In work, better off: next steps to full employment
This Green Paper sets out how the Government aims to move towards full employment, giving everyone the chance to work and contribute to society. It asked for views on the proposals set out, by 31 October 2007.
Summary of proposals
Lone parents
From October 2008, lone parents with a youngest child aged 12 or over will no longer be entitled to Income Support solely on the grounds of being a lone parent. They will instead have to transfer to Jobseeker’s Allowance (or another benefit where possible).
Subsequently, from October 2010, lone parents with a youngest child aged 7 or over will no longer be entitled to Income Support solely on the grounds of being a lone parent.
Note: the government response to the green paper also stated that lone parents with a youngest child aged 10 or over will be required to actively seek work from October 2009.
New Deal
The intention is to introduce a "more flexible" approach to New Deal. The new approach would include the following elements:
after an initial three-month period on benefit, job search requirements would be widened, based on travel to work, wage and working hours rather than by preferred employment or occupation;
after a further three months, customers would enter the Gateway stage with a formal review with a personal adviser to revisit the needs identified in the earlier jobseeker’s agreement and to draw up a back-to-work action plan. The plan would select from a menu of activity and individuals would be expected to agree to and complete a number of activities. Each of the agreed activities would be mandatory; failure to comply would result in an appropriate sanction;
the Gateway stage would also offer a further opportunity to refer the customer to a skills health check and, if appropriate, training. These proposals are for England but the Government aims to extend such provision across the whole of Great Britain, subject to discussions with the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government;
after 12 months customers would be referred to a specialist return to work provider from the public, private, or voluntary sectors who would provide the most appropriate intensive, outcome-focused service, funded on the basis of results;
customers still on benefit after a defined period, having failed to find work through a specialist provider, would be required to undertake a period of full-time work experience – in the community or with a regular employer – to ensure that every customer gets the opportunity to refresh their work skills; and
claimants would be under a duty to make the best use of the support offered or face a loss of benefit. Jobcentre Plus would remain responsible for applying benefit sanctions where necessary.
Employer discrimination
The Government will consider carefully the views of business leaders on how best to tackle employer discrimination against ethnic minorities and promote equality in the work place.
Training
The DWP plan a new system whereby customers for whom a lack of skills is a barrier to work get faster access to the right training.
Partnerships
Jobcentre Plus will be the the main gateway into welfare to work and will continue to provide tailored and personalised benefits and back-to-work support.
People on benefit for longer periods may be better served through specialist support which could be provided by the public, private or third (voluntary) sector, depending on what works.
Private and voluntary sector
The Government proposes to pilot an approach where providers who are successful in moving people into sustained employment (an outcome which would also help reduce benefit spending) are rewarded with increased funds to invest in further activity.
Local partnerships
The Government’s City Strategy is designed to promote employment opportunities for the most disadvantaged in society. Fifteen pathfinders are currently underway in England, Scotland and Wales. In addition, the Government is also looking at how to meet the challenge of joining up employment and skills locally. This is set out in ‘World Class Skills: Implementing the Leitch Review of Skills in England’.
The Government's response - Ready for work: full employment in our generation
The Government's response "Ready for work: full employment in our generation", published December 2007, sets out more than 50 changes to the current system of benefits and job-seeking support to be implemented over the next four years. In addition to the above these include:
lone parents with a youngest child aged 10 or over will be required to actively seek work from October 2009.
the lone parent In Work Credit and the In Work Emergency Discretion Fund will be rolled out nationally from April 2008
New Deal Plus for Lone Parents pilots will be extended until March 2011 and expanded to cover all lone parents in London from April 2008.
mandatory Pathways interviews and the new Work Capability Assessment will be introduced for existing benefit claimants who are under 25, starting in 2009.
a new 'better off in work credit' scheme will be piloted from October 2008. The new payment will be available to those who've been on income support, JSA or incapacity benefit/employment and support allowance for 26 weeks and whose income on moving into work, from earnings and other in-work benefits, is not £25 more than they received on benefit. If the trials prove successful the scheme will be extended nationally in 2009.
The government is also still considering the idea of a single system of benefits for all people below pension age but believes that developing a single system would take time. Such a change could be very disruptive so a single system should be seen not as a fixed blueprint, but as a model which informs the nature and direction of changes to the benefits system.
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