Welfare Changes Could Harm Work Programme

The Department for Work and Pensions has failed to consider the impact welfare reform will have on its flagship employment programme, according to a group of MPs.  In a report on the work programme, the Public Accounts Committee warns that the DWP ‘must be vigilant’ over the effect of the introduction of universal credit, adding that it could lead to major changes to the definition of claimant groups.  The committee praises the department’s ‘significant administrative achievement’ in getting the payment by results programme off the ground quickly but said that it must show that it is making sure contractors deliver the promised results.  It further warned that the programme should be judged not just on value for money but on whether it ‘produces the expected wider benefits to society of getting more people off benefit and into work’.  Download a copy of the report from the Parliament website.