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This chapter examines the importance of local partnerships in securing the effectiveness of United Kingdom (UK) welfare-to-work policies and in particular of the New Deal program. It aims to be useful to those, in the UK and elsewhere in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), who are actively pursuing welfare-to-work policies which have a local design or delivery component. It outlines the nature of UK welfare-to-work programs, focusing on the New Deal and Employment Zones and assesses the importance of the local dimension in such policies and the need for local partnerships. In the main part of the chapter, key lessons are set out from local partnership practice and research, which can be used to inform partnership formation, management and development, together with their implications for welfare-to-work programs in the UK and other countries. The following two sections contain reflections on the UK New Deal local partnerships, based on their early experience so far and conclusions on the future development of welfare-to-work partnerships in the light of the issues discussed.