Tony Blair has said there should be more private, voluntary and charity involvement in getting people off benefit and back to work.

He was speaking at a Downing Street press conference called to launch a government-commissioned report on welfare-to-work reform by banker David Freud.

John Hutton, work and pensions secretary, said: "For the next 10 years, our focus has to be on those who are hardest to help, who need more help and support to get back to work."

However, he denied that benefits would be cut as a matter of course, with most welfare recipients wanting to find work.

"The status quo, I think, is not defensible," he said.

Party Response: Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman Lord Oakeshott said: "The government is trying to carry out welfare reform by press release.

"Ministers are leaking new ideas and David Freud’s review in the middle of the Welfare Reform Bill’s progress through Parliament.

"We scrutinised the Bill for nine hours last week in the House of Lords. Now we read the policy is going to change. This is not joined-up government."

Stakeholder Response: CIPD

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CIPD chief economist Dr John Philpott said: "Gaining sufficient buy in from employers will be of critical importance if the Freud plan is to work to full effect.

"David Freud is right. We need more personalised one-to-one help for the core jobless while at the same time putting more pressure on them to make use of that help.

However, in a jobs market where, as CIPD surveys find, a large proportion of employers are wary of recruiting from the ranks of long-term benefit claimants, more will also need to be done to bring employers on board.

"The ability of private and voluntary sector bodies to do so will ultimately determine the success of this next stage in the government’s welfare to work policy."

Stakeholder Response: Working Links

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A spokesperson for Working links said: "Working Links believes that David Freud’s review is an important part of the current debate on the future of welfare reform. Much of Freud’s thinking concurs with our own and we largely welcome its recommendations.

"We are especially pleased that Freud has recognised the importance of the need for individuals to receive a personally tailored package of support. This is something that we have long advocated.

"Our experience shows that segmenting people according to their benefit status or pre judging what needs a lone parent or older person will have is an artificial segmentation and does not encourage their personal advisor to demonstrate flexibility in assisting them.

"We have found that a lone parent’s main barrier to work is not always childcare, it may for example be a lack of basic skills or a motivational issue. It is imperative therefore that individuals are offered a package of support tailored to their particular needs.

"Whilst placing people in work is vital, it can sometimes provide only a temporary advantage. Employment coupled with workplace progression will move people away from benefit dependency and help eliminate the problems of child poverty and poverty.

"We therefore support programmes incorporating a longer period of sustainability with providers being incentivised to offer in work support for a much longer period than at present.

"This acknowledges the importance of improving people’s skills and helping them to progress in the workplace.

"It will allow personal advisors to develop a strong relationship with their client over a period of time, build levels of trust and support the individual to engage in training and progress in the workplace.

"Freud suggests that benefit claimants are automatically contracted out to the private and voluntary sectors after 12 months.

"We think this approach is too inflexible, early intervention is usually lower cost and more effective.

"We recognise the concern that for some no intervention is actually needed but we believe intelligent early referral should be considered, for example prisoners on release or those with poor basic skills.

"We believe that the greater involvement of the private and voluntary sectors will drive up performance.

"However, these contracts must be awarded to the provider able to offer the highest quality and best value on the basis of a level playing field where all sectors, including Jobcentre Plus, can compete.

"We favour a single provider led model where there is genuine engagement from the lead provider with smaller local organisations, who are often best placed to engage with the communities they serve.

"With the added support that greater flexibility will bring, we recognise the need for the individual to accept greater responsibilities.

"We support the idea of a contract between the personal advisor and the jobseeker, with responsibilities on both sides.

"We therefore cautiously welcome moves towards a more mandatory system which incorporates more conditionality. It is however, absolutely crucial that any such moves are accompanied by sufficient support and safeguards.

"As well as individually tailored support being available, the system must ensure that people are not unduly penalised for lack of compliance and that there is an efficient and speedy appeals system with appropriate advocacy for vulnerable claimants.

"We agree that work accompanied by workplace progression is the way to eradicate child poverty. However, any increased compulsion for lone parents to return to work must be accompanied by the provision of sufficient childcare.

"We know that many lone parents cite the lack of affordable childcare as a barrier to them entering the workplace.

"It is therefore crucial that this is addressed before lone parents are required to return to work at an earlier stage.

"Our experience suggests that clients are more concerned about the quality of support and real potential to progress than they are with a choice of providers or a large number of options. 

"We believe it is more important to provide a full range of co-ordinated services: the ‘choice’ faced by an individual should be which routeway to take on the road back to employment rather than who to take it with.

"We broadly welcome this review and look to the government to now work with partners and providers to determine how best to take these recommendations forward."

Stakeholder Response: Carers UK

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Carers UK told ePolitix: "The Government's announcement about getting people who have been out of work over the long term must include good quality care for people who are disabled or chronically ill so that carers are not excluded from these plans, yet again. 

"Carers UK has been arguing for some time that better social care is critical if carers are to have any choice about working.  

"Everyone knows that good quality childcare is key to enabling parents to work.

"Exactly the same argument applies to the UK's six million carers, many of whom want the chance and choice to continuing working as well as caring. 

"We know that every day carers have to make the tough choice between work or caring for a relative or friend whom they care very much about because the services simply are not right or not there. 

"One in five carers has given up work to care and we know from our research that this can leave them in lasting poverty that persists into retirement. 

"Carers UK is running an innovative partnership, Action for Carers and Employment, for the last six years which has been looking at the barriers to work. 

"If has found that one of the most significant
barriers is the lack of good quality and affordable social care.    

"The government is rightly looking into our challenging demographic future where we'll have a smaller working population relative to an older population. 

"Carers UK has estimated that the number of carers is set to rise from six to nine million in 20 years time, putting more pressure on families, at a time when we need people to stay in employment. 

"Not only must the social care sector grow, it has to become more responsive to families' needs and, in particular, recognise that
work is fundamental to most families and carers.  

"Carers must be part of this future Government agenda."