The secretary of state for work and pensions has promised to crack down on the "can't work, won't work" culture that is apparently rife in our communities.
All the time the focus of this crack down is support, that is fine. John Hutton's pledge to find "a new place for skills at the heart of a welfare contract for the 21st century" and build on the recommendations of Leitch's review of skills report, for example, sounds like a welcome step.
Talk of benefit cuts for those who remain on Jobseeker's Allowance for long periods of time but refuse to fully engage with programmes to get them back into work, on the other hand, make me nervous.
When Hutton and his officials at the Department for Work and Pensions consider whether there is a role for more incentives and conditions as part of their review of the welfare system, they must also keep at the front of their minds a key challenge they have set themselves of shifting the focus of support away from individuals and towards families.
Benefit sanctions impact on an individual's dependents as well as themselves. Imposing such sanctions is likely to push the poorest families into even more poverty, rather than improve their lot.
There is little evidence that benefit sanctions work. The DWP must find alternative ways of modernising the welfare state system that do not involve further disadvantaging already vulnerable children.
Comments (1)
I cannot think of a worse government except Thatchers to come out with silly remarks, dozens of disabled people in my village want to work, the work does not exists. Give me a real job I'll do it. Ask me to use a wheelchair and hand out baskets to customers smile and say have a nice day and I end up committing suicide.
real jobs real help and real wages.
Posted by Robert | May 4, 2007 1:22 PM
Posted on May 4, 2007 13:22