Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department gives to a Work Programme sub-contractor to which a prime provider has refused to make a contractual payment; and if he will make a statement.
The Department's contracts for delivering the Work Programme are with the prime contractors and we do not get involved in the contractual relationships prime providers have with their sub-contractors.
The Department expects sub-contractors to be treated fairly. That’s why we have launched the Merlin Standard, a set of behaviours prime providers are expected to live up to in their relationships with their sub-contractors.
The Merlin Mediation Service delivered by the Independent Case Examiner is available for complaints of non-compliance with the Merlin Standard, relating to DWP contracts.