Voluntary sector fears Work Programme won’t meet minimum targets or support the most vulnerable
October 10, 2011
Only 8% of third sector subcontractors are confident that the Work Programme will hit its targets, a new survey by ACEVO (Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations) has found. The survey also suggests that despite Government hopes that the Work Programme would provide “a big boost for the big society”, voluntary organisations are being asked to shoulder significant risks through the initiative.
The CEO’s body surveyed all third sector organisations involved in the Work Programme to gauge the sector’s engagement and confidence in the programme.
The survey found that:
There is anxiety as to how successful the programme will be:
- Only 8% were confident that the Work Programme will hit its targets
- Only 9% felt the Work Programme’s payment system was adequate to help those furthest from the labour market.
Voluntary sector subcontractors are shouldering significant risks:
- Only 38% of respondents had signed contracts for their provision
- 37% had not agreed pricing levels with their primes.
- Only 18% of respondents believed their payment profile had been softened in comparison to their prime’s DWP contract
- Only 57% of respondents agreed with the information on their role in the Work Programme that prime contractors had submitted to DWP
Speaking on the results of the survey Sir Stephen Bubb said,
“This survey confirms at scale what my members have been telling me. Third sector leaders fear the Work Programme won’t be the success story that the Government wants it to be – for their clients or for their organisations.
“The Government needs to be fully transparent on the Work Programme’s success rates so that if my members’ fears are realised, we know we need to change course. And it needs to accelerate and beef up its plans to protect voluntary sector subcontractors from bad behaviour on the part of prime contractors.”
ACEVO has written to the Minister for Employment, Chris Grayling MP, with the survey results.
Read the full briefing from the survey here.
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