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A new direction for welfare - article by IPPR
Graeme Cooke, Research Director at the Institute for Public Policy Research, has written an article for the Labour List website, setting out his thoughts on the approach that Miliband and co might want to take in future on the welfare state and social security benefits. Here are the three key points he raises.
The first would be to provide greater protection to people who have contributed into the system. This most closely reflects the traditional model of social insurance, still embodied in the basic state pension. A higher rate of JSA/ESA (or Universal credit in time) for those who have recently worked would strengthen it further. Given the cost implications of such a move, an alternative would be to offer significantly greater financial support on a short term basis for people who have paid in, but with the money recouped once they are back in work.
The second direction would be to expect greater contributions from people in receipt of support. There have been a number of extensions of such ‘conditionality’ over the last 15 years, but the principle could be further entrenched by guaranteeing work for anyone at risk of long term unemployment – and expecting them to take it up – as proved so successful under the Future Jobs Fund. For those who are not ready for paid work yet, it could focus on way to counter the isolation and loneliness of unemployment
The third area for developing the notion of contribution would be in the relationships and acts of reciprocity among those involved in delivering or experiencing the welfare system. This is generating fascinating new insights, such as those discussed by Hilary Cottam in a previous post. Thinking about the social connections of unemployed people, not just their CV, is vital given how many job opportunities never get registered with JobcentrePlus. And getting people who have successfully moved off benefits into employment to mentor those who are chasing vacancies might be much more effective than identikit, generic training.
What is slightly worrying with regards to the first point is that he doesn’t seem to understand that universal credit won’t be based on NIC’s or contributions at all, as things stand - it’s replacing the income-based, or means-tested, versions of ESA and JSA. Notwithstanding this fundamental flaw, it’s good to see someone trying to progress a constructive debate on the issue.
For the whole piece, see Labour’s welfare dilemma
And as far as disability/poor health is concerned there is no mention of encouraging employers to retain people in the workplace, rather than allowing them to fall into the benefits system and the surreal world of ESA.
I’m not sure what percentage of potential claimants would benefit from such an approach, but It would be useful if DWP commissioned some research on this topic. It would also be interesting to know the opinions of enlightened employers and groups such as the national Employers Forum on Disability and the Mindful Employer initiative (a mental health peer support group for line managers).