Transparency data

Connect to Work Programme Accounting Officer Assessment (July 2026)

Updated 30 July 2026

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

It is normal practice for Accounting Officers to scrutinise significant policy proposals or plans to start or vary major projects and then assess whether they measure up to the standards set out in Managing Public Money. From April 2017, the government committed to make a summary of the key points from these assessments available to Parliament when an Accounting Officer has agreed an assessment of a project within the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio. 

This Accounting Officer Assessment considers the Connect to Work Programme, which is a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Labour Market scheme with the DWP Permanent Secretary as the Accounting Officer. It is being published now following HM Treasury approval of the Programme Business Case 2 (PBC2). 

Background and context 

Connect to Work is a voluntary supported employment programme for inactive disabled people, individuals with health conditions or additional barriers to work. It offers up to 12 months of “place, train and maintain” support delivered locally through Accountable Bodies (ABs). 

An Accounting Officer Assessment was published in July 2025, following approval of the Programme Business Case 1 (PBC1). 

Delivery has been split across 49 delivery areas, led by ABs, covering the whole of England and Wales. At capacity, it aims to support up to 100,000 people each year by providing grant funding to ABs to deliver a locally led service. The ABs are the lead authority for a “cluster” of local authorities who work together to deliver the programme. 

Forty-seven ABs receive funding through DWP Connect to Work Grant Funding Agreements (GFAs), while 2 received their Connect to Work funding in 2025 to 2026 through an Integrated Settlement. A further 5 Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities covering 8 Connect to Work ABs will receive their Connect to Work funding through an Integrated Settlement from April 2026. 

The programme began supporting participants in April 2025, following earlier phases of supported employment activity through Local Supported Employment and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care. All delivery plans have been received from ABs and the programme expects all areas to be live by July 2026. 

Assessment against the Accounting Officer tests 

Regularity 

The programme requires no new primary or secondary legislation to deliver its objectives. Legal advice confirms the Secretary of State has the authority to issue grants under section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973. The programme is within the Department’s ambit, as it directly supports movement towards sustained employment and does not conflict with wider legislation.

The defined funding period for Connect to Work is up to March 2030. This is set out clearly in the GFAs and is the basis upon which ABs have developed their delivery plans. 

Funding for 2025 to 2026 was agreed in Spending Review 2025 Phase 1, with funding for 2026 to 2027 and 2028 to 2029 confirmed in Phase 2. Commitments beyond 2028 to 2029 depend on future Spending Reviews. GFAs allow the programme to be scaled in line with future funding decisions, including stopping funding if necessary. Local areas are aware that commitments beyond the initial 3 year term are made at their own risk, though the current settlement provides sufficient certainty to contract over that period and may assist with their longer-term plans. 

The regularity test is met, subject to confirmation of the funding position for 2029 to 2030. 

Propriety 

The programme meets Parliament’s expectations by ensuring provision is available across England and Wales, reflecting the devolution agenda and embedding appropriate controls. Delivery through ABs supports the government’s localism approach and complies with grant policy requirements. 

Connect to Work offers ABs operational flexibility but requires compliance with supported employment standards. Controls, cost validation, and performance management frameworks are in place, with arrangements for regular publication of performance data. 

The programme adopts a phased rollout approach informed by AB delivery plans. The programme is moving from a tactical clerical data system towards a fully automated digital solution using DWP’s Transfer Your File (TYF) system. This will enable secure, automated referrals, management information and grant‑claim processes between DWP and ABs, reducing administrative burden. Onboarding of ABs to TYF began in February 2026 and is expected to be complete by the end of August 2026. 

The programme has also developed and implemented a control framework that includes eligibility and suitability checks, pre- and post-payment validation, independent fidelity assessments, and structured performance management. Fraud risks have been assessed, with updated Fraud Risk Assessments and a Public Sector Fraud Authority–approved Initial Fraud Impact Assessment remaining valid. These arrangements ensure that funds are used appropriately and that the programme is delivered in line with parliamentary and public expectations. 

The propriety test is met. 

Value for money 

PBC2 estimates a Net Present Value (NPV) of around £1.3 billion, up from £693 million in PBC1. This increase reflects changes in the modelling methodology rather than improvements in expected programme performance. 

PBC1 estimated return on investment by applying adjusted cost‑benefit ratios from the Work Choice evaluation. For PBC2, the methodology has been updated so that socioeconomic, fiscal and AME impacts are estimated using the Department’s Social Cost Benefit Analysis model. This methodological revision, rather than improved programme performance, accounts for the higher NPV reported in PBC2. 

The programme is expected to help an extra 7% of participants move into work who would not have done so without it. 

Under this 7% assumption, the NPV stays positive unless programme volumes fall to 30% of the forecast level. If full forecast volumes are achieved, the NPV remains positive unless the programme helps fewer than 3% of participants into work who otherwise would not have moved into employment. 

The expected total participant volume has been refined to 288,455, based on revised go-live dates and new optimism bias assumptions, The main risk to realising full value for money is lower-than‑forecast participant volumes. 

Controls within Connect to Work—such as performance management, AB support, annual reviews and targeted interventions—provides mechanisms to support delivery, maintain quality and protect volumes. Integrated Settlement areas are captured within the modelling and are expected to deliver to standard. This is because they are required to deliver evidence-based supported employment to the same outcome levels as the national programme, except for Greater Manchester Combined Authority, who will receive a more flexible settlement to pilot a different approach from April 2026. 

The value for money test is met. 

Feasibility 

The programme has continued to progress since the 2025 assessment, with all but one GFA in place by March 2026, ABs now operational, and participants receiving support, strengthening confidence in delivery. 

PBC2 introduces a reduced and phased volume profile, reflecting differences between approved GFAs and earlier modelling, a revised rollout schedule, and updated optimism‑bias assumptions. While risks remain around AB capacity and slower ramp‑up, these are reflected in the modelling and mitigated through strengthened performance management, governance oversight, and the ability to amend GFAs when needed.  

Volumes are monitored closely through monthly meetings with regional engagement leads and implementation specialists, weekly reporting to senior leadership, and tracking of ramp‑up profiles through Grant Cost Registers and the programme’s Performance and Engagement Framework. Mitigations include adjusting GFAs, monthly performance management using MI dashboards, targeted support for under‑performing areas, reallocating surplus funding to stronger performers, and early intervention where risks emerge.

For Integrated Settlement areas (around 43% of funding), a lighter‑touch assurance model applies, including six‑monthly Programme Boards, fidelity assurance, outcome frameworks aligned to national standards, and participation in the Connect to Work evaluation. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has a more flexible settlement and is not required to use Connect to Work funding specifically for Supported Employment, so different assurance measures apply. Further detail on the assurance approach for Integrated Settlement areas, including Greater Manchester, can be found on Integrated Settlements for Mayoral Combined Authorities. 

Evaluation by National Centre for Social Research, which began in November 2025, will provide early findings in late 2026 to support continuous improvement and assurance. 

The feasibility test is met. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, I have prepared this summary to outline the key points informing my decision. My overall assessment is that the Connect to Work Programme satisfies the 4 Accounting Officer tests—regularity, propriety, value for money and feasibility—and can proceed at this stage. This assessment remains contingent on securing funding beyond 2028 to 2029. If material changes occur during the programme’s lifetime, I undertake to prepare a revised summary, setting out my assessment of them. 

This summary will be published on GOV.UK, deposited in the House of Commons Library and shared with the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Treasury Officer of Accounts. 

Sir Peter Schofield KCB 

10 July 2026