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Work programme misses target

The Government’s Work Programme has fallen short of its target, results published by the Department for Work and Pensions reveal.

Data shows that just 3.5% of programme participants found a job that lasted more than six months, missing the official 5.5% target.

Mark Hoban, Minister for Employment, said: “Some providers have found their feet quickly and are already performing well but there is clearly a mixed picture today. We won’t tolerate second best - getting the long-term unemployed back to work is my priority.

“My message to providers under-performing is clear: It’s time to up your game or we will send more participants to those who are coming up with the results.”

A release form the DWP said more than 200,000 participants had been found work by September.

Liam Byrne MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said: “Today’s figures reveal the Work Programme is comprehensively failing. We were promised a welfare revolution and what we’ve got has been exposed as worse than doing nothing.

“Welfare bills are over £20 billion higher than expected because this Government has failed to get Britain back to work and now George Osborne has been forced to take £14 billion off tax credits to help foot the bill. Now we know why. The recovery has been throttled, the Government’s welfare revolution has failed and Britain’s strivers are being asked to foot the bill.

“This is deeply, deeply disappointing news. On the DWP’s own benchmarks, just 2.3 per cent have found a ‘job outcome’. That is under half the rate the DWP said could be achieved by doing nothing. Meanwhile long term unemployment has soared by over 200,000.

“George Osborne must now take the big steps we propose to drive down unemployment and start with a big plan to get our young people into work.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .