The role of the private and voluntary sectors in getting people off benefits and back to work is “here to stay and set to grow”, the work and pensions secretary said on Thursday as he took the first step towards creating a multi-billion pound welfare-to-work business in the UK.

James Purnell announced a commissioning strategy that will see independent-sector providers, who already run employment zones and parts of the New Deals that help people find work, given longer and larger contracts.