The government is overestimating the success of
service cheques, the system that allows members of the public to pay
for cleaning and ironing work while avoiding the black economy. Last
year 600,000 people paid for services with 73 million service cheques,
one-third more than in 2007. At the same time, the system provided work
for 90,000 people, predominantly women with little education and few
marketable job skills.
