The Government’s new benefits crackdown as part of its “back to work” programme has been torn apart by experts, with damning criticism it is “nowhere near enough and not fast enough”.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall promised MPs “change” this afternoon, with a pressing need to address the current benefits bill which is set to rise by £29 billion by the end of this parliament.
She insisted: “If you can work, you must work.”
Unveiling the “biggest reforms to employment support in a generation”, Ms Kendall revealed that much of the new plan revolves around improving the health of the unemployed, hinting at new taxes on junk food in order to reduce sickness benefits.
The back-to-work plan may also involve the trialling of fat jabs for the unemployed, such as Ozempic, with the Government looking at working with the Premier League to increase opportunities for young people.
However the proposals were panned by political opponents, policy experts and industry bodies as not nearly enough to deal with Britain’s workforce crisis.
The Centre for Social Justice think tank condemned the package as “nowhere near enough, not fast enough”, warning it does little to avoid the forthcoming iceberg.
Ed Davies, their policy director, said: “Like the Titanic, this White Paper does little to steer the good ship Britannia away from the welfare iceberg in its path.”
“With the cost of health and disability benefits forecast to be as much as £100 billion by 2030, the contents of the White Paper – and its seemingly endless reviews and consultations – risk making little difference.
“We need urgent and radical action to tackle the crisis of economic inactivity which threatens our economy.
In particular it took apart Ms Kendall’s promise to put an end to young people who are not in “education, employment or training”
The Government’s White Paper threatens tougher rules for layabouts, but the CSJ points out that the Department for Work and Pensions can only crack down on those who are unemployed, not those who are economically inactive.
This group, which makes up the overwhelming majority of young people not in employment, education or training, may be off work due to self-diagnosed mental health problems.
The Institute for Economic Affairs described the policy package as the “square root of nothing much at all”, criticising it over the lack of reforms to benefits which are being delayed to a later date.
They described the package as “disappointing” and “unlikely to stimulate the inactive back into work”.
The Jobs Foundation, a new charity set up to champion businesses as a force for good, also warned that even if the government were successful in filling every current vacancy in the UK, businesses would still need to create one million more jobs in order to meet the Government’s unemployment target – something not mentioned by their white paper.
Responding to Ms Kendall’s announcement in Parliament, the Tories simply asked: “Is that it?”
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately said Labour’s back-to-work plan will not make “material savings to the taxpayer”, and lacks substance.
She asked: “Where are the reforms to fit notes which we had handed over all ready to go? Where is her plan for reforming the workplace capability assessment?”
