of the Welfare Reform Bill being ‘squirreled away’? 

This week peers agreed to a government plan to hold the committee stage of the Welfare Reform Bill away from the main chamber of the House of Lords, despite strong opposition.   Read more here.

Single parents 'cannot afford' coalition's child maintenance fees

Almost half the single parents who use the Child Support Agency (CSA) will not be able to afford to pay the fees to access the child maintenance service proposed under the new Welfare Reform Bill, according to a survey by the charity Gingerbread.  Read more here.

Demonstration projects will trial direct benefit payments to social housing tenants

Six demonstration projects trialing direct benefit payments to social housing tenants have been announced.  These changes will be widely implemented as part of the 2013 introduction of the Universal Credit.  Local authorities and social housing landlords are being asked to volunteer for the demonstration projects.  Read more here.

ERSA HR Forum to spearhead industry survey  

ERSA's HR Forum has agreed to spearhead work on a welfare to work industry survey aimed at ascertaining information about salary levels, staff turnover and absentee rates within the welfare to work industry.  This will help ERSA members benchmark and improve performance.   Read more here.

Reform Scotland makes 'devolution plus' proposal

Extensive tax-raising powers could be given to Holyrood without Scotland leaving the UK, a think tank has said.  The proposal would see most welfare benefits being transferred.  Read more here.

Its proposal would see most welfare benefits being transferredIts proposal would see most welfarJobseekers must improve English, says PM 

Jobseekers who cannot speak English will be required to take language courses or risk losing their benefits, Prime Minister David Cameron said this week.  Read more here.

Champions for the community - and the taxpayer?

In a recent thought piece for the Guardian, Tim Smedley discusses how unemployed volunteers turned “community coaches” from Barnet, north London, are helping local families to become more self-sufficient - and so reducing the reliance on public services.   Read more here.

Homelessness on the rise as cuts take effect 

Homelessness is on the rise after the recession and government cuts to the housing benefit, official figures show.  Read more here.

ERSA takes practical steps to help Work Programme sub-contractors

Streamlining contract terms between primes and sub-contractors will be one of the key issues which the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) will be taking forward following the first meeting of its new Supply Chain Forum.  Rea   Read more here.

Indus Delta listing of the week

New website for local authorities and public sector

Are you an exemplary council? Is your council leading in innovation? Or do you want to learn from other councils how they have tackled a number of current issues?

Leadingbyexample.org.uk is the online peer to peer support and self assessment toolkit that has been developed by councils, for councils. This site has now been redeveloped to reflect the changing and challenging times we are working in, as well as keeping up to date with the latest solutions and case studies.

Areas covered include employment, redeployment & redundancy, engaging with the community, supporting growth and procurement management.

The website is managed by Brighton & Hove City Council, in partnership with Jobcentre Plus and Local Government group.

It is for use by Local Authorities, Jobcentre Plus staff and interested public sector bodies. To register go to www.leadingbyexample.org.uk

Joe Davenport
Chair of the National LBE Committee