Welfare Reform Green Paper

The much-delayed Green Paper on welfare reform (A new deal for welfare: Empowering people to work) was finally published on 24 January 2006.

Most of the focus on the Green Paper was reducing the number of people on incapacity benefit and getting people back to work. It aims to reduce the number of incapacity benefit claimants by one million from its current level of 2.7 million and reduce the incapacity budget by £7 billion a year from its current level of £12.6 billion a year

Some of the main points of the Green Paper are:

By 2008 incapacity benefit will be replaced with a new benefit Employment and Support Allowance which will be worth more to claimants
Exiting claimants will be able to receive incapacity benefit at the same level as they do now
Some people will be obliged to attend interviews but will not be forced to work. Instead, the interviews will ensure that they are aware of the opportunities available to them.
People that refuse work will have their benefits cuts on a sliding scale down to jobseekers allowance
From one month of the announcement of the Green Paper careers advisors will be based in job centres to encourage people back to work
£360 million will be available to extend the pathways to work programme to everyone by 2008
There are no alterations to the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance

View the Green Paper here

View our response here

For further information

Please contact the Public Affairs Team on 01604 611842.