4th National
Welfare to Work Conference
A Watershed in Welfare

Tuesday 23rd February 2010
Barbican Centre, London EC2

Keynote Speaker:

Sir David Freud
Shadow Minister for Welfare Reform

The welfare agenda in the news:

This time we must guarantee to stave off worklessness
Promise of jobs for young people does not go far enough
James Purnell, Policy Review Magazine, December 2009

Give credit where it's due
Benefits must be overhauled and simplified. Only then will work be seen as the most sustainable route out of poverty
Iain Duncan Smith, Policy Review Magazine, December 2009

Benefits cost families £20 a week
Daily Express, December 16,2009

About the conference:

The government and opposition are both committed to contracting out work programmes, creating a ‘welfare market’ and paying providers for delivering sustained employment outcomes. October marked the beginning of the Flexible New Deal (FND), involving prime contractors managing local supply chains and delivering services directly or through sub-contractors.

Round 2 of tendering for FND contracts is already underway, but the entire FND2 bid process is being questioned, as, if elected, the Conservatives have promised to cancel FND2 and replace it with the Work Programme. Interested bidders will need to understand the likely implications of this change.

The contracting-out of work programmes presents many issues for providers, the public bodies which must work alongside them, and the customers who rely on their services.

This conference will advise local authorities, jobcentres, social enterprises and public bodies on the likely direction of government policy in this area, and share best practice around the contracting and delivery of welfare to work.

For further information contact Nikki Insley on 020 7324 4357,
e-mail nikki.insley@neilstewartassociates.co.uk