This independent report for the Department of Work and Pensions assesses the effectiveness of Employment Zones introduced in 2000 to test a new, market oriented approach to reducing long-term unemployment through a work first, outcome-related model of delivering employment services.
The evidence shows that EZs are more effective than comparative New Deal programmes in terms of their success in placing mandatory customers into work and helping them sustain employment for 13 weeks. 

Case studies of local authorities that have gone through the process of reform to unitary status have been pulled together by the Improvement and Development Agency to assist councils that are currently undergoing the change. The IDeA says those councils that have been through the process have a wealth of experience to offer. 

One in three households would pay less council tax if the benefit system was reformed, according to a report commissioned by the Local Government Association. The study, written by Peter Kenway from the New Policy Institute, also shows that the same reforms could mean greater financial support for six million people.