One of the main firms running the government's welfare-to-work programme has been punished for poor performance.

A4E will see a cut in the number of referrals in the East Midlands, South Yorkshire and Merseyside, following an analysis of all contractors by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Ingeus and G4S will gain referrals as a reward for better performance. The DWP's figures show almost 15% of people referred to the programme have been found sustainable employment. Other firms losing referrals include Avanta and the Newcastle College Group

'Right support'The coalition says the Work Programme, better known as welfare-to-work, helps get people back into paid work, but opponents argue it is exploitative and offers no guarantees. Providers involved in the scheme get paid most of their money when someone has stayed in work for six months, or three months for the hardest to help. Those who have been on the scheme for the maximum two years and fail to find sustainable employment are returned to Job Centre Plus, the standard arrangement for jobseekers. More than 168,000 jobseekers had been helped into a lasting job through the Work Programme to the end of June - two years after its launch, the DWP said. This was an increase of 37,000 in the three months to June......Read more here