File on 4 Investigates Folgen

The biggest ever slice of the NHS is up for grabs in Cambridgeshire. Ten bidders, including NHS hospital trusts and private companies Serco, Virgin Care and Circle, are competing for a five year contract to run older peoples' services. It will be worth a minimum of £700,000. The successful bidder will provide everything from podiatry and occupational therapy to dementia treatment and end of life care. The stakes are high. But how much will patients be told about how the bid was won? With commissioners advertising dozens of other big money tenders, File on 4 looks at the secrecy surrounding NHS contracts when they're awarded and when they're challenged. Does commercial confidentiality make public accountability impossible? And how far does the competitive market improve healthcare for patients?Reporter Jane Deith Producer Ian Muir-Cochrane.

The Work Programme is the Government's flagship scheme designed to help the long term unemployed off benefits and into lasting jobs. But how well is it working - both for those at whom it is aimed and for the private companies who are paid to deliver it? Official figures paint a patchy picture and some companies have already been sanctioned for not meeting targets. Their record has been particularly poor for claimants whose illness or disability makes it hard to find a job. Despite this, the Chancellor recently announced an addition to the scheme - called Help to Work - which places new demands on those the Work Programme has failed to move into employment. But, with the economy still struggling in many areas, is it asking too much? Gerry Northam investigates. Producer: Sally Chesworth.

What's behind the recent death of a clubgoer in Manchester who's believed to have taken a bad dose of the drug ecstasy? He's one of 12 in the area in the last year who've died after using illegal stimulants with toxic new additives, prompting the Government's Chief Medical Officer to issue a formal alert. Police are concerned organised crime is hiring backstreet chemists to cook up their own toxic amphetamines. Allan Urry investigates.Producer: Carl Johnston.