Government announced today ...

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New measures being announced today about getting people back to work.

Minsters have been on BBC News 24 today.

Click here for story on BBC News website.

Here it is in text,


Private firms to find people work
Private firms and voluntary groups are to be offered cash incentives to get unemployed people into work for longer.
The changes will affect about 250,000 long-term unemployed people and all new claimants for sickness benefits.

Cabinet minister James Purnell said a "radical blueprint" was needed to get people into "sustainable" jobs.

Meanwhile an MPs' committee has found that 40% of jobseekers allowance claimants who find a job are out of work again within six months.

The public accounts committee concludes: "Despite high employment levels many people cycle between work and benefits."

Longer contracts

Work and Pensions Secretary Mr Purnell has announced a "commissioning strategy" that will see more private companies and voluntary groups involved in finding work for people on benefits - following a review by investment banker David Freud.

New contractors are expected to be offered incentives for getting people into work for at least six months, with further incentives planned in the future for increasing it to 18 months.

In return, they will get larger contracts which last up to seven years - twice as long as usual.

The public accounts committee report also criticised the fact the government had considered 13 weeks a "yardstick" for sustained employment, saying it was "too short".

Gordon Brown is tinkering around the edges - a bit of reform here, a bit of participation by the private sector, a slight toughening of sanctions
Chris Grayling
Conservatives

Mr Purnell said there was a "big challenge" adding: "We have got really radical goals, getting one million off incapacity benefit, we need a radical blueprint to achieve it."

He told BBC 2's Newsnight: "We've had a big improvement in terms of getting the unemployment level down; now we need to get the inactivity level down."

He added: "We've had three million new jobs under this government. That is not a culture of dependency, that's a real success in terms of full employment."

'Economically rational'

Incapacity benefit costs the Treasury about £12bn a year. But the Department for Work and Pensions said recently the number of claimants was at its lowest since 2000.

Mr Freud has said that of the 2.7 million people claiming incapacity benefit, only 700,000 need it.

He estimates it would be "economically rational" to pay up to £62,000 to a company which placed an incapacity benefit claimant in a job for at least three years.

Of the government's latest plans, shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling said the government was trying to "steal Conservative language on welfare reform".

"We've set out very clear and very detailed plans for welfare reform based on the experience in other countries, a very full package," he said.

"Gordon Brown is tinkering around the edges - a bit of reform here, a bit of participation by the private sector, a slight toughening of sanctions. Nothing like the scale of radical change we would need."

The Liberal Democrats have previously welcomed the use of the voluntary and private sector to help more people back into employment, but said it must be "properly financed, and include provisions to help those with serious problems such as low skills or mental health problems".

But unions have raised concerns that contracting out services will lead to job cuts and "lower standards and the exploitation of claimants".

DWP Press release click here.

I also found this interesting.
Check Nick Robinsons Blog on this also.