SCOTTISH charities have been identified in a government list of organisations which took part in a controversial scheme to make people work without pay for their benefits.
Their names were revealed after the Court of Appeal ruled against the Department for Work and Pension's attempt to keep them a secret.
Campaigners said the list of companies involved in the free labour scheme should be shared far and wide and that it was exploitative and did not help people find jobs.
Launched in 2011 under Iain Duncan Smith, the hated 'forced labour' scheme was notorious with campaigners who persuaded 500 charities to boycott it.
Various charities and researchers had variously blamed the 'work for your benefits' system on food poverty, child poverty, homelessness, and worsening mental health issues. It was scrapped last year.
It has emerged that at least ten Scottish organisations feature on the list, including disability organisation Capability Scotland, food aid charity Mary’s Meals and Dogs Trust Glasgow.
Others listed include the Govanhill Baths Community Trust, Ayrshire charity Scottish Cancer Support, the Glasgow Furniture Initiative and Killie Can Cycle.
South Ayrshire Council is the only Scottish local authority listed.
Three of those listed Mary's Meals, who were identified under a former name of Scottish International Relief, the Govanhill Baths Community Trust and Dogs Trust Glasgow have denied involvement in the scheme. And South Ayrshire Council said they to had “no record” of having used the scheme.
The Mandatory Work Activity or 'workfare' programme, saw people referred to do up to 30 hours a week unwaged work in exchange for not losing the £73.10 payment.
More than 118,000 people were signed on to Mandatory Work Activity between 2011 and February 2015. Another 28,000 were put on Community Work Placements.
Four years ago an analysis by the DWP found that the scheme was largely ineffective at getting people into jobs and that it had no impact on employment prospects.
Major high street companies and well-known charitable organisations such as Cancer Research UK, Oxfam, Shelter, British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross and Save The Children are included amongst 534 on the list made public for the first time by the DWP.
Charities including Cancer Research, PDSA, Age UK and the British Heart Foundation, have said they pulled out after it was widely criticised.
A Mary's Meals spokesman said: "To our knowledge, Mary’s Meals has not been part of the ‘workfare’ scheme and would not knowingly choose to be part of it. Our work is made possible by an army of volunteers around the world, who give generously – and freely – of their time."
Dogs Trust Glasgow said it "has never been a part of the DWP workfare scheme" and could not comment on why they would be on the list.
Capability Scotland said it "does not support workfare or any kind of mandatory work activity". It said that in 2012 they were made aware that companies linked to workfare had secured placements for a total of five people in their charity shops. "We immediately ended these placements and offered the individuals alternative opportunities," said a spokesman.
The DWP said: "This list is a list of all organisations that provided work placements for Mandatory Work Activity participants from July 2011 to January 2012. In some cases only one branch of the organisation will have participated, for a short time. We are required to release the names of all placement hosts that offered MWA placements from July 2011 to January 2012."
She added: "Employment programmes help thousands of people every year gain new skills and experience to get into work."
The DWP the information was provided by organisations and businesses which were contracted to carry out MWA.
DWP had originally argued that revealing the identities of those on the scheme would "hurt their commercial interests" despite the Information Commissioner ruling just a year into the scheme that the public should have access to the list.
After holding out for four years, the DWP was overruled by three judges at the Court of Appeal by a vote of two to one.
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