In Work, Better Off?

The latest proposals for welfare reform have been set out in the consultation document 'In Work, Better Off', available to download from the Department for Work and Pensions website.

Government is targeting a one million reduction in those on incapacity benefit, and aiming to get an additional 300,000 lone parents and one million more older people into work. Yet in the Green Paper there is no evidence to suggest whether or how this is possible.

These figures are simply the necessary number to reach the Government's own target of an 80% employment rate, for which no reason is given. As the Work and Pensions Select Committee said in its May 2007 report, "there is a lack of clarity about precisely what the 80% aim represents and why it has been set".

For lone parents, the Government is proposing to make lone parents on benefit look for work when their youngest child is 12 by 2008, falling to the age of 7 by 2010. At the moment lone parents receive benefit until their child is 16.

These proposals have been heavily criticised by childcare groups. Chris Pond, a former Government Minister who now heads One Parent Families (OPF), said "a punitive approach would only impact badly on youngsters in one parent families - many of whom have already lost one parent".

OPF points out that the voluntary New Deal scheme has already doubled the chances of lone parents finding work, and that a punitive approach could be counter-productive. Failure to comply with the proposed new regime could result in benefits being cut, if parents decide to look after their children rather than return to work. Those with children over 12 and eventually 7 will lose lone parent benefit, and therefore be on Jobseekers' Allowance.

This seems to contradict what the new Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families told the Daycare Trust conference in June this year: "Staying at home or returning to work must be a choice for parents, and our role is to make that a real choice . . . to make both staying at home and returning to work practical and realistic, so that parents can do what is best for them and their children."

Bizarrely though the consultation paper states that "we have considered increasing the work-related responsibilities for carers and do not believe this would be appropriate". What are lone parents if not carers? As OPF states: "if they work they are accused of neglecting their childrens' needs and if they don't of scrounging from the State".

The Daycare Trust, OPF and the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) have highlighted the shortfall of childcare provision to enable more parents into work. CPAG is calling for "a government commitment to the same level of childcare investment as countries with more working lone parents, like Denmark and Sweden".

For disabled people, there is much more that needs to be done to break down employer prejudice (despite the Disability Discrimination Act). The mental health charity Rethink says "less than 40% of employers saying they would employ someone with mental illness, the government must do more to help reduce the prejudice and ignorance which surround mental health. Scotland invests eight times what the English government does on anti-stigma campaigns and has seen real results".

RADAR, the pan-disability charity, says the Government needs to invest more in skills training and childcare - pointing out that a quarter of children living in poverty in the UK has a disabled parent. RADAR's Liz Sayce said "increasing in-work tax credits, extending conditionality and broadening eligibility criteria for employment programmes does not equate to having radical new ideas for how to support people to get and keep work".

The civil service union PCS points out that over 15,000 Jobcentre staff have been cut over the last two years, and over 500 jobcentres and benefit offices closed. It is concerned that these, and further looming cuts, will undermine the welcome parts of the Green Paper to provide more individualised help.

The Government is proposing to outsource some of this work, and PCS has considerable doubts that there is the capacity in the private and voluntary sectors to carry out the functions. You can download PCS's response to the Freud Report (which informed the Government's Green Paper) which provides useful information about how these changes could and could not be delivered.

CPAG is also concerned about the proposed reform of the delivery: "if charities take on the role of policing the benefits system, the relationship of openness and trust with their clients that is a key factor in their success will be damaged, and vulnerable individuals will lose the protection of independent advocates who can stand up for their rights."

As well as issues around employer discrimination, the consultation also raises issues about the ability of workers to choose flexible working patterns. At present employees have the right to request flexible working patterns, but there is no obligation for employers to provide it.

The consultation document 'In Work, Better Off' can be downloaded from the DWP website. The deadline for responses is 31st October 2007.