Employment and welfare reform minister Margaret Hodge has revealed sweeping changes to the employment and benefits service in an exclusive interview with Recruiter.

Her plans include a star rating system where private, public and voluntary sector companies compete for welfare-to-work contracts.

The minister also talked about her plans to bring Jobcentres and the welfare services under one roof.

Hodge denied that the government is on an “ideological mission” to privatise job schemes, and says the changes are vital to the government’s goal of getting people off benefits and back into work.

She added: “At the moment we have nearly 2.7 million people locked into the benefits. For those who can, work is the surest way of equality.”