Reforming the welfare system and
supporting people back into work go hand in hand. For too long, too many
people were left languishing on benefits and trapped in a life of
poverty. Helping them go back to work has been one of the primary
objectives of the Government in recent years and the results are starting to
show.
I have always kept in close contact
with the local Job Centre and other providers delivering the Government's Work
Programme and visited both again in recent weeks. Unemployment has tumbled by
almost half over the last year or so, and the job market is stronger now than
it has been for over a decade.
One of the most powerful schemes in
recent years has been the policy of creating work experience opportunities for
young people. The most important step to getting a full time job for school
leavers is gaining experience. Lots of local employers have done their bit by
offering unpaid work experience to school leavers and I have seen numerous
cases where, after that short trial period, employers are so impressed by the
young people joining their team that they move things around to try to find
them a permanent place.
Another change now being rolled out
is the introduction of the Universal Credit to replace other out of work
benefits and Housing Benefit. Previously, many believed that they were better
off on the dole. If a job didn’t work out it was difficult to get back on
benefits support. If income went over a certain threshold, people lost all
Housing Benefit or tax credits resulting in employees being unable to work more
than sixteen hours per week for fear of being worse off. That is about to
change. Under the new system there will be tapered support so that there
is a single benefit payment which is withdrawn gradually as income rises.
It will always pay to work more hours but if something goes wrong, the support
will kick back in automatically.
These changes are never
straightforward but they will transform the lives of those who are on the
bottom rung of the ladder.
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