"DWP minister issues warning of massive overhaul this autumn"

"DWP minister issues warning of massive overhaul this autumn"


https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/cost-of-living/dwp-minister-issues-warning-massive-9564751

Jobcentres are set to focus less on monitoring the benefits system and more on assisting individuals, especially young adults, into employment to lift them out of "scrapheap" circumstances. Employment Minister Alison McGovern has disclosed these plans in anticipation of a "big change" overhaul in the welfare and jobs regime expected to be detailed in a forthcoming government white paper this autumn.

McGovern said the 'lockdown generation' condemned to the 'scrapheap' will receive transformative support as part of sweeping reforms aimed at kick-starting the UKs employment sector. Recent data shows a troubling trend: nearly 900,000 young people are neither learning, earning, nor training an increase of 74,000 from the previous year. Furthermore, figures from the Office for National Statistics indicate there are approximately 600,000 unemployed 16-24 year olds, 63,000 above pre-pandemic levels.

Additionally, there's been an alarming 29 percent surge in 16-24 year olds who are inactive due to long-term sickness, rising from 184,000 before the outbreak to a record 237,000 according to the latest figures. These comments come just before the release of an independent report which suggests transforming the Jobcentre Plus network and its associated services into a comprehensive employment support resource for everyone, including those jobless due to health conditions, not only for those claiming benefits.

The Commission on the Future of Employment Support's report suggests that the "draconian" requirements imposed on jobless benefits claimants, who are expected to spend 35 hours a week looking for work and face sanctions if they fail to meet these expectations, contribute significantly to the issue. This report will guide Labour's goal to increase the UK's employment rate to 80 percent, a figure not seen in over 160 years and only surpassed by a few leading economies.

The minister expressed: "The lockdown generation has been failed - consigned to the scrapheap because they have been denied the support and opportunities to find work, get into work, and get on at work. It's truly shocking that we have businesses crying out for staff at the same time there are queues round the block for foodbanks a dire situation that we're determined to put right."

She further added: "The obsession with benefits management must end if we're to bring about the change the country is crying out for, and that's why we have a plan to get Britain working again. We're going to set-up a Youth Guarantee to transform the lives of young people by providing work, apprenticeships and skills training to everyone who needs it.

"That is how we will deliver on our mission for growth across the country and ensure future generations are never abandoned by their government again." The minister has told the Financial Times that it's time to revisit the original ethos behind the welfare state, stating "for social security to work you need a well-functioning health system and an approach for full employment. We've lost that wider view of the economy."

A commission examining welfare reform, led by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), includes voices from recruitment, unions, think-tanks, and charities. Tony Wilson, director of the IES, criticised the controversial 35-hour rule as having "no evidence" to back its effectiveness, arguing that it unnecessarily burdens individuals with constant justification, overwhelms advisers, and drives claimants towards health-related benefits which have less stringent conditions.

In the UK, jobseekers are currently the least likely in Europe to utilise public support services to find employment, partly due to jobcentres being inaccessible to the general public and only available to those claiming benefits. Wilson advocates for a shift in jobcentres' role from monitoring benefits to actively assisting thousands of advisers in helping individuals secure employment or better job opportunities.

Only time will tell #Archangel.
I'd like to see the demographics of these : "900,000 young people are neither learning, earning, nor training..." Is it primarily in area's of already high U-Employment in the UK... Also any idea of the strategy, they are going to employ 🧐. More money on pointless scheme's, National 'Conscript' Service🪖 into the force's. Or group therapy sessions, with experts ‍..

Also no mention of the 'Sanction's" stick, maybe this is also contributing to claimants mental health issues ...

They have been very vague about it all. I hope the statement they give in the autumn says it will scrap the 35 hour rule.

I doubt it Archangel...🧐. Never understood how they conjured 🪄this number. According to the dwp + 16x hrs = full time employment. Uk average working week x30 hrs?🤨

"the finds work for idle hands"... Maybe this is there ideology 🧐..



https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/devil-finds-work-for-idle-hands

I could see the 35hr rule being re-fashioned, but not scrapped entirely. To be fair, it's just a hurdle and with a bit of imagination, not too formidable. Still, soul destroying though.

Actually, re-reading the article leaves me with greater dread. They wouldn't be scrapping because it's stupid, but so they could get more people with health issues to look for work - I thought they could do that already?

Indeed Ignatius, much the same as the PIP level requirements. You could see them raising the threshold for Limited work capacity assessment's etc. To 'massage' the figures of claimants with health issues.