The National Development Programme: policy implementation in an era of welfare reform

The New Deal lies at the heart of the UK government's strategy for tackling unemployment and social exclusion. Much of the debate about the likely eff ectiveness of the programme has focused on its key features. Yet there is a considerable body of evidence which shows that the way labour market progr ammes are implemented is crucial in determining their impact. This article draws upon the findings of the evaluation of the National Development Progr amme, carried out for the Employment Service (ES), to discuss the challenge s faced by the ES in implementing the New Deal at the local level.