On 21 June 2010 we notified bidders that we would not be proceeding with the Work for Your Benefit pilot scheme.
The Jobseeker’s Allowance (Work for your Benefit Pilot Scheme) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/1222) were approved in draft by each House of Parliament in March 2010 and were made on 7 April 2010. They are due to come into force on 22 November 2010, and then to lapse on 21 November 2013. These regulations allow the Secretary of State to select claimants in pilot areas for participation in the scheme if they meet specified conditions. They also provide for the loss or reduction of benefit if persons selected fail to participate without good cause.
As a result of this decision, no jobseeker’s allowance claimants will be selected for participation in the scheme.
As part of the wider reforms to welfare that this Government are undertaking, I will in due course be announcing further details of the support we will be offering to improve the job chances of long-term unemployed people.