New business and old

We learn (thanks, Roy) that A4e have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese government. That makes, I think, 12 countries in which A4e does business. One country they haven't cracked is the US. Indeed, the traffic is the other way, with an American company getting contracts here. Perhaps it's because the system is different there, much like what the Conservatives want to bring in here. And that brings us to current contracts. Phase 2 of FND has been revised, as we reported, with the government cutting by half the number of expected clients. It had to give the bidding companies more time to work out their figures again, and now we hear that the deadline for revised bids has been extended to 23 April; and that the companies can bid for areas which they didn't previously bid for. Presumably that's because they expect some of the companies to pull out of the process. And the Jobseeker's Allowance (Work for your Benefit Pilot Scheme) Regulations 2010 went before the House of Lords for approval yesterday. It was an interesting debate which you can read here.