Just 42% of Housing Providers Know Employment Status of Tenants

Less than 30% of housing providers are engaged in the Government's £5bn Work Programme and only 42% know the employment status of their tenants or residents, a new report shows.  Analysis by The Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion (CESI) and housing charity HACT shows that only 28% of housing providers are engaging in the Government's flagship back to work scheme, despite 88% of providers offering their own employment services.  The report found that housing providers had so far left the Work Programme alone because past experiences of subcontracting had put them off, or because they found prime Work Programme contractors’ requirements too broad or rigid for their organisation.  However, the report warned that "effective partnerships between housing and the Work Programme are a must". In 2011, 56 per cent of working age social residents were not working – more than 3.5 million people.  Download a copy of the report from the CESI website.