Unattainable performance targets set by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) threaten Iain Duncan Smith's flagship £5bn back to work programme with financial collapse, posing potentially ‘dire consequences' to 2.4 million long-term unemployed people, a think tank has warned.

According to analysis undertaken the Social Market Foundation (SMF) some 22 out of 24 providers will fail to meet minimum performance expectations over three years, putting them at risk of having their contracts terminated by the DWP.