Emma Harrison steps down from 'family champion' role
Thursday, February 23, 2012
The government's "family champion" Emma Harrison has stepped down from the role after a series of allegations emerged against her company A4e.
Harrison was named as the government's family champion in December 2010. In the voluntary role she was the figurehead for a campaign aimed at recruiting volunteers to help the hardest-to-reach families back into work.
Harrison's company A4e also holds a number of contracts as part of the government's Work Programme.
The employment organisation has been hit by a serious of allegations resulting in the arrests of four former employees in January.
A statement on the company's website states: "We have an internal audit team which regularly monitors our work and that of our subcontractors. On top of that, we are subject to rigorous external audits.
"It’s important to state that all these cases relate to historical contracts and that the current Work Programme eliminates any opportunity for malpractice because it is computer-based and payment is on results."