20 December 2007 – Pathways on track for national roll-out
The final phase of the Government’s flagship Pathways to Work programme to help people off incapacity benefits and into work is announced today.
Pathways to Work provides support from highly skilled personal advisers from the public, private and voluntary sectors who will ensure that the long-term unemployed receive the specialist help they need to get back to work, including extra one to one work-focused interviews, groundbreaking rehabilitation support, a Return to Work Credit of £40 a week, and in-work assistance.
The organisations awarded contracts today are Carter & Carter Group plc, Instant Muscle Enterprise Limited, Reed in Partnership, Remploy, Royal British Legion Industries, Shaw Trust, TNG and Working Links. They will deliver Pathways in the remaining 16 Jobcentre Plus districts from April 2008, completing the national rollout across Great Britain.
And for the first time, customers in three of these districts – Cheshire & Warrington; North/East Yorkshire & The Humber; and in Surrey & Sussex will have a choice of two organisations to provide their Pathways support.
Caroline Flint, Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform, said:
“Working in partnership with the private and voluntary sectors will help us to remove the barriers to employment that people on incapacity benefits sometimes face and help us to achieve our goal of full employment in our generation.
“Our Pathways to Work programme continues to be a success – having so far helped over 69,000 people into work. This final roll-out will mean that by April next year anyone on incapacity benefits throughout the country will have access to a local Pathways service.”
Commenting on the valuable role of the third sector Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, said: “Pathways to Work has proven to be successful in helping those on incapacity benefits back into work because the support and encouragement that it provides is built around the particular needs of the individual. Today’s announcement of awarded contracts is an important endorsement of the role that third sector organisations can play in delivering innovative public services such as this.”
Notes to Editors
- The eight organisations awarded contracts today – the Phase 2 contractors - will cover the delivery of Pathways in the following 16 areas:
| Contractor | Jobcentre Plus District Area |
|---|---|
| Carter & Carter Group plc | Cheshire & Warrington; North/East Yorkshire & The Humber |
| Instant Muscle Enterprise Limited | Surrey & Sussex |
| Reed in Partnership | Brent, Harrow & Hillingdon West London; Cambridge & Suffolk; North & North East London; South & South East London |
| Remploy | The Marches |
| Royal British Legion Industries | Kent; Surrey & Sussex |
| Shaw Trust | Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire; Berks, Bucks & Oxfordshire; Hampshire & Isle of Wight |
| TNG Ltd | Cheshire & Warrington |
| Working Links | Coventry & Warwickshire; Gloucestershire, Wiltshire & Swindon; Leicester & Northants; North/East Yorkshire & The Humber; West of England |
- The Phase 1 contractors appointed in September were A4e, Seetec Ltd, Shaw Trust, TNG Ltd, Triage Central Ltd, and WorkDirections Ltd. These contractors have been delivering Pathways in 15 Jobcentre Plus Districts since 3 December.
- Peter Hain outlined his support for a greater role for the private and voluntary sector to tackle worklessness in the emerging findings of the DWP’s commissioning strategy on 27 November. ‘DWP Commissioning Strategy – emerging findings’ is available on the DWP website at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/supplyingdwp/news/
- DWP and the Department of Health announced a £13 million package to help people with mental health conditions find and keep work to underpin the first national strategy for mental health and work on 27 November.
- Peter Hain announced a new medical test to assess work capability on 19 November. The Work Capability Assessment will be introduced in October 2008 alongside the new Employment and Support Allowance for people claiming the new allowance. The Employment and Support Allowance replaces Incapacity Benefits from October 2008.
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Contractors’ Responses to their appointment
Carter & Carter Group plc
Helen Richardson Managing Director of Carter & Carter Group plc said: ”Carter & Carter Employability is delighted to have been invited by the Department for Work and Pensions to deliver the Pathways to Work programme in the two Choice areas of Cheshire and Warrington and North East Yorkshire and the Humber. We recognise that work is a right and that employment is good for the individual, for families and for their communities. We are looking forward to working with our partners and stakeholders to assist our customers into sustained and rewarding employment. Pathways is an exciting opportunity to pilot new and innovative ways to support and engage our customers.”
Instant Muscle Enterprise Limited
Tony Garrett, Group Managing Director of lnstant Muscle Enterprise Limited said: "Continuing the success of our 20 year relationship with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and its predecessors, we are delighted to have the opportunity to work on such a strategically important initiative. With over 26 years of experience providing dynamic and innovative support to a variety of disadvantaged groups, the award of this contract reflects the significance of our work in delivering the DWP's New Deal for Disabled Persons scheme, where we are one of the leading providers in the UK.
