Now It's Personal? The new landscape of welfare-to-work

Article

This report shows that despite promising to devolve power, the Coalition government's flagship welfare-to-work programme does nothing to change one of the most highly centralised welfare systems in the world. ippr is calling for a radically devolved, localised welfare-to-work system.

The Coalition government's new Work Programme concentrates overall power in Whitehall and hands responsibility for supporting jobseekers to a small number of welfare-to-work providers. This further risks innovation at a local level being squeezed out of the system.The report explores risks and opportunities presented by the new Work Programme and set out proposals for a more fluid and innovative sub-contracting market to improve support for those furthest from the labour market.

Our report argues that effective back-to-work support requires fine-grained local knowledge and intelligence. We argue that a more enterprising welfare-to-work system could help create new job opportunities for unemployed workers and build stronger links between economic development and workforce development.

Related items

  1. Entrance sign at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office in Westminster

    Reset: Building modern partnerships with the countries of the global south

    The UK's relationships with many countries of the ‘global south’ are in a poor state.
  2. Doctor with patient for consultation, medical advice or procedure at clinic

    Taken to heart: Inequalities in heart disease in Scotland

    More than 7.6 million people across the UK live with cardiovascular disease (CVD), around twice as many as live with Alzheimer’s disease and cancer combined. 
  3. A beautiful sunset in the Scottish highlands with renewable energy wind turbines far into the horizon

    Skills passports: An essential part of a fair transition

    This month, government will publish its Clean Energy Workforce Strategy. This plan covers two aims. First, filling the growing demand for skills in clean energy industries is essential to keep on track to reach the government’s clean power…