Notice to Providers
New Deal, Employment Zones, PSL and Programme Centre contracts.
As you know the Government launched its Green Paper – ‘In Work, Better Off: Next Steps to Full Employment’, in July this year. Following that, DWP has started the process of wide consultation to ensure that future contracted employment provision offers more innovative, creative and effective ways of working with customers. As part of that process, we need to make sure that evidence from other successful programmes is taken into account when designing future Welfare to Work provision, and feedback that we have received from partners about our approach to contracting needs also to be addressed.
As this work progresses, in parallel we recognise that a number of contracts, such as the mainstream New Deals, PSLs and Programme Centres are due to come to an end over the next few months. And Employment Zones are due to stop taking referrals 12 months before the formal contract end date. To ensure that these services continue to be delivered, and to a high standard, while we develop plans for future provision, we will therefore either be extending existing contracts, taking into account the continuing need to ensure they deliver performance and value for money, or letting new contracts where it is appropriate, up to end September 2009. Decisions on which approach we shall take in particular cases will be principally decided on the basis of performance.
It is our hope that by giving notice of our intentions now we will give suppliers the security they require to ensure quality provision remains in place, and to invest in necessary improvements where appropriate, whilst we develop our longer-term plans. We will therefore be speaking to providers who currently deliver the contracts that are affected over the next four weeks to take forward this activity.
Rob Wormald
Head of Contracted Employment Provision
Department for Work and Pensions