By Maeve McGoldrick
Yesterday the Secretary for Work and Pensions, James Purnell, introduced the Green Paper on Welfare Reform “No One Written Off”. The contents were previewed at the DWP’s Annual Conference and highlighted what people can do rather than what they cannot do. Ministers talked about enabling the individual and an emphasis on employment was central.
“The Green Paper focuses on the ‘three C’s; capability, contribution and control. It has a focus on the individual, on their ability to work, their contribution to the world of work and the personal responsibility they have for their own lives.”
“Work is good for people’s health, it has a transforming effