The Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) expects welfare-to-work providers to make “good solid progress” in getting people off benefits and back into work, according to chief executive Kirsty McHugh.

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show three in four new jobs are being taken by workers that were born overseas.

McHugh told Recruiter: “We are at the start of the work programme but indications are that the referrals and the number of customers coming through to the welfare-to-work providers is quite high, which is good. That will mean welfare-to-work providers will be able to do more with more people at an earlier stage, which has to be for the good.

“We are anticipating good solid progress, however it is very difficult to give big figures on how it is going to work out but generally the industry is very upbeat about it otherwise they wouldn’t have taken on the contracts.

“We have a lot of people moving from incapacity benefits on to lower level benefits who may have been out of the workforce for a long time and may need intensive help and support to enable them to get back into work.”