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You are here: Home / Archives for Work Programme

Work Programme

DWP staff admit inflicting ‘psychological harm’ on claimants during coalition years

By John Pring on 1st April 2021 Category: Benefits and Poverty

DWP staff admit inflicting ‘psychological harm’ on claimants during coalition years
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Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) staff and managers deliberately inflicted psychological harm on benefit claimants, engaged in unofficial sanctioning targets, and pushed disabled people into work despite the risk to their health, shocking new testimony has revealed. The evidence comes […]

Inclusion London set to test social model job support, after £775k grant

By John Pring on 13th July 2017 Category: Employment

Inclusion London set to test social model job support, after £775k grant
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A pan-London disabled people’s organisation (DPO) has been given the chance to test “exciting” and “important” approaches to supporting young disabled people into work that reflect the social model of disability, after securing more than £750,000 in funding. Inclusion London has […]

‘Grave concern’ over coroner’s refusal to hold inquest into Maximus WRAG death

By John Pring on 27th October 2016 Category: Benefits and Poverty

‘Grave concern’ over coroner’s refusal to hold inquest into Maximus WRAG death
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A coroner has refused to hold an inquest into the death of a disabled man who had a fatal heart attack an hour after being told the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was threatening to stop his benefits. Alan McArdle, […]

Employment support overhaul is vital, says new report

By John Pring on 2nd June 2016 Category: Employment

Employment support overhaul is vital, says new report
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The government must work closely with disabled people and user-led organisations to rebuild trust damaged by the flawed work capability assessment (WCA) if it wants to improve its failing welfare-to-work programmes, according to a new report. The report by The Work […]

Disabled man died of heart attack after being told of ESA sanction threat

By John Pring on 13th November 2015 Category: Benefits and Poverty

Disabled man died of heart attack after being told of ESA sanction threat
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A disabled man died of a heart attack, just an hour after being told that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was threatening to stop paying his out-of-work disability benefits. Alan McArdle (pictured), who had previously been homeless but was […]

MPs ‘have missed the real flaws of Work Choice’

By John Pring on 23rd October 2015 Category: Employment

MPs ‘have missed the real flaws of Work Choice’
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A disabled researcher and campaigner has criticised a new report by a cross-party committee of MPs for failing to acknowledge fully the “perverse contradiction” at the heart of the government’s specialist employment programme. Catherine Hale, who wrote a well-received review on the failure […]

Labour conference: Work Programme ‘lacks common sense on mental health’

By John Pring on 2nd October 2015 Category: Employment

Labour conference: Work Programme ‘lacks common sense on mental health’
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People with mental health conditions are being forced too soon into work that they are not ready to do, according to a disabled Labour councillor employed by one of the government’s Work Programme providers. Jenny Nedwell (pictured) a Labour councillor with […]

DWP is ‘taking baby steps’ on sanctions when regime ‘is costing lives’

By John Pring on 5th June 2015 Category: Benefits and Poverty

DWP is ‘taking baby steps’ on sanctions when regime ‘is costing lives’
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Companies delivering the government’s Work Programme appear to have ignored rules that protect disabled people from serious harm, forcing the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to publish new guidance on its benefit sanctions regime. DWP has accused providers of an […]

Work Programme provider A4E ‘put lives at risk’ with cost-cutting move

By John Pring on 19th December 2014 Category: Benefits and Poverty, Employment, Human Rights, News Archive

Work Programme provider A4E ‘put lives at risk’ with cost-cutting move
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One of the companies at the heart of the government’s welfare-to-work programme is facing allegations that it introduced an “incredibly dangerous” cost-cutting move that could put the lives of many disabled benefit claimants at risk. Earlier this year A4E allegedly introduced […]

Work Programme failure to help disabled people ‘is a scandal’

By John Pring on 7th November 2014 Category: Employment, News Archive, Politics

Work Programme failure to help disabled people ‘is a scandal’
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The failure of Work Programme contractors to provide enough employment support to disabled people and other “harder-to-help” benefit claimants is “a scandal”, according to the chair of an influential committee of MPs. Labour MP Margaret Hodge said the government’s decision to […]

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