DWP to ditch toughest penalties for Universal Credit and PIP claimants

"DWP to ditch toughest penalties for Universal Credit and PIP claimants":

Quote:

"The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will scrap some of the most severe penalties previously planned by the Tories. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall criticised the Tory plan to take away Universal Credit and PIP claimants' benefits if they failed to secure a job after one year.

The new DWP boss laid out her own plans for the benefits system and the extent of sanctions this week in her first speech in the role. She highlighted to The Sun that the DWP will not leave "people after 12 months without genuine support".

She also said she plans to "get Britain working again". Speaking at an event in Barnsley which coincided with the publication of the Pathways to Work Commission report, she noted that the current system is "both too siloed and too centralised".

She added: "Their divisive rhetoric about strivers versus scroungers or claiming people just felt ‘too bluesy’ to work may have grabbed headlines, but it did absolutely nothing to actually get Britain working again.

“As today’s report rightly concludes, people who are economically inactive are not one single group. There will be a few who act fraudulently, others who say they can’t work but who can.

“But the vast majority face a complex range of barriers which stop them from getting what both they and policymakers want – a pathway into paid employment.” She also laid out a target of an 80 per cent employment rate in 10 years.

Latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the employment rate this March for those aged between 16 to 64 was at 75 per cent - a 1.2 percentage point drop from figures in December 2019 to February 2020. Ms Kendall added: "They turned Job Centre Plus into a benefit monitoring service, not a public employment service, which was its original aim and they didn’t give nowhere near enough attention to the wider issue like health skills, childcare, transport, that play such a huge role in determining whether we get work, stay in work and get on in work.”

She continued: "The problem with what the Tories proposed was after 12 months to do this. We are not leaving people 12 months without genuine engagement and support.” She also stressed “there have always been conditions to look for work and consequences.

"That won’t change, but I’ve got to see a much greater focus on that upfront help and support.“ Latest data indicates that around 2.8 million people are out of work due to ill health or a disability.

Meanwhile, one in eight young people are registered as not in employment or educated. Following the announcement of her plans, the Office for Budget Responsibility predicted spending on disability and sickness benefits to increase by £30bn over the next five years.

Ms Kendall also confirmed the government will transfer some powers to local areas in "a fundamental shift in the balance of power and resources". She added: "My department will support local areas to make a success of this new approach, starting by devolving new powers over employment support to catalyse action and change because the man, or even woman, in Whitehall will never know what’s best for Barnsley, Blackpool or Birmingham.”

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/cost-of-living/dwp-ditch-toughest-penalties-universal-9433968

I wonder how work roaches will react to this? Will they welcome it and then say that they were "just following orders" for the past 14 years?

''But the vast majority face a complex range of barriers which stop them from getting what both they and policymakers want – a pathway into paid employment.” She also laid out a target of an 80 per cent employment rate in 10 years.''


I wonder if they now accept, that thousand's with lifelong conditions will stop them working, and consequently, any employers wanting to employ them, disregardless of any of this political idealistic nonsense.

People who have clear disabilities, chronic long term health conditions are not looking to return to work, neither are employers especially looking to employ them. This idealistic nonsense shows a complete disconnect from reality. Tories MKii in the making or, already there.

If they could appreciate the complexity of the barriers that many face, then they would surely realise, there is no fix outside of a change in medical science. Transferring these ideas of ''EVERYONE CAN WORK IF THEY WANT TO'' now to be localised to councils   won't make a scrap of difference. Their wasting more taxpayer's money on a notion, that is dead in the water before it's begun. Ask any employer whose running a profitable business.But they won't do that or produce the evidence of the so called 70% of disabled and long term sick who want to work...all of a sudden. Where the hell are all the good journalists questioning all this .[/color]

I concur there #Jobber, when has having a disabled/long term health🩺 condition, been a lifestyle choice...

Yet I can forsee Liz K, creating a self appointed disabled people's champion . Like a 'Drugs Tsar' of the 1990's.

