Indus Delta Welfare to Work Newswire - 13 July 2012

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Latest News

Rt Hon. Chris Grayling MP reflects on the Work Programme’s success

The Rt Hon. Chris Grayling MP, Minister for Employment, has called the Work Programme a success and said most providers are roughly in line with targets.

Work Programme not working, says Liam Byrne

The Work Programme is not working, but it’s a failure of government, not the welfare to work industry, Liam Byrne MP told Inclusion's Welfare to Work Convention 2012 this week.

Institute for Employability Professionals formally launched

The Institute for Employability Professionals (IEP) has been formally launched by its director, Declan Swan, Avanta’s Janette Faherty OBE and Lord Jim Knight of Weymouth. The IEP is a member body providing qualifications and continual professional development to employability professionals.

DWP early information on Work Programme off benefit flows

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) published its ad-hoc analysis of Work Programme off benefit flows as promised at 9:30 a.m. on 9 July. It is too early to tell whether the programme is performing above or below the minimum performance levels set in Work Programme contracts. For this first month of programme entrants, the Work Programme appears to be performing broadly in line with the Flexible New Deal programme that it replaced.

ERSA, ACEVO and NCVO publish blueprint for healthy supply chain relationships

ERSA, ACEVO and NCVO launched a guide, ‘Perfect Partners: strengthening relationships within employment services supply chains’, at Inclusion’s Welfare to Work Convention 2012 in Birmingham this week. 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.

Dave Simmonds comments on challenges ahead for welfare to work sector

Dave Simmonds, Chief Executive of Inclusion, opened the 2012 Welfare to Work Convention by exploring the roles of the three pillars in the fight against unemployment: Jobcentre Plus, welfare reform and the Work Programme. He argued that trust in welfare to work is in 'short supply' because welfare to work has been in the headlines 'for all the wrong reasons'.

Listing of the week

Welfare to Work Scotland, 19-20 September 2012, Crown Plaza Hotel, Glasgow

Confirmed plenary speakers are:

• Rt Hon. Iain Duncan Smith MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Department for Work and Pensions
• John Swinney MSP, Cabinet Secretary, Scottish Government

High unemployment presents a very real challenge for us all and there’s a lot of thinking underway about how to work together better in Scotland.

For some, this discussion is mainly about current plans to design and better integrate our existing services around the needs of individuals, employers and communities. For others the focus is more on longer-term visions of what Scotland could do to reduce unemployment and increase employment opportunities, in particular for our young people.

This year’s Convention will bring you the latest on current plans and future visions. We will also look at the impacts that high unemployment and benefits changes may have on groups and communities facing particularly severe barriers to employment. It will ask what a Scottish employability service should look like as well as ensuring a host of opportunities for sharing views and information under the following three themes:

• Working better together
• Working better for young people
• Working better with employers

For more information and to book, visit the Inclusion website.