Government promises charities will have key role in the Work Programme 1

Finance | Vibeka Mair | 7 Feb 2011

The government once again reaffirmed its commitment to making sure that the voluntary sector is involved in the Work Programme at an event hosted by London Funders and CCLA last week.

Speaking at the event, employment minister Chris Grayling allayed fears among the audience that the charity sector would be pushed out of the welfare-to-work landscape by larger, private contractors:

“We have made it clear to prime contractors that we expect them to come with a coalition of organisations, including the voluntary sector. If they don’t they won’t win contracts.

“Your hand is pretty strong to make good deals, as primes must remain on good terms with the voluntary sector.”

He also said he was confident that the list of preferred bidders for the Work Programme included a "first-rate mix of organisations".

Place a comment

David
Speaking in a personal capacity
A charity that has spent a lot of time on this
7 Feb 2011

Let me check, is it April 1st?

This is ridiculous and I cannot believe for one instant that anyone who has any knowledge of this process would say of the sector
"Your hand is pretty strong to make good deals"

The primes hold all the cards. The emphasis on volumes and payment on job outcomes transfers the risk to the "third sector" in a way that is wholly at odds with the rhetoric.

Chris Grayling hasnt "allayed fears", he has brushed them under the carpet.

[Reply]

Comments

[Cancel] | Reply to:

Name *

Email *

Organisation

Job Title

Comments *

Verification *

* Please read our Community Standards

Close »

Community Standards

The civilsociety.co.uk community and comments board is intended as a platform for informed and civilised debate.

We hope to encourage a broad range of views, however, there are standards that we expect commentators to uphold. We reserve the right to delete or amend any comments that do not adhere to these standards.

We welcome:

Robust but respectful debate
Strongly held opinions
Intelligent relevant discussion
The sharing of relevant experiences
New participants

We will not publish:

Rude, threatening, offensive, obscene or abusive language, or links to such material
Links to commercial organisations or spam postings. The comments board is not an advertising platform
The posting of contact details for yourself or others
Comments intended for malicious purpose or mindless abuse
Comments purporting to be from another person or organisation under false pretences
Gratuitous criticism, commentary or self-promotion
Any material which breaches copyright or privacy laws, or could be considered libellous
The use of the comments board for the pursuit or extension of personal disputes

Be aware:

Views expressed on the comments board are left at users’ discretion and are in no way views held or supported by Civil Society Media
Comments left by others may not be accurate, do not rely on them as fact
You may be misunderstood - sarcasm and humour can easily be taken out of context, try to be clear

Please:

Enjoy the opportunity to express your opinion and respect the right of others to express theirs
Confine your remarks to issues rather than personalities

Together we can keep our community a polite, respectful and intelligent platform for discussion.