DWP Central Freedom of Information Team
Annex A
e-mail:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx
Our Ref: VTR 3264
15 November 2011
Annex
Dear Mr Reece Paul,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request which we received on 1st
November 2011. In that request you asked:
The Work Programme Tender below suggests your Prime Provider Ingeus
can arrange Mandatory Work Activities for 6 months, can you provide internal
information that confirms the legal basis for this arrangement. "Our Placement
Broker Team and subcontractors will utilise their links with employers and
local volunteer bureaux to source a tailored six month community work
placement (mandatory for JSA customers) that fits with each customer’s job
goal.
http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/Common/View%20Notice.aspx
?site=1000&lang=en¬iceid=166538&fs=true.
Is this 6 month non voluntary work scheme part of The Jobseeker’s Allowance
(Mandatory Work Activity Scheme) Regulations 2011 or another scheme, as
no choice participation is for four weeks?
The paragraph you refer to is taken from the tender for Ingeus’s delivery of
the
Work Programme in West Yorkshire and describes the intervention that
will take place if a jobseeker remains with the provider after 12 months. This
process may not be the same for every provider. Although participation on the
Work Programme is mandatory for some customers, providers have the
freedom to design personalised support based on the needs of each
individual.
Mandatory Work Activity (MWA) is designed to help customers gain an
experience of the skills and disciplines associated with employment.
Jobcentre Plus advisers have the flexibility to use MWA, where they feel this
is appropriate, as part of a wider range of support options. MWA placements
will be for up to 30 hours a week, last for 4 weeks and will also deliver a
contribution to the local community.
Section 17A of the Jobseekers Act 1995 gives the Secretary of State for Work
and Pensions the power to make secondary legislation to require JSA
claimants to participate in schemes like Mandatory Work Activity.
In summary, Mandatory Work Activity and the Work Programme are two very
different elements of the Government’s Get Britain working measures.
Further information can be accessed via the following link;
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/adviser/updates/get-britain-working/
If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the
reference number above.
Yours sincerely,
DWP Central FoI Team
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Your right to complain under the Freedom of Information Act
If you are not happy with this response you may request an internal review by e-mailing
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx or by writing to DWP, Central FoI Team, 5th
Floor The Adelphi, 1-11, John Adam Street, London WC2N 6HT. Any review request should
be submitted within two months of the date of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review you may apply directly to the
Information Commissioner’s Office for a decision. Generally the Commissioner cannot make a
decision unless you have exhausted our own complaints procedure. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow
