Four ex staff of government contracor A4e bailed in fraud probe

22 February 2012 Last updated at 13:33




Four ex-staff of government contractor A4e bailed in
fraud probe


A4e is a contractor for the
government's welfare-to-work schemes
Four people have been arrested on suspicion of fraud at
government contractor A4e, police have said.

The former staff - women aged 28 and 49 and two men, aged 35 and 41 - were
held last month and bailed until mid-March.

As part of its work, A4e handles millions of pounds worth of government
contracts for welfare-to-work schemes.

PM David Cameron told the Commons: "The investigation needs to be thorough,
it needs to get to the truth and then we can take into account its
findings."

The government said it understood the investigation into A4e's offices in
Slough, Berkshire, did not relate to its Work Programme, which helps the jobless
find employment.

A4e said the alleged fraud dated back to 2010 and had been uncovered by its
own internal investigation.

Thames Valley Police visited the firm's offices in Slough as part of their
investigation on Friday after being alerted by the Department for Work and
Pensions.
Global business
A4e chief executive Andrew Dutton said the company had "zero tolerance"
towards fraud.

He said: "I will not sit by and let these accusations discredit the hard work
that our staff do to support thousands of people into work.

"A4e has zero tolerance towards fraud and any instance of fraudulent or
otherwise illegal activity is completely unacceptable.

"We take our responsibility very seriously and we are committed to using
taxpayers' money effectively and efficiently to deliver the best services to the
public."

A4e employs 3,500 people in the UK and abroad, and has more than 250
offices.

The company said in a statement: "This incident relates to four people, so we
are dealing with a very small number of individuals."

A4e said three of the staff had been suspended when the allegations were
first made and one had already left, but all four had now left.

A police spokesman said: "As part of the investigation, four people... were
arrested on suspicion of fraud on 18 January from addresses across the Thames
Valley.

"They have all been released on police bail until mid-March. The
investigation is ongoing and at an early stage, therefore we are unable to
comment further at this time."
Contractor fee
Labour MP Fiona Mactaggart told the Commons that since May 2010 A4e had won
contracts from the Department for Work and Pensions worth £224m.

She added: "In view of the fact there are record numbers of unemployed people
and that employees from this company have been arrested, what action are you
taking to make sure neither vulnerable unemployed people nor the taxpayer are
victims of fraud by A4e?"

Meanwhile, Margaret Hodge, Labour chairwoman of the Public Accounts
Committee, has called on the government to suspend its welfare-to-work contracts
with A4e until the investigation was complete.

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Cameron pledged a "thorough"
investigation.

He said the allegations dated back to a scheme run under the previous Labour
government, adding: "As I understand it was the company itself that raised the
issue with the relevant authorities."

The government's main welfare-to-work scheme is the Work Programme.

Under the programme, contractors are paid a fee, usually £400, when a job
centre refers an unemployed person to them. It is typically someone who has been
looking for work for a year.

Further, larger payment can then be made when a person has been in
sustainable employment for up to two years.

The harder the company has to work to find and keep someone in a job, the
more money they get.

A4e was founded more than 20 years ago to retrain workers who had lost their
jobs in the declining Sheffield steel industry, and still has its registered
office in the city. It now works around the world.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: "Clearly we are unable to
comment on any investigation but understand these are not matters that relate to
the Work Programme."

THERE HAVE BEEN 9 OCCASIONS WHEN A4E HAS HAD TO REPAY MONEY OR SUSPECTED INSTANCES OF FRAUD.
THERE HAVE BEEN COMPLAINTS OF SUBSTANDARD PRACTICES AT SOME A4E OFFICES EG CLIENTS BEING HERDED INTO OFFICES AND SITTING AT COMPUTERS LOOKING FOR WORK.
SOMEONE SAYS IN A LETTER TO GUARDIAN THAT HE MADE HIS OWN ARRANGMENTS SAVING THE TAXPAYER £11,000 AS OPPOSED TO WORK PROGRAMME WHICH WOULD HAVE COST TAXPAYERS £13,000 WITH ONE OF THOSE FIRMS ON THE WORK PROGRAMME.
IN HULL,A FEW YEARS AGO ,SEVERAL A4E EMPLOYEES FILLED IN EMPLOYERS SHEETS SAYING THEY WERE EMPLOYING PEOPLE,WHEN THIS WAS NOT THE CASE.
JOBCENTRE PLUS SUPPOSEDLY CHEAPER.
SHOULD AUDIT COMMISSION BE BROUGHT IN TO INVESTIGATE?

EMMA HARRISON HAS RESIGNED FROM HER MINISTRIAL POST CONCERNING BACK -TO-WORK.

Badboy wrote:EMMA HARRISON HAS RESIGNED FROM HER MINISTRIAL POST CONCERNING BACK -TO-WORK.

Yes Badboy and for 2 years work she aid herself £8 MILLION.!!! Cameron's judgement is seriously lacking, first Andy Coulson, now Emma Harrison .

