People, including Pertemps staff, kept visiting this site looking for information about flexible New Deal. I hadn't got a clue what it was but it sparked my interest so I thought I would have a look around.
Therefore, I have decided to write a little about it here, but I am not sure, initially, what it will amount to. Pertemps have decided to tender for something that is called Flexible New Deal. I wonder, does the fact that they couldn't meet the terms of the contract in the Marches District affect the likelihood of them getting the opportunity to do the same thing all over again?
Here is what I found in 30 seconds.

I will attempt to do a basic analysis of this and perhaps ask for the tendering documents that outline what the requirements are to be chosen as a contractor. If it says anything about "don't just use the Network Worcestershire for work placements", Pertemps could be in serious trouble, if only somebody bothered to enforce anything, of course. Enforcement is reserved for participants only not so called Providers.
One thing that is worth mentioning is that  there seem to be a lot of people attending New Deal that you wouldn't  expect to be there under normal circumstances because of the length of time they have been claiming JSA  i.e. it is relatively short and outside the normal scope of New Deal.  Jobcentreplus are sending them to New Deal by default. I have never seen so many people there at one time, Pertemps barely have enough room to physically fit all the participants in the premises, but how can that happen if New Deal is such a success? Approximately 90% of them are returners. Once again, how can this be possible if New Deal is such a success? 
It is little more than another opportunity for Pertemps to be paid for not delivering results, my definition of that word being "you have a proper job for a long time".
My first thoughts are that "flexible" means put you on New Deal anytime, any place anywhere regardless of circumstances. That is supported by the words "escalating conditionality" in the document. That is the name of the game, imposing conditions on you. That likely means doing forced Labour more frequently for longer. An increase in payless units of labour will go a long way to improve the pay and conditions for all employees countrywide. Good luck to all you hard working (for now) people. It looks like the good times are about to roll for those people who are in the business of exploiting the unemployed, that being New Deal Providers.

When I asked the DWP for everything they could tell me about tendering for flexible New Deal they just sent me here.

Case Study: January 2009

What happens when you go into the Jobcentre to claim Jobseeker's Allowance since the advent of Flexible New Deal? I decided, reluctantly, to give it a try at Kidderminster Jobcentreplus. 
The first thing that hit me was how much I have loved not having to go to Jobcentre Plus.  That place absolutely destroys me; I instantly lose my self confidence and everything that makes me human.  The only place I have ever been that made me feel worse is Pertemps. It is the complete opposite of what you need to motivate a person to work or do anything at all.
I had an appointment at 12:40. The person I was supposed to see wasn't there and nobody came to see me until 12:55. This is significant, because if you are late, that it considered to be a major transgression, but I didn't even receive an apology.  Not being able to comply with their own standards is very much the norm for Jobcentreplus and I wasn't at all surprised that they haven't improved one bit.
In October, I asked a New Deal adviser at Jobcentreplus what the situation was with New Deal. That employee told me very clearly that someone who stops claiming Jobseeker's Allowance for 13 weeks, which has previously been classed as long term employment, would no longer be subject to New deal. In the past that would mean an 18 month period of claiming Jobseeker's Allowance before having to join New Deal IAP.  Unfortunately, the condescending  and very late Jobcentreplus employee told me that that has now changed.  He certainly has zeal for telling you what you should and shouldn't do, but shows no sign of having been educated in the subject of  the causes of unemployment. Why do I constantly find myself being lectured to by people with no knowledge and credentials? Will I ever meet one single person working at Jobcentreplus or as a New Deal "Employment Coach" who is capable of addressing the subject and engaging in a conversation about it?
 What he told me is that under "Flexible New Deal", all new claimants are immediately subject to New Deal, getting 13 weeks to do self help jobsearch, then being sent to some kind of Provider programme in some way or another. The 18 month self help period is over. How about that? Certainly when I was doing my 3 months of forced labour on New Deal IAP in 2006, referred to as a "work placement" by Pertemps, the only thing that gave me any motivation to carry on was that it would be over in 3 months and that I would be free again. 
I took the opportunity to ask him what the current minimum requirements are for jobseeking steps that a claimant needs to make in order to "stay out of trouble"  i.e. avoid extraordinary harassment and sanctions. Now this is risky, because certain Jobcentreplus employees like to write "naughty boy" reports in your records for having the audacity to ask a question.  Of course asking questions is completely normal and reasonable, but that doesn't mean that  Jobcentreplus employees have enough intelligence to understand this. Do you remember my tribunal all that time ago? Naughty boy entries into my records were a big feature of that because Jobcentreplus were incapable of coming up with any evidence. All this achieved was to make them look ridiculous, but it doesn't seem to be a disincentive to Jobcentreplus people. 
He told me that I was expected to take 3 steps per week, but that at least 3 per day would be more realistic if I wanted to find a job in the current bad climate. "Current bad climate"? That is a cliché if I have ever heard one.
Personally, I don't think that the claim that you must take 3 steps is accurate, but as it isn't that time consuming I suggest that you do it just to make life easier.
I will see how it shapes up, but my first impression is that what barely passed as democratic society has further eroded and the days of unemployed people having to endure only poverty and being constantly treated as less than those that work has fallen to a new low. Their new deal is that they must endure total control of their life.  
It's all  enough to make you want to go into the Penny Black and join the drunks for one of those cheap but not very delicious pints that they sell . I don't recommend it but I can certainly understand why some people wish to remove themselves from the unfortunate circumstances of reality.