Brown to overhaul New Deal

Gordon Brown will announce a major overhaul of his flagship New Deal programme today amid criticisms the employment scheme is not providing value for money.

Ministers plan to remove "complexity and bureaucracy" from the scheme in the hope of getting 600,000 more people back to work. A recent report said that the New Deal has cost taxpayers up to £27,000 for every job created and has had limited success.

Under the changes those claiming the dole could be forced to attend regular job interviews, and job advisers may get more flexibility to "tailor" training to the local labour market.