SOCIAL ENTERPRISES KEY TO CREATING JOB OPPORTUNITIES UNDER THE WORK PROGRAMME

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Following the Work and Pensions Select Committee’s¹ findings into the Work Programme, leading welfare to work charity, CDG² welcomes the support given for allowing prime contractors to help create and subsidise jobs themselves. CDG believes social enterprises have a pivotal role to play in this area.

In London East where CDG is a prime Work Programme provider, the charity will be working with and creating social enterprises as an effective way of supporting people into work, especially young unemployed people.

The charity welcomes the Committee’s view that the government produces straightforward guidance on how support in this area (known as intermediate labour markets) can be given without breaking European Union state aid rules. CDG believes the social enterprise approach will overcome EU restrictions because any subsidised jobs have to be created on the basis that they are with sustainable profit making businesses.

Richard Clifton, Careers Development Group’s director of business development, said:

“We welcome the committee’s recognition that there needs to be clarity from the government to what is and what is not allowed by the EU to help all providers know where they stand.

“Supporting social enterprises to help people into work, especially for those who want to get onto the employment ladder for the first time, is an approach we believe will be crucial to the success of the Work Programme. It is certainly a key part of the work we will be doing in London East.“

ENDS

Notes to editors

1 Work and Pensions Select Committee

The Work and Pensions Select Committee report on the Work Programme can be found via http://tinyurl.com/69l3qur.

Paragraphs 25 to 28 feature the section on the use of intermediate labour markets.

2 About Careers Development Group

CDG is a leading welfare to work charity with nearly 30 years’ experience in helping those who are unemployed find and sustain employment. Many of the people CDG supports have multiple barriers to employment including a lack of recent work experience, disabilities, health problems and a lack of relevant employability skills.

CDG supported 33,000 people in their journey back into work during 2009/10 and works across 26 centres in the UK (London, the South East, the Isle of Wight and the East Midlands), employing over 350 people. It has preferred bidder status for the Work Programme in London East and is a part of the MAXIMUS-CDG alliance in London West and the Thames Valley, Hampshire and Isle of Wight contract package areas.

3. Further information

Careers Development Group

Journalists requiring further information should contact Mark Brooks via:
(t)  020 7811 3164
(m)  07766 197727
(e) mark.brooks@cdguk.org

CDG PR 05/11