Legal challenges to unemployment programmes

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Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

I understand that due to the ongoing boycott of organisations taking part in the governments Work Programme, and other unpaid work experience schemes which are contrary to Human Rights Act legislation on forced labour, the high street book store Waterstones has now pulled out of a government scheme that employed unpaid jobseekers in its stores.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/f...

The article in the link above also states:

"The Guardian understands that the department is facing multiple legal challenges to the terms of various unemployment programmes, including the recently announced Community Action Programme in which those out of work for a number of years must work for six months unpaid, including at profit-making businesses, in order to keep their benefits."

Would you please supply a comprehensive list of the multiple legal challenges to the terms of various unemployment programmes referred to by the Guardian please.

Yours faithfully,

Mr Taylor

DWP Adelphi Freedom-of-Information-Request, Department for Work and Pensions

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DWP Adelphi Freedom-of-Information-Request, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Taylor,

Please see attached response to your FoI request.

Kind regards,

DWP Central FoI Team

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Mr Taylor left an annotation ()

The DWP have confirmed the judicial review proceedings concerning its work programme schemes:

I can confirm that a number of judicial review proceedings have been brought against the Secretary of State concerning the lawfulness of schemes set up in 2011 under section 17A of the Jobseekers Act 1995, under which persons claiming jobseeker’s allowance can be required to participate in schemes designed to assist them to obtain employment. These schemes can include work or work experience.

A register of issued claims is available for public inspection (upon payment of a fee) in the Central Office of the Queen’s Bench Division in the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2 (pursuant to the Civil Procedure Rules, Part 5.4 and Practice Direction 5A). To help you identify the relevant sets of proceedings in that register, I have listed below the respective the Administrative Court reference for each of the cases:

CO/6693/2011
CO/7254/2011
CO/7259/2011
CO/260/2012
CO/1087/2012