LVSC calls for Work Programme rethink as specialist services close

The recent closure of two specialist employment support organisations in London suggests the government’s approach to commissioning back-to-work services needs a serious rethink, says London Voluntary Service Council (LVSC).

In the last fortnight, Sutton-based social enterprise Eco Actif Services CIC and Southwark-based charity Red Kite Learning (RKL) have announced their closure due to lack of funds. Both have long track records of providing expert support for unemployed Londoners facing significant barriers to work, including ex-offenders and drug users - and both cite changes to government commissioning as key reasons for their closure.

The news comes a week after LVSC published new evidence of increased demand for employment and skills services, coupled with disproportionate levels of service closures, from their Big Squeeze 2012 survey of voluntary organisations. Thirty-nine percent of Big Squeeze respondents said the introduction of the Work Programme had had a negative impact on the people they worked with.

LVSC Chief Executive Lin Gillians is deeply concerned:

“Over the last two years, longer, larger contracts for employment programmes have been almost exclusively awarded to large private sector providers. The intention was that specialist voluntary and community sector providers would deliver tailored support as subcontractors - however, as time goes on we are seeing this specialist provision disappear. This raises enormous concerns about the quality of support available to the thousands of Londoners facing serious or multiple barriers to work.”

For the LVSC press release, see LVSC calls for Work Programme rethink as specialist services close