The Government referred proposals concerning the draft Social Security (Flexible New Deal) Regulations 2009 to the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) on 1 October 2008. These regulations will implement the Government's proposals to introduce an enhanced regime for those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). This will include implementing the Flexible New Deal (FND) as a new employment programme for those who claim the benefit for a year, or after six months for those assessed as having greatest need of help to find work. The Committee's report gives broad support to elements of the revised Jobseekers Regime and the Flexible New Deal, but also expresses a number of concerns about the proposals, and makes eight recommendations. These fall under four broad headings: the extension of conditionality; the speed of the rollout of the full programme; the contracting out of services; and the changed economic situation. The Government sets out its response to the Committee's concerns, and has decided to proceed with the proposals as laid out in the Regulations originally referred to the Committee on 1 October 2008.

The Doing Business series provides research, data, and analysis on regulation in 181 economies across 10 areas of the business life cycle. Doing Business 2009 identifies top reformers in business regulation and highlights best practices and global reform trends. This year s report builds upon the five previous editions, adding new economies and updating all indicators. This year s report covers 3 additional economies, bringing the total number of economies covered to 181. Now included are the Bahamas, Bahrain, and Qatar. The report also adds a preface on Doing Business methodology, as well as in-depth analysis throughout the report on the main trends and findings of the past six years of Doing Business. Doing Business is an invaluable resource for entrepreneurs, investors, advisors, academics, professionals, and policymakers. The indicators benchmark regulation across 10 areas of a typical business lifecycle, and are used to analyze economic and social outcomes that matter such as equal opportunity, unemployment, poverty, and growth. This annually-published report gives policymakers the ability to measure regulatory performance in comparison to other economies, and learn from best practices.

The seventh in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it, 'Doing Business' presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 183 economies--from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe--and over time. Regulations affecting 10 stages of a business's life are measured: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business. Data in 'Doing Business 2010' are current as of June 1, 2009. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why.