Return to work schemes ‘confusing’

The number of initiatives to help job seekers back into work is too
confusing and complex, according to a report from the Social
Security Advisory Committee.

Jobcentre Plus is singled out as one of the report’s main concerns.
It says that “the introduction of so many initiatives in a short
space of time risks spreading skilled resources too thinly”.

It also commits the committee to looking at the information given
to clients about the Social Fund, which provides loans and grants
to the poor. It concludes that the Social Fund is “still failing to
meet many of the most basic needs of some of the poorest people in
society”.

The committee is a statutory but independent body.

– See report at www.ssac.org.uk