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welfare reform
by Daniel on 11 Dec, 2008 in
The White Paper is essentially the Green Paper plus the Gregg Review. Some of the more controversial proposals (Work for Your Benefit, mandated support for lone parents with younger children etc.) will start out as pilots or trailblazers. The responses to the consultation are outlined in some detail in the appendices, but the only major changes are the softening of drug-testing proposals and the freeze on transfer of carers from IS.
by Daniel on 5 Dec, 2008 in
Paul Gregg's review of benefits and conditionality was published on 2nd November. The web page and full report are available here. For ease of reference, I've put the main points and press coverage below. However, the actual report is definitely worth reading - just the list of recommendations at the end of the report is 7 pages long!
by Daniel on 5 Dec, 2008 in
by Joseph on 21 Nov, 2008 in
Regarding the item about lone parents switching from IS to JSA:
by Daniel on 5 Nov, 2008 in
The SSAC have expressed major reservations about both the content and method of the government's welfare reform proposals, to a quite surprising extent. Their overall conclusion recommended a drastic slowing down in the pace of reform, the establishment of a commission to consider proposed benefit reforms, and the creation and use of a base of evidence that the proposals would work before imposing them wholesale.
by Daniel on 23 Oct, 2008 in
This story in the Financial Times has publicised the recent debate over FND funding in the provider community. I've been tracking this for a couple of weeks now, and have a few thoughts on the matter.
by Daniel on 3 Oct, 2008 in
SITE NEWS
We've just gone live with a database of providers and contracts across the UK. This contains all the contract awards notified on the DWP website, but feel free to add missing details and put some proper details about your provider on the site. Log in and add your provider and contract details!
This week's discussion: What effect will the economic downturn have on the welfare-to-work industry?
PROVIDER NEWS
by Daniel on 2 Oct, 2008 in
This year's conferences posed both parties with an interesting problem. Both of them are heading in essentially the same direction on welfare reform. How could they paint themselves as different to the opposition?
by Daniel on 23 Jul, 2008 in
Now it's out, does it match the hype? Will it be enough to stop the Conservatives from time-limiting benefits Wisconsin-style? Is it what you wanted it to be? Don't hold back now...
The proposals laid out in the Green Paper have been communicated piecemeal over the past few months, and represent no great surprise.
Main proposals
Benefits-related proposals include:
- Simplifying the current out-of-work benefits to just JSA and ESA. All under-50 IB claimants will be transferred and reassessed under the new regime between 2010 and 2013
- Drug treatment or cutting of benefits for addicts
- More Access to Work funding to help people with disabilities
