October time will see the start of the FLEXIBLE New Deal - a massive and welcomed change in how supposrt will be offered to people who are struggling to find work. After a period of time working with the Job Centre - if an individual has not been successful in finding sustainable employment - they will be referred to the FLEXIBLE New Deal (FND).

The big change is that the organisations running FND have been given the freedom by the DWP to come up with a plan for each individual  - a plan that is unique to the circumstances of the individual - and does not have DW..View Complete Post

The Programme that focused on Long Term Unemployed people in Hull was aired last night. As i said - it was a gritty slice of reality showing the real problems that some people face in a city like Hull - where there is high unemployment and many low skill, part time jobs.

I visited Hull yesterday - and spent time with the clients and staff in the A4e office. Within the large building there are many activities - all supporting people. A lot of the activities are attended by people who have volunteered to be there as well as people who have been mandated to attend. Education,..View Complete Post

I get a lot of feedback from my blogs - you seem to love them - and read them - and when i go missing - i get gentle prompts.

So - how about you doing some - yes you. Got something inspirational to say, a story, a thought - anything. Send it to me and I will get it up on the A4e blog site. ( You will be read around the world - by thousands and thousands).

Go on give it a go

Dare you

Emma  

I thought i would share the inside track on the making of the Documentary - Benefit Busters.

More than a year ago a guy called Stephen Lambert phoned me up. Stephen and i had previously worked together on two TV programmes - Make me a Million and Secret Millionaire - he is very good at what he does. He told me that he wanted to make a documentary about real people involved in the benefits system to be screened on Channel Four. We had a couple of meetings ( and a few phone calls) and after some serious thinking A4e agreed to take part. The Department for Work and ..View Complete Post

The Benefit Busters series on Channel Four is getting a lot of publicity.  I was just watching BBC Breakfast - and there was Hayley Taylor 'the star' of the Doncaster based programme that features the work she does with loan parents.

I have met Hayley many times now - and she is a force to be reckoned with - The BBC obviously thought so too - asking if they could clone her and send her around the UK helping people with her remarkable brand of 'tough love.'

This would be a good idea! - apart from it is not really necessary...  I have also met thousands of A4e p..View Complete Post

As i have previously refered to - a4e was a victim of a fraud two years ago when two Hull employees colluded with an outside agency to falsify documents and thus gain a benefit for themselves.

On discovery we held a thourough investigation and we sacked an employee ( the other had already left). £15,000 was paid back to the DWP.We took the whole matter very seriously and in addition to our normal and constant auditing procedures we also retained Deloitte to determine if there was more we could do to prevent any more instances.

As is the way of these things - stuff..View Complete Post

So, saturday evening - i get half an hour to respond to Raj - a journalist with the Observer - who wants to run with a story prompted by two MP's. I ring Raj up - he is a bit surpirsed that i have rung him - not sure why he should be surprised - if he wants to know something he can ask me directly - i am very easy to get hold of. Everyone else can find me! (don't worry - we got over his initial shock - and he mentioned we should meet in London in the next few weeks - so no doubt we will.) 

Anyway back to the story - th..View Complete Post

 updated this blog from june - as it shows how we have been dealing with this issue - and that even though it is so long ago - being a victim of fraud is a powerful thing.

I have got to a certain age - 45 - both my parents have died - my children are becoming increasingly independant - and i have noticed that sometimes just sometimes i have an hour or two that is not laid out for me.

So, i made the effort to find the books that my parents passed on to me. My mother loved the English Language - so i found her dictionarys, thea..View Complete Post

On the 20th August - you will see the first in a series of programmes we made in conjunction with Studio Lambert for C4.

The first programme highlights the reality of being a single mum looking for work. You will meet mums' who quite openly talk about their fears, their financial situation and how they feel far, far away from the world of work. Hayley is their tutor - she is an inspiration. Working with the women they go on an emotional journey. It is a rollercoaster of a ride - sharing their lives. Watch this - and perhaps we will hear no more talk of it being a..View Complete Post