Welfare Reform on the Web (March 2002): Social Security - UK - New Deal
BRIDGES INTO WORK? AN EVALUATION OF LOCAL EXCHANGE AND TRADING SCHEMES (LETS)
C. C. Williams et al
Policy Studies, vol. 22, 2001, p. 119-132
Local Exchange and Trading Schemes are non-profitmaking ventures that encourage people to come together to trade services and goods amongst themselves using a local currency instead of sterling. Paper reports the results of the first comprehensive evaluation of LETS. Findings suggest that although LETS provide an indirect bridge into employment by improving employability, they are most effective as seedbeds for the development of self-employed business ventures and as vehicles for building reciprocal exchange networks beyond employment.
BROWN FACES REBELLION OVER HUGE RISE IN WELFARE-TO-WORK SPENDING
A. Grice and P. Waugh
Independent, Dec. 26th 2001, p.1
Article discusses the cost of welfare-to-work payments made in the UK in comparison with spending on health, education and transport and suggests it is time for them to be reviewed.
THE EMPLOYMENT EFFECTS OF ONE: INTERIM FINDINGS FROM THE FULL PARTICIPATION PHASE
S. Kirby and R. Riley
London: Department for Work and Pensions, 2001 (Inhouse report; 88)
Concludes that there is no evidence that the ONE service, which enables people to claim benefits and get employment advice at the same place, has changed the probability of job seekers leaving benefit. For lone parents, there was a positive effect on the probability of leaving benefit under one of the three versions of ONE being piloted. For sick and disabled claimants, the evidence does not suggest that ONE has changed the probability of leaving benefit.
GUARANTEEINGS JOBS
D. Simmonds
Working Brief, issue 130, 2002, p.18-19
The StepUp initiative is aimed at getting the hardest to help claimants into sustained work through guaranteed jobs. These jobs would be full-time, would last up to a year, and would be paid at the national minimum wage.
JOBCENTRE PLUS
L. Reith
Disability Rights Bulletin, winter 2001, p.5-8
Jobcentre Plus brings together the Employment Service and those aspects of the Benefits Agency that serve people of working age. Article considers how the new system will impact on disabled people.
PUTTING THE PLUS INTO JOBCENTRE PLUS
S. Witcher
Disability Rights Bulletin, winter 2001, p.2-4
Author considers six reports which evaluate the effectiveness of the ONE pilot schemes and highlights the lessons to be learnt if Jobcentre Plus is to be a success for disabled people. Concludes that Jobcentre Plus needs to:
- support employers as well as disable people
- aim to improve employability and job retention, as well as to get people into work
- ensure consistency in the way Incapacity Benefit is delivered; and
- ensure that the service reaches disabled people from ethnic minorities
SANCTIONS AND THE HARD TO HELP
L. Britton
Working Brief, issue 130, 2002, p. 12-14
People who breach the terms of New Deal 25 + or New Deal 18-24 now face suspension of benefits for up to 26 weeks. Author argues that sanctions are ineffective for claimants who have multiple barriers to work and that more constructive approaches need to be found. Those could be as simple as the provision of an alarm clock or as complex as help to overcome addition.
SUPPORTING LONE - PARENT FAMILIES . THROUGH WORK: A CHALLENGING ISSUE FOR BRITISH SOCIAL POLICY
C. Rodriguez Sumaza
Policy studies, vol. 22,2001, p.99-118
Paper begins by exploring the growth and characteristics of lone parent families in Britain in a European context. Unlike some other European countries, the risk of poverty among lone parents in Britain is very high, the participation of lone mothers in paid work is exceptionally low, the proportion of young lone mothers is higher and their reliance on state benefits is greater. The Labour government has presented paid work as the best solution to their needs. The policy assumes that the lack of jobs among lone parents is a matter of barriers to employment, and focuses on developing bridges to overcome them. It encourages lone parents to give priority to their responsibilities as income providers through paid work.