Stephen Timms (East Ham, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department will offer support to voluntary sector groups involved in delivering the Work programme who have not yet received any referrals.
Chris Grayling (Minister of State (Employment), Work and Pensions; Epsom and Ewell, Conservative)
Referrals to voluntary sector groups are made by Work programme providers, and are a commercial matter for the parties involved. The Department cannot intervene in the business relationships between Work programme providers and their sub-contractors, but is working with Jobcentre Plus and providers to ensure that claimants who would benefit from the support of voluntary sector organisations are being referred appropriately to the programme.
A total of 699 supply chain places are occupied by voluntary and community sector organisations. This represents a total of 423 different voluntary and community sector organisations in tier 1 and 2.
