Motion 17 at the TUC Conference concerning Discrimination, recession and welfare reform. Sasha Callaghan led the motion with contributions from GMB & PCS. You can find details of the motion by clicking here.
Generally as you would expect the Welfare Reform bill was trashed in so far as not fit for purpose, not going to deliver the change and will marginalise disable people rather than empower them. All this in a climate of recession.
Unison mentioned the proposal to take AA and the care component of DLA and give that to local councils to fund the new care strategy.
Vote: Carried with none against.
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The Public And Commercial Services Union has a large membership of DWP staff. It is also a union that speaks out strongly against the effects of the Welfare Reform Bill and is a good advocate in disability issues.
Plans to get 600,000 people off welfare and into work are being proposed by an independent think tank set up by former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith.
The Centre for Social Justice proposes scrapping a system which it says makes it difficult for people to earn more at work than they get in benefits.
It says spending more than £3.7bn to subsidise those on low wages in the UK would make work pay for more people.
But experts warn that politicians will be cautious about the high cost.
All parties are looking to cut welfare bills and reduce the long-term jobless.
The think tank report comes ahead of the latest official unemployment figures due to be published later.
Working couples should get more financial help, especially those on low wages, the report says.
But it says families on incomes of £30,000 will see some entitlements cut.
It also proposes changes to ensure people who save or who own their homes are not penalised by the benefits system.
Exclusion warning
The right-leaning body says help should be concentrated on getting at least one person in each household into work.
Mr Duncan Smith said the current "complex and inefficient" benefits system was an impediment to getting people into work.
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 We simply cannot go on talking about the importance of getting people into work while we persist in creating disincentives for the very people we say should be in work  Iain Duncan Smith
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Under current rules, the think tank says claimants taking a job with a salary of less than £15,000 find themselves worse off than if they remained out of work once state support is taken away.
People are being put off from applying for and accepting jobs , it argues, and benefits should be removed gradually by lifting the income threshold at which they are phased out.
At the same time, other financial disincentives preventing people from applying for work, seeking better paid jobs or working longer hours should be dealt with.
Mr Duncan Smith warned that despite the government's efforts to help the unemployed, many - especially younger people - could be permanently excluded unless the system was put right immediately.
"That is why we simply cannot go on talking about the importance of getting people into work while we persist in creating disincentives for the very people we say should be in work," he said.
It says its proposals would benefit low-income households by £5bn and lift 200,000 children out of poverty but that middle-income families would see "modest" falls in certain tax credits.
The report also calls for the welfare system to be simplified with the amount of benefits available to those over 16 reduced to two.
Costly measure
Eventually, the report authors believe, the changes would save the taxpayer billions of pounds.
But an expert on poverty and welfare at the Institute of Fiscal Studies, Mike Brewer, warns politicians of all hues will be put off by the immediate price tag.
In the first year more than £3bn of extra spending would be needed on top of the £74bn already being spent on benefits.
The report has been presented to Tory leader, David Cameron - but the Conservatives say it merely raises "interesting questions" which they would be "looking at closely".
Addressing union leaders on Tuesday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged to cut unnecessary programmes and low priority areas to stabilise the public finances.
He said the Tories were committed to "across-the-board" cuts in spending.
The Tories say their welfare reform proposals are focused on getting people back into work and have pledged to review the status of all those on incapacity benefit.
The Lib Dems say more than £1.3bn could be saved by reducing the amount of family tax credits paid to better-off families.
Debbie Scott from Tomorrow's People, a charity for the long-term unemployed, said many people were trapped on benefits under the current system.
She said many benefits stopped the moment a job started, leaving many struggling to earn enough to pay the rent and get through the first month.
"In people's minds it's a real issue that they don't want to take the risk because if they can't pay their rent they could become homeless and also they could get into debt," she said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8257673.stm
The benefits and tax credits system is too complicated and must be simplified, a report by the right-leaning Centre for Policy Studies has said.
All claims should be administered by one agency and applicants should only have to fill in one form, it suggested.
Report author and tax expert David Martin added: "We need our benefits system to set people free."
The Department for Work and Pensions said it was simplifying things but "one size fits all" systems would not work.
'Social failure'
The report, entitled Benefit Simplification: How and Why It Must Be Done, said there were more than 50 benefits available through different government departments and agencies.
Mr Martin estimated that the total social security bill will reach £186bn by 2010, but insisted that this figure could be lowered if one agency administered all the benefits and tax credits.
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It is time to take the hard practical decisions so that a new unified and simplified benefits system can emerge David Martin
Report author |
He said it would reduce error and fraud and make it easier for claimants to understand what they were entitled to.
Mr Martin also argued that too much time and money is spent re-evaluating information already available and thinks people should fill in one form for all their claims.
He said: "It is time to take the hard practical decisions so that a new unified and simplified benefits system can emerge. And we need this soon."
CPS director Jill Kirby said the projected bill for social security payments was "not sustainable" at a time of economic crisis.
She added: "In its 1997 manifesto, New Labour promised to 'decrease the bills of economic and social failure'. It has failed to do so.
"But for any reform to be effective, simplification is the essential first step."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8180799.stm
Further to the story above if you want to see the report that is before the Conservative Party for consideration you can find the full report by clicking here.
Welfare and Society
The TUC believes in full employment and work for all those who want it, but those who cannot work should get decent benefits that lift them out of poverty. Here is research and policy on welfare and work issues. You can find older material by using the search facilities.
The campaign to End Child Poverty includes children's and other charities, social justice groups, faith-groups, trade unions, businesses and many others concerned about the unacceptably high levels of child poverty in the UK who are working together for change. Visit their website at http://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/
The most recent documents available on this subject are:
Jobseeker's Allowance is just ten per cent of average earnings
People on average salaries receive just a tenth of their earnings if they lose their job and claim Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), a new TUC study reveals today (Thursday).
3 September 2009
Jobs Guarantee expansion is fantastic news for young people, says TUC
Responding to the expansion of the Government's Jobs Guarantee today (Wednesday) to young people who have been unemployed for ten months, as part of the Backing Young Britain campaign, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:
2 September 2009
Unemployment figures show recovery still a long way off, says TUC
Responding to the latest unemployment figures published today (Wednesday), TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:
12 August 2009
International Slavery Museum Celebrates in carnival-style
Staff and visitors at the International Slavery Museum are celebrating reaching the finals of the National Lottery Awards 2009 with carnival crafts and costumes.
10 August 2009
Notes of the Fourth TUC Social Policy Forum
A report of the Social Policy Forum, held on 3 July to discuss the reasons why unions are concerned about the Welfare Reform Bill now being debated by Parliament.
PDF version available for download
29 July 2009
Government right to invest in young people, says TUC
Responding to the Government's Backing Young Britain campaign launched today (Wednesday), TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:
29 July 2009
Shaping the Future of Care Together
An Alternative Vision for the Welfare State
The TUC is not responsible for content of external internet sites
Child wellbeing and income inequality in rich societies
End Child Poverty
Government progress on child poverty
Keeping Mum
Make Child Benefit Count Campaign
Please also see the complete list of web site links.
http://www.tuc.org.uk/welfare/index.cfm