That is only part of the story.... A4E have also reportedly scheduled people to attend (without prior notification) a Cargo Cult type of course entitled Neuro Linguisting Programming http://watchinga4e.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/psychobabble-a4e-and-nlp.html The key issue to focus on is that the Orthodox Belief of Administrative Clerks within the W2W Sector is that the only reason why a candidate is unemployed is down to the candidate, and nothing else.

Dont be too hard on the pleb... after all, Ingeus is only a Welfare To Work Organisation, it occupies a place in the economic food chain at a lower point than Job Centre Plus, and its Administrative Clerks are less qualified, competent and experienced than Clerks within Job Centre Plus.

At least in the CPA 5 Area, serving the North East, Ingeus only compete with Avanta. Thankfully, Working Links were torpedoed from the North East once the Conservatives came into office, and terminated the profligate Flexible New Deal contracts with all due expediency.

The pimps are also coercing candidates into registering through "Self Employment", and for candidates to claim "Working Tax Credit" (provided they make up the hours to 30 hours per week). Some delude themselves with the belief that all candidates need do is walk from company door to door as if they were starting a Gardending Business, and that the "Fields of Dreams" Principle applies.... "If We turn up asking for work, work will always come".Unfortunately, the Universal Credit will torpedo Working Tax Credit, and if candidates who apply Working Tax Credit are not careful, they may be liable to repay several £'000 Working Tax Credit.

My suggestion is that if any participant is assigned to Neuro Linguistic Programme, they should discuss the issue with (for example) the CAB.... and consider taking the matter to a Judicial Review. The issue as to whether someone is assigned to NLP is down to the subjective opinion of whichever Administrative Clerk assigns the candidate to NLP, and if they are not qualified to make that assessment, they should be submitting to judicial review for aspiring to be a Quack.

Apparently, if Work Programme Admin Staff can coerce participants to go to the trouble of setting up a business, they will become eligible for a generous bonus (even if no assistance is given) simply through the individual "Registering the Business" without any effort on their part.

Depending on your existing website, have a look at what is available through JOOMLA. Essentially, if you have a development platform using Apache,MySQL, PHP, you can install Joomla, together with plugins such as a Shopping Cart, and payment mechanisms, without much hastle.

Over enthusiastic hams within Ingeus are commending candidates to set up in business without the need to undergo any form of Business Training, or the preparation of any Business Plan, and even highlight the ability for candidates to make up their hours to 30 hours per week in order to claim Working Tax Credit. The term FRAUD comes to mind, and compelling candidates to "obtain pecuniary advantage through deception".

It should be noted that the Welfare To Work Sector offers a low position in the economic food chain than Job Centre Plus, and whereas Administration Clerks within Job Centre Plus at least offer a commitment towards the Public Service Ethos, Administration Clerks within the Welfare To Work Sector do not. The Black Box approach is pure baloney, and candidates are not submitted to any form of detailed assessment where their Skills Profile may be identified. Indeed, the Orthodox Belief of Staff within the Welfare To Work Sector is that the only reason why candidates are unemployed is down to the candidate, and employers are perfect. With the most generous and best will in the world, Welfare To Work Sector Staff are unlikely to have made the grade for becoming Professional Careers Advisors, and in the absense of this employment history, are unlikely to possess the capacity, qualifications or competence to assess candidates, let alone offer any form of Constructive Job Search Advice.

If candidates, having been assigned to the Work Programme, disagree with any decision reached by Admin Clerks within Ingeus, they should follow any complaints procedure, and if the matter remains unresolved (for example, if the candidate is sanctioned or assigned to Mandatory Work Activity) should seek legal advice. The problem with the Work Programme is that no thought has been given, and the Government accepted that a Black Box approach should be adopted-there are no systems, procedures, policies in place which allow some uninformed Administrative Clerk within Ingeus (for example) to scrutinise the Skills Profile of a candidate, and if it is easier for the Clerk to criticise the candidate, they will do that. However, in the case of a Sanction, it may be possible to take the matter beyond the appeal, and through a Judicial Review http://www.publiclawproject.org.uk/downloads/GuideToJRProc.pdf

Although reference to a Freedom of Information Request will confirm that, whereas a candidate must show a CV to either staff within Job Centre Plus or Ingeus, it is not necessary to provide either a printed copy or electronic copy. Of course, if an Admin Clerk at Ingeus requests that a candidate leaves a hard copy or emails a copy, that is entirely a matter for the candidate, but is not mandatory.