SOME THINK ITS A SCAM BECAUSE THEY SUBCONTRACT TO VARIOUS COMPANIES/CHARITIES WHEN THE CONTRACTS COULD BE HANDED DIRECT.

SOME A4E STAFF HAVE BEEN SCAMMING 10 OF THOUSANDS OF PUBLIC MONEY BY USING £10/£20/£50 VOUCHERS MEANT TO BUY CLOTHES OR STATIONERY IN M/S,PRIMARK,SAINSBURY OR TESCO'S.

Why am I not surprised by this?

It's just another expose of all the fraud that goes on within quangos - is this woman who paid herself so much under investigation?

Angelique wrote:Why am I not surprised by this?

It's just another expose of all the fraud that goes on within quangos - is this woman who paid herself so much under investigation?

SHE IS NOT UNDER INVESTIGATION.

ANOTHER POSSIBLE SCAM WELFARE-TO-WORK CONTRACTERS MIGHT BE INVOLVED IN IS GETTING PAID FOR PEOPLE FINDING WORK WHEN THEY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH FINDING THE WORK.

SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC,THE GOVERNMENT HAS DECEIDED WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAMME NOT TO BE COMPULSARY

NOT SURE IF TRUE,DWP MIGHT SUSPEND ALL CONTRACTS WITH A4E IN NEXT FEW DAYS.

THERE HAVE BEEN 125 INVESTIGATIONS INTO POSSIBLE FRAUD AT WELFARE-TO-WORK CONTRACTORS.
ANOTHER POSSIBLE FRAUD CONCERNS CLAIMANTS BEING SENT TO CHARITIES LIKE BARNARDO'S TO FIND WORK,(CHARITIES ARE/WERE UNAWARE THAT THIS WAS GOINGI ON,THEN CONTRACTORS CLAIMED TO HAVE FOUND WORK SO GET PAID.

IT APPEARS THERE MAY HAVE BEEN OTHER SCAMS GOING ON IN OTHER A4E PLACES.

THERE HAS BEEN A FIFTH ARREST CONCERNING THIS MATTER.
I SAW A REPORT,HAVEN'T READ IT PROPERBLY,BUT IT SEEMS A4E HAVE KNOWN SINCE 2009 ABOUT THESE PROBLEMS WITH SOME STAFF.

I HEARD FROM AN DWP EMPLOYEE THAT EVEN IF A WORKFARE SCHEME IS A SCAM,IF ITS GETS ONE PERSON OFF BENEFITS,THEN THE SCAM IS WORTH IT.

DWP HAS MADE EMERGENCY PROVISION IF A4E LOST THEIR CONTRACT BECAUSE OF FRAUD.
ALL MIGHT BE TERMINATED.

THERE ARE ALLEGATIONS SURROUNDING THE BRIDLINGTON OFFICE.
125 ALLEGATIONS AGAINST OTHER CONTRACTORS.
IT OCCURS TO ME THAT RATHER THAN SEARCHING FOR JOBS ON A COMPUTER AT A WORKFARE CONTRACTOR'S PLACE,YOU COULD SEARCH FOR JOBS ON ONE'S OWN COMPUTER AT HOME,SAVING THE TAX PAYER THOUSANDS OF POUNDS(PERHAPS £3000 A TIME).
IF A JOB SEEKER DOESN'T HAVE A COMPUTER,THE JOBCENTRE COULD SET BUY COMPUTER AND SET UP INTERNET CONNECTION FOR LESS THAN £1000,RATHER THAN PAY A £3000 FEE TO A WORKFARE CONTRACTOR.
SOME WORKFARE CONTRACTORS ONLY ALLOW YOU 4 JOB SEARCHES,IN THEORY YOU COULD DO HUNDREDS OF JOB SEARCHES AT HOME EVERY DAY.

SOMEONE IS SAYING THAT HE WENT ON A 3 WEEK COURSE WHERE THERE YOU SAYING THAT THOUGHTS CREATE THE RIGHT JOB FOR YOU.
AGE DISCRIMATION IS NOT THE PROBLEM,BUT YOUR THOUGHTS.

A4E HAS LOST THE DWP CONTRACT FOR THE SOUTHEAST.
THERE IS CONCERN TTHAT SUCH CONTRACTS LEAD TO FRAUD.

there was an ACCOUNTS PARLIAMENTARY COMMITEE MEETING? TODAY/YESTERDAY,SEEMS A4E AND WORKING LINKS WERE AWARE OF FRAUD IN THEIR FIRMS.

THERE WAS A REPEAT OF THE SHOWWING OF THE COMMITTEE QUESTIONING ON BBC PARLIAMENT.

IT IS BEING SAID THAT A4E ONLY GOT 3 PEOPLE INTO A JOB OUT OF EVERY 100,REPORT LATER ON CH4.