Helpful intervention provides nice places to work (4,7)
I believe the answer is:
good offices
'helpful intervention' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'nice places to work' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'nice' could be 'good' (similar in meaning) and 'good' is located in the answer.
'places' could be 'offices' ('office' can be a synonym of 'place') and 'offices' is located in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'provides' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for good offices that I've seen before include "pleasant business accommodation" , "Helpful mediation" .)