Prime contractors for the government’s Work Programme will have to prove that they are developing partnerships with small, specialist voluntary sector providers in order to win contracts.

Launched late last month, the reformed welfare-to-work provisions require contractors to be compliant with the Merlin Standard, which specifies that they must demonstrate “how the development of supply chain partners including small, specialist and voluntary sector providers is supported and encouraged”.

A statement from the Department for Work and Pensions added: “Crucial to the success of the Work Programme will be the work done by smaller local, voluntary and community sector organisations which specialise in working with the hardest to help groups.

“Major organisations wanting to bid for Work Programme contracts have been told that they will only succeed if they put together groups of specialists who can deliver the right mix of expertise for the hardest to help.”

Prime contractors will also have to treat partner organisations fairly or face losing their contract.

The new scheme will be based on payment by results, with providers only receiving the bulk of the money if their clients stay in they job for a period of time.

The tendering process for the Work Programme is now underway.