Labour has said that Mr Hutchison’s allegations raise questions about Mr Duncan Smith’s competence. The minister has hit back by challenging Labour ministers to release papers showing what, if anything, they knew about allegations of wrongdoing at welfare-to-work companies. Under Whitehall rules, the official papers of past ministers are sealed and not available to their successors. Mr Duncan Smith yesterday wrote to former Labour ministers at his department, asking them to “allow release of all advice and information you received relating to fraud in the welfare to work industry while you were a minister.” Mr Hutchison’s evidence was submitted to the Public Accounts Committee this week, but not made public after MPs decided to meet in secret to discuss it. Two other whistleblowers have also ... Continue reading →

Episode ten saw the Apprentice candidates test their negotiation skills as they aimed to secure discounted luxury experiences for a daily deals, Groupon-style website. Once again the task required strong sales, communication and presentation skills, with candidates charged with replicating conditions in a start-up operation. Of course these key skills are needed and prevalent in nearly every business scenario in the ‘real’ world of work. In terms of negotiation, we saw many of the same mistakes made - lack of preparation and homework on prospective clients, a haphazard approach devoid of any strategy or meaningful thought and an inability to understand what motivates clients, resulting in a failed attempt to win their business. Team Phoenix, led by Jade Nash, took the approach of quality over ... Continue reading →

Written evidence submitted to Parliament by a former chief auditor at A4e shows how an “unethical culture” led to “systemic fraud” at the company, which holds major government contracts. A document put to MPs also described serious problems at another welfare to work provider, Working Links, which runs three major contracts on the Coalition’s £5 billion jobs scheme and is part-owned by the Government. The evidence, which has been seen by The Daily Telegraph, was submitted by Eddie Hutchinson, the former head of audit at A4e. A4e has rejected Mr Hutchinson’s evidence, saying: “None of these allegations stand up.” It added: “A4e has adhered to established procedure by ensuring relevant issues are referred to the relevant funder authority. None of the issues raised here prove ... Continue reading →

Today, a spokesman for the DfE admitted that the number of NEETs had been “too high for too long”. But he claimed that the Government was taking action by investing almost £1bn in the Youth Contract scheme – incentive payments to encourage companies to employ young people – alongside an increase in the number of apprenticeships. “We are driving up standards right across the schools system to bring the numbers down,” he said. “We are also overhauling vocational education, so all employers can be confident about the skills of our young people and the rigour of our qualifications." Today's statistics showed that 954,000 young people – almost 16 per cent – were classed as NEET in the first three months of the year, compared with ... Continue reading →

Written evidence submitted to Parliament by a former chief auditor at A4e shows how an “unethical culture” led to “systemic fraud” at the company, which holds major government contracts. When concerns were raised about wrongdoing with senior managers, little was done to address the widespread abuse of taxpayers’ money, the whistleblower alleged. A document put to MPs also described serious problems at another welfare to work provider, Working Links, which runs three major contracts on the Coalition’s £5 billion jobs scheme and is part-owned by the Government. The evidence was submitted by Eddie Hutchinson, the former head of audit at A4e, who attended a meeting of the Commons public accounts committee on Tuesday from which the public was excluded. Continue reading →

On Wednesday, in a Telegraph interview, Mr Beecroft questioned why Mr Cable, whom he described as a “socialist”, had been put in charge of business policy. He called on the Prime Minister and the Chancellor to be more “robust” in their dealings with the Liberal Democrats, or the economic recovery would suffer. The Beecroft report dominated Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons on Wednesday, with Ed Miliband, the Labour leader claiming that it showed that “the nasty party is back”. Mr Miliband asked the Prime Minister: “Are you really telling us that, with record numbers out of work, sacking people for no good reason is a price worth paying?” Mr Cameron defended it as a “good report” but made clear he was under no obligation ... Continue reading →

Dr Paul Sissons, the report's author, said: "The labour market has changed considerably over the past few decades. First jobs are now less likely to be in manufacturing and more likely to be in the service sector where skills such as communication, team working and customer service are important. "For young people without the soft skills needed to access work in these growing sectors, finding employment has become increasingly difficult. "A period of worklessness while young can detrimentally impact peoples' careers over the longer term. More needs to be done to support young people at this crucial point of transition, and local service provision must be geared up to address this aim. "This requires consistent support and effective co-ordination of services across local government, schools, ... Continue reading →

The report called for employers to be given the power to make "no-fault dismissals", a move that has been criticised as allowing companies to "fire at will". Business leaders have suggested more flexibility would make it easier for them to hire more staff and help cut unemployment. Alexander Ehmann, head of regulatory and enterprise policy at the Institute of Directors, said that objections to plans for removing red tape are harming the economy and preventing companies from creating jobs. Continue reading →

The £150,000 payoff that Mr Beecroft’s firm had to make to the under-performing employee was, he says, a typical experience for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Many people simply do not bother to hire because of the problems it can cause, he claims. “I have a very good friend who runs an internet business that’s got an office in London and an office in Boston, and he will never hire anybody in London if he can conceivably avoid it,” Mr Beecroft explains. “He says, 'Well the people in Boston are a bit more expensive but they work much harder and if I want to get rid of them I can. And my business is always evolving and changing and I need that flexibility, so Boston’s ... Continue reading →

But trouble hit the textiles firm post-millennium as the pound strengthened and designers started outsourcing to China. For 25 years, Private White had made the Virgin Atlantic eye-catching red air-hostess uniforms, but corporate customers stopped replenishing orders. By 2008, it was making annual losses of more than £100,000 and was close to turning off its machinery. That is until Eden, Jack White’s great grandchild, abandoned his finance career in the City and bought the factory – renaming it Private White VC. So has Eden, who used to work at Royal Bank of Scotland, looked back to his days of pre-bust banking bonuses? “Running a business isn’t for everyone,” he said. “But neither is working in the City and this is a lot more satisfying. You ... Continue reading →