How about ' Disability (Dave) Davros'... I can just hear the sound bite now " I was able to become an inter Galactic Overlord. Even if I was in a wheelchair"... Just think of all the 'Merch", that will fan the flames of the economy....

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davros

But the vast majority face a complex range of barriers

In what way is a Mayor (or anyone else) going to remove these barriers? The answer to that is they aren't and they can't. Is Liz Kendall going to order employers to insert lifts into old mill buildings now so that disabled people can apply to work there?

Her roaches do not like it when a disabled claimant says there were no suitable jobs for them to apply for in the last fortnight. They do not trust or believe what disabled people say to them about employers being openly prejudiced in interviews. For the DWP the sun shines out of the employers' arse, even when it doesn't.

Any disabled claimant (claiming disabled benefits on top of UC or otherwise) who would like to work (such as myself) should not be subject to any sanction threat whatsoever from a roach when it's a daily struggle to even find a suitable job to apply for, never mind actually get one.

Absolut: ''In what way is a Mayor (or anyone else) going to remove these barriers?''

Exactly Absolut, it's all so nuts and i sometimes overlook the obvious in that i  just can't quite believe, how incompetent these people look cooking up such nonsense. No doubt there will be courses for the masses on all this "Overcoming barriers" I have 3 lifelong medical conditions and they are the barriers! for the planks who can't see that.

There were quite a few jobsworths doing the media circus yesterday, tying-in with all this 'WORK IS THE CURE FOR ALL.' In that, " I've suffered with x for 10 years and it's not stopped me working, I've got X, and i still work." Good for you, I shouted at the radio,give yourselves a bunch of carrots . DWP feel there is a tick box process that covers all conditions' etc which will now lead to work with no consequences' for the prospective employee/employer or them at the Job shop.

Oversimplification of Health and Work: The narrative that working is possible for everyone regardless of their health condition overlooks the unique challenges faced by individuals with different illnesses or disabilities.

Lack of Individualized Assessment: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and other agencies 'might rely on a standardized tick-box approach' that fails to consider the nuances of each person's situation.

Potential Negative Consequences: Forcing individuals into unsuitable work situations can have detrimental effects on their health and well-being, and it may not lead to positive outcomes for employers or employees.

I better go for another coffee as i am winding myself up again

I welcome the halting of sanctions. Sanctions = conditionality, so both have really been halted, as they are both contingent on each other.

I have no problem with being given suggestions of ways to find a job, it was the threat of sanctions which I objected to. If the situation returns to only the idea of notional sanctions (i.e. one in a million theoretically ever being enforced) like it was under Blair/Brown then I can live with that.

I only hope that it is not rowed back on at some stage, or that work roaches don't ignore it. They have ignored past DWP rules such as not forcing people to present job search evidence only using the Find a Job site. In many respects it is the work roaches who have made life on the dole worse by willfully misinterpreting DWP rules.

Nice to see The Daily Fail angry. Their war on the poor has been halted now.

"Labour's war on 'sick note Britain'! Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall pledges to get two million more people into work - but ditches tough plans to tackle welfare 'scroungers'"

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13665093/Labours-war-sick-note-Britain-Work-Pensions-Secretary-Liz-Kendall-pledges-two-million-people-work-ditches-tough-plans-tackle-welfare-scroungers.html

Call me a 'pessimist' if you will. But I wait to see if all the saber ️ rattling actually happens from Ms Liz? 🧐 It makes good copy/press articles... But as mentioned above, why would any employer's want a person with disabilities/health conditions. When there's a pool of young healthy candidate's, you can pick from. You could quote some equality legislation's, but they seem to be able to navigate 🧭 around this problem.

A final gripe ‍ here, does any one know the DWP's, percentage of 'Disabled' employees in work at the DWP....

I take your point. It is wise to wait and see at this stage. But I remain hopeful that whatever transpires will be better than it has been.

"Archangel" I have no problem with being given suggestions of ways to find a job.


