SCOTTISH CAMPAIGN ON WELFARE REFORM

Making Welfare Work? Welfare Reform proposals "found wanting", say campaigners as consultation closes

The UK Government’s latest proposals to reform the benefits system, aimed at helping marginalised groups off benefit and into work, have been found wanting by members of the Scottish Campaign on Welfare Reform (SCoWER). The proposals, contained in the Green Paper ‘In work, better off’, include new conditions for those claiming Jobseekers Allowance and tougher rules for lone parents. Consultation on the Green Paper ends today, but SCoWER believes that two vital factors are missing to make the reforms work – good quality jobs and sufficient childcare.

Although the campaigners support the moves to help more people back into work, they believe that the UK Government’s proposals do not take into account the fact that – due to a combination of low salaries and additional in-work costs - some people are still in poverty when they return to work. One of the most concerning aspects of the new proposals is the plan to require all lone parents whose youngest child is aged seven to ‘actively seek work’ from October 2010.

Although the campaigners support the moves to help more people back into work, they believe that the UK Government’s proposals are continuing to neglect the fact that many people are still no better off when they return to work.

The Campaign is calling for the UK Government to

• Reconsider proposed increases in the level of conditions attached to benefits given the lack of evidence that such conditionality is effective and the concern that increased conditionality will lead to increased risk of poverty.
• Clarify proposals regarding how the UK Government will ensure devolved childcare and skills support policies are in place before the removal of current benefit rights,
• Allow for implementation to be delayed in Scotland – if required – until the right support policies are in place.
• Pilot proposals in Scotland before they are rolled out nationally to allow an effective evidence base to be built up about what does and does not work in the devolved context.
• Extend the ‘better off pledge’ – which states that lone parents will not be required to take a job unless they will be better off in work – to all claimant groups.
• Confirm that the commitment to lone parents being better off in paid work is measured on the basis of lifting families out of poverty, rather than simply being better off than on income support (which can currently be a matter of pennies after in-work costs are considered).

John Dickie, Head of CPAG in Scotland said:

“This Green Paper fails to address the woeful inadequacy of current benefit rates, rates that leave tens of thousands of people in Scotland below the poverty line. Yes, we need to see people given more support and opportunities to work. But that needs to be done by removing the barriers they face and offering decent jobs, not by threatening to cut already meagre benefits and plunging people into even deeper poverty.”

Lindsay Isaacs from Citizens Advice Scotland added

“We are very concerned that this consultation on far reaching changes to the welfare system does not adequately take account of the situation in Scotland. The Green Paper places huge emphasis on childcare and skills development – both of which are devolved to the Scottish Government – and it is unclear how changes to the UK-wide system of welfare will be implemented in this context”.

Marion Davis of One Parent Families Scotland said

“We support, in principle, government measures which assist lone parents to secure sustainable employment which will genuinely lift families out of poverty. However removing a lone parent’s right to Income Support, based on the age of her youngest child, is indefensible. Helping lone parents into work is best achieved by a combination of flexible personalised support offered on a voluntary basis and subsidy to childcare providers, as demonstrated by the Working for Families Fund in Scotland. This approach, together with employer engagement represents a much more effective use of government funding and preserves the fundamental right of parents to act in the best interests of their children“

Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance said:

“These proposals have been presented as part of the Governments ongoing efforts to tackle poverty in the UK. However, it is not clear that they will have the desired effect. It’s true that many people need more individualised support to help them get back into work, but they also need to be sure that a job will pay them enough to meet their needs. Low pay remains a significant barrier that will hinder the success of welfare reform.”

Media contacts:
John Dickie, Child Poverty Action Group, 07795 340618
Peter Kelly, Poverty Alliance, 07766 606454
Marion Davis OPFS 07904 654145

Notes for editors

1. The Scottish Campaign on Welfare Reform is a broad coalition of organisations that share concerns at the direction of current reforms to the benefits system. The Campaign is led by the Poverty Alliance, Citizens Advice Scotland, Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, Capability Scotland and One Parent Families Scotland.
2. SCoWR 'In work, better off' response document (52 KB Word document)
3. In Work, Better Off: Next Steps to Full Employment was published in July by the DWP. The consultation on the proposals closes on the 31st of October. For further information visit www.dwp.gov.uk/welfarereform