In 2011, the Work Programme replaced virtually all welfare to work programmes run by the Department for Work and Pensions (the Department) in England, Scotland and Wales. It offers support to unemployed people who have been claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or Employment Support Allowance to help them get, and keep, jobs.

The Work Programme's objectives are to increase employment compared with previous schemes, decrease time spent on benefit, increase time employed for those coming off benefits, and narrow the performance gap between easier and harder to help claimants. The Department will deliver the Work Programme through contractors - a total of 18 with 40 separate contracts.

The Programme accepted its first participants in June 2011. The Department estimates that it will cost between £3 billion and £5 billion over the next five years and could help 3.3 million people. The Department estimates that the Work Programme will save £1.95 for every £1 spent.

This report assesses how the Department managed risks to value for money in introducing the Work Programme using an evaluative framework summarised in Figure 1. It is too early to fully assess the Work Programme as there is not yet reliable data on how successful it is in getting people into work. We have found that the quality of decisions made at the early stage of major programmes are often highly predictive of future success, or otherwise. The report, therefore, identifies risks that the Department will need to manage well if value for money is to be achieved. We intend to examine actual performance in later reports.

Follow this link to download the Executive Summary (opens in a new window).

For the full report follow the link below.