My Profound Sympathies for having been associated with a Welfare To Work Organisation of similar repute to A4E.

According to the Every Day Counts Model, used by Ingeus, and available via their Website, Phase 3 is scheduled to last from Week 17-52 where "Clients" .... (ie Job Centre Plus is the Client of Ingeus, Candidates have the Job Seekers Agreement, but Candidates have no relationship to Ingeus) ..... "have access to a dedicated personal advisor and undertake a series of group activities, including self help groups which help them to reflect and build on the progress they have made so far. Every 6 weeks, Clients have a Peer Cohort Review where they evaluate their progress, set new goals, and provide challenge and support to one another. Group based working allows a collaborative approach to job searching and allow clients to identify and follow role models". ......> We are talking about a "Welfare To Work" Organisation, staffed by Administrative Staff who are beneath the intellectual capacity of Administrative Clerks within Job Centre Plus, where Job Centre Plus simply designates all Welfare To Work Providers as "DWP Job Centre Data Processors". I assume that, if your appointment with the Administrative Clerk within Phase 2 of the Ingeus Work Programme were every 2 weeks, appointments within Phase 3 are likely to be weekly. However, the Tender Document produced by Ingeus does not specify the time frame. If you have been subject to any form of character assassination from Administrative Staff within Ingeus, just remember that it is employers who control the Recruitment Process, not the candidate, and hence why on earth do Administrative Clerks within Ingeus work to the orthodox belief that the only reason why any candidate is unemployed is down to the candidate.

Lets not forget that Labour instigated the Remploy Closure Programme in 2008 .... the justification for closing then as now is that the subsidy per job through Remploy (£25,000) is considerably greater than the subsidy per job through the then Flexible New Deal and Work Programme.

Public Accounts Committee I thought that readers may be interested to read the damning evidence offered to the Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday, May 22 2012, which may be accessed by invoking a Google Search with the search term "A4E Fraud".

A common fallacy of staff within Ingeus (I assume that it also applies to other Work Programme Providers) arises from the belief that the only reason why any candidate is unemployed is down to the candidate, not to employers. They will therefore offer criticism after criticism of the candidate, such as bad CV, bad attitude, bad approach towards job search etc etc.

Not wishing to be pedantic..... but, given that in advance of the former organisation being taken over, the owner of the business would have presumably consulted the staff of prevailing changes if they were considered up to spec, they would have been aware of the likely impact of the takeover. So, the takeover has occured, and rather than being made redundant, the staff have been asked to apply for jobs at a more realistic level. My own advice would be for staff who have been made redundant to simply cut their losses.

Of course, given that an unemployed candidate is only assigned to the Work Programme by Job Centre Plus whilst the Job Seekers Agreement remains active i) until they secure a job, or ii) until they are told by Job Centre Plus that continued attendance is no longer required, if a candidate gets a job and signs off, then by implication the Job Seekers Agreement is no longer in effect, and the candidate need no longer be party to any deceitful process. After all, the Work Programme is part of the "Welfare To Work Sector", a Sector which does not contribute to wealth creation within the UK, and if according to Data Protection Legislation, a Work Programme Provider is simply considered to be a "DWP Job Centre Plus Data Processor", staff within any Work Programme Provider (including Ingeus) are likely to be less qualified, competent and experienced than mere Admin_Clerks within Job Centre Plus. For a comparison, one simply needs to refer to the New Deal and Flexible New Deal which, thankfully, were torpedoed. However, within the Flexible New Deal, Admin_Clerks within (for example) A4E and Working Links awarded themselves the ego boosting but baloneous title of 'Consultant". Unless an Admin Clerk within the Work Programme Provider has actually been employed as a Professional Careers Advisor, can they be presumed to possess the competence to engage with candidates, understand them, let alone be credible sources of Professional Careers and Job Search Advice? Unlikely.

Just to confirm.... Working Links deservedly gained as bad a reputation as A4E through the New Deal and Flexible New Deal, with their inept staff (less qualified than clerks within Job Centre Plus) awarding themselves baloneous but ego boosting job titles of "Consultants". And a Waste Of Space they were. However, Ingeus have no relationship with Working Links, but were formed through a Joint Venture between Ingeus UK (formerly Work Directions, est 2001) and Deloitte Consultancy. Working Links, conversely, was formed about 2000 by Ernst and Young.