Lesson plan
A4e
A4e (Action for Employment) was a for-profit, welfare-to-work company based in the United Kingdom. The company began in Sheffield in 1991 with the objective to provide redundant steelworkers with the training required to obtain new jobs. They operated in five countries, but retained a significant presence in the UK where they worked with organisations in the public sector such as the Department for Work and Pensions. In the wake of various controversies and criminal investigations, MPs Fiona Mactaggart and former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Margaret Hodge urged the UK government to suspend contracts with A4e. In March 2012, following fraud allegations regarding an A4e contract, the Department for Work and Pensions began an independent audit of all its commercial relationships with A4e. On 15 May 2012, Employment Minister Chris Grayling announced that the audits for the Work Programme, the New Enterprise Allowance programme and Mandatory Work Activity found no evidence of fraud in any of these contracts. However, while the team found no evidence of fraud, it identified weaknesses in A4e's internal controls on the Mandatory Work Activity contract in the South East and that this contract with A4e had been terminated, after deciding that continuing would pose 'too great a risk'.…
Article summary
A4e (Action for Employment) was a for-profit, welfare-to-work company based in the United Kingdom. The company began in Sheffield in 1991 with the objective to provide redundant steelworkers with the training required to obtain new jobs. They operated in five countries, but retained a significant presence in the UK where they worked with organisations in the public sector such as the Department for Work and Pensions. In the wake of various controversies and criminal investigations, MPs Fiona Mactaggart and former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Margaret Hodge urged the UK government to suspend contracts with A4e. In March 2012, following fraud allegations regarding an A4e contract, the Department for Work and Pensions began an independent audit of all its commercial relationships with A4e. On 15 May 2012, Employment Minister Chris Grayling announced that the audits for the Work Programme, the New Enterprise Allowance programme and Mandatory Work Activity found no evidence of fraud in any of these contracts. However, while the team found no evidence of fraud, it identified weaknesses in A4e's internal controls on the Mandatory Work Activity contract in the South East and that this contract with A4e had been terminated, after deciding that continuing would pose 'too great a risk'.…
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.