|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
    |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
|
Welfare Reform Bill
"A welfare state that does not write anyone off, but instead requires and rewards responsibility from each person." (James Purnell, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, 21 July 2008) Key elements - Measures to simplify the benefits system by abolishing Income Support and moving customers who are well onto Jobseekers' Allowance and customers who are sick onto Employment and Support Allowance. - Measures to strengthen the link between an individual's right to support and a clear personal responsibility for improving one's own circumstances, including a regime of benefit sanctions for non-attendance at Jobcentre and a requirement that partners of benefit claimants search for a job. - Requirement for joint birth registration. - Requirement of work-related activity in return for receipt of Employment and Support Allowance and alignment of contribution conditions between Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseeker's Allowance. - Creation of work-focused interviews for over-60s. - Abolition of Adult Dependency Increases in Carer's Allowance and in Maternity Allowance. - Measures to support those who play by the rules and sanction those who do not. Background The Welfare Reform Green Paper, 'No-One Written Off: Reforming welfare to reward responsibility', was a wide-ranging consultation on the future of the welfare system. It was published on 21 July 2008 and set out plans for improving support and work incentives to create a system that rewards responsibility and delivers greater choice and control over the support that is provided. It emphasised the aim of reinforcing the idea of state benefits as part of a contract between an individual and society, rather than simply a series of entitlements. The Green Paper supported a wide public consultation on the reform of the welfare state. The consultation period began on 21 July 2008 and ended on 22 October 2008. The issues raised in the Green Paper were also reflected in the introduction of the Employment and Support Allowance from 27 October 2008. This was a measure aimed at moving those with long-term health problems back into work and supporting people with an illness or disability to engage in appropriate work, if they are able. Lead Department: Department for Work and Pensions Government Website www.dwp.gov.uk/welfarereform/noonewrittenoff/noonrwrottempff-complete.pdf
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