“IME looks forward to supporting our vision of making a difference in peoples' lives in the Districts of Surrey and Sussex and understands that each individual on the scheme will have specific needs, which will be addressed and a tailored programme developed in order to enable them to move from the benefits system into sustainable work. With our proven success in assisting disabled and disadvantaged people into work, together with our strong ethos and values, we are confident that IME will help many people make this transition and provide them with continued support throughout this initial period and beyond."
Reed in Partnership
Chris Melvin, Managing Director of Reed in Partnership, said: “We are delighted at being selected to deliver Pathways to Work services in four important regions across London, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. We look forward to building on our previous successes with this client group, by working with employers and the local community to find innovative solutions to help those on incapacity benefits overcome their barriers and achieve their goals."
Remploy
Beth Carruthers, Remploy’s Director of Employment Services said: “We are delighted to have been selected to deliver the Pathways programme across the Marches district. As the UK's leading provider of employment services for disabled people, this exciting initiative will allow Remploy to utilize and replicate our strong partnerships with Jobcentre Plus and leading employers to support jobseekers on incapacity benefit into employment across Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
“Last year, Remploy found 5,200 jobs in mainstream employment for people with a range of disabilities and health conditions. We know that our clients have valuable skills and abilities and that given the right specialist support, their lives can be changed by finding fulfilling, sustainable employment.
“Highly visible, modern Remploy branches will be opened across Worcestershire and we will be working closely with local partners, Pertemps and County Training, to deliver individually-tailored help and support to thousands of jobseekers.”
Royal British Legion Industries
John Quin, RBLI Chief Executive said: “This is a tremendous endorsement of the work that RBLI has done in both Kent and Surrey & Sussex for a number of years, and we are excited about greatly expanding our services to help more people into meaningful and long-term employment.
“Awarding Pathways to RBLI – a successful independent charity which has served disabled and disadvantaged people for over 80 years – is also a strong endorsement of the Third Sector itself and its vital role in securing the success of the Government’s welfare reform agenda.
“We are, of course, absolutely committed to ensuring that our benchmark high standards of quality and service continue in the way we deliver services to our customers. We will be working in partnership with a range of other local organisations, all sharing our vision of providing an exceptional service. We look forward to making Pathways to Work a great success in both Jobcentre Plus districts.”
Shaw Trust
Ian Charlesworth, Chief Executive of Shaw Trust, said: "Shaw Trust is delighted that our 25 years of experience and proven success in helping disabled and disadvantaged people into work has been recognised with the awarding of these three new contracts, which give us the opportunity to extend our services in Hampshire and Isle of Wight; Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire; Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.
“We launched Pathways programmes in Greater Manchester East and West and Norfolk on December 3 and we are pleased to be such a powerful force in delivering this concerted national effort to help people into work.
"As a national Charity, whose entire mission is about supporting people into sustainable employment, Shaw Trust and its many expert partners bring a unique, innovative and client-centred approach to the delivery of public services.
"Shaw Trust believes that everyone has the right to work. We have always worked hard to help people move from benefits and into employment, whether through lobbying the government and inputting into the design of programmes, or through the successful delivery of services. We value the opportunity to ensure that Pathways to Work is a real success in reducing the number of people on benefits."
TNG Ltd
Welcoming the announcement, Carol Moir, Managing Director of TNG Ltd said, “Our success in securing the contract for Cheshire and Warrington offers us the opportunity to build on our 25 years of experience in supporting disadvantaged groups back into employment.
“TNG is already delivering a range of programmes including New Deal provision and LSC Skills for Life activity across the area; securing the Pathways to Work contract will enable us to assist even more customers across the District to gain sustainable employment. Our programme will help customers on health related benefits to see that they have a better choice by demonstrating how you can have better health and be better off by being back in work. It will also provide a best value solution that supports the Government’s ambition of an 80% employment rate across the UK.”
Working Links
Keith Faulkner, Managing Director of Working Links said: “Working Links is extremely pleased to be playing a key role in the extension of the Pathways to Work programme nationwide. The highly personalised support for people to achieve their potential, that is central to Pathways to Work, is already a core element in our approach to helping some of the country’s most vulnerable individuals into sustainable employment.
”Since 2000, we have helped nearly 90 000 people overcome significant personal barriers in order that they can take up and keep a job with a future. We know that assisting people to tackle health related issues often means tackling other problems too, such as housing, transport, literacy or debt. This requires a joined up way of working, engaging with people on a one to one basis and calling on partner organisations where appropriate. In that way we ensure that we are developing an action plan that suits them, and not “an off the shelf” solution.
“We believe that effective partnership working, with both Jobcentre Plus and smaller voluntary and private sector organisations, is essential to the continued improvement of public services. Voluntary sector capacity and capability must be protected and enhanced. Partnership working is another Working Links strength and we look forward to demonstrating how powerful it can be in addressing inequality and disadvantage through our contribution to Pathways to Work.”