Unfortunately Archangel after too many years of listening to these people, I find them less equipped to help me look for work than myself. I'd go as far to say, I was better. Found 14 interviews they found zero. Found 100s of jobs to apply for, they found nine. Help received that was sold to me as 'being beneficial' =zero.

The same things are still in place today. As is the dia economy. Nothing to do with the economically inactive/sick not working for shirt buttons and paying zero tax. It's the lack of quality jobs. So all that's left is for this next lot, to bang on with yet more rinse and repeat. If they think employers are looking to hire long term unemployed and sick people their seriously deluded. Having millions working in fulltime low waged jobs and claiming state benefit into the bargain will not fix what's wrong. Digging a deeper hole imo.

I agree. I personally would give an amnesty to all disabled and longterm unemployed people over 50, meaning they would remain on benefits until pension age, with the disabled still receiving some of their benefits.

Either that, or I would bring in a Universal Basic Income.

Pintel ''A final gripe ‍ here, does any one know the DWP's, percentage of 'Disabled' employees in work at the DWP....''

No, but they feel millions of them NOW want to work. The whole mentality behind many not being fit for work, with a host of different medical issues and disabilities'  benefit was given because of them. And now, they want to remove them.

Your all be cured by working! the new miracle cure for all illness and disabilities. I am intrigued why GP's are not protesting about this mentality as not all jobs are based sitting down on a chair at a desk or answering a phone since 1980.But hey ho, our paymasters always know what's best. And as i am just a beggar, i cant choose.

WARNING! Being in a low paid, bored out of your brain dead end job, does more negative things to someone's psyche.

This may surprise people but not that many years ago the DWP used to have a reasonable reputation. It used to practice what it preached and employed plenty of people with disabilities. Indeed, several of the staff in my jobcentre fall into such a category. But then it is probably a bit easier for a large public sector body to do so.

While they may have a decent record on recruiting people regardless of disabilities, they got their arses very publicly kicked for a culture of bullying and discriminating against their staff with health problems. I think it was even the subject of a BBC Panorama programme a few years ago. If anyone is interested, google or whatever will probably through up more on all this "awkward" publicity the DWP received.

I have to laugh because I think people may not remember that it was the last Labour government under Tony Blair that bought in benefit sanctions and these welfare to work schemes remember The New Deal scheme that was my first taste of these useless schemes. There was some sort of "sanction" before Blair like if you walked out of a job with no good reason you dole was stopped for two weeks. My barrier to employment was and still is a full UK driving licence if they helped me back in 1998 when I first went on New Deal with getting me a driving licence I might have been a HGV driver now. All those missed opportunities I was never offered an apprenticeship when I was 18/19 I was left to rot away on benefits. I've seen off eight prime ministers during my time of unemployment i'm now on my ninth from Major to Starmer nothing changes. In nearly 30 years on benefits i've only have one benefit sanction in 2011 due to that useless Work Programme which I appealed an won. I'm now unemployable touching 50 with no work history no employer will touch me. I have been unemployed right through the last Labour government 13 years and right through 14 years of the last Tory government and five months under Major's government Dec 96 - May 97.

How the DWP treats staff with disabilities

https://www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/article/dwp-lost-more-disability-discrimination-cases-than-any-other-uk-employer-investigation-reveals

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51756783

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/discrimination_towards_employees

Glad to see the DWP are leading by example , on creating a happy workplace experience.

And yet its still so good there, they have staff leaving in droves .

https://www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/article/excl-dwp-civil-servants-describe-unbearable-workloads-amid-alltime-low-staffing-levels

Yes, and they are also taking longterm sick-leave. I wonder if they will be subject to conditionality like the rest of us are?

The staff will be subject to the conditions of their employment contract and the DWP to employment law. After x amount of time off sick, if satisfactory reasonable adjustments cannot be made, and if the correct processes have been followed, the DWP can lawfully fire staff, probably on capability grounds. The fact the DWP has lost so many employment tribunals suggests they don't think employment law applies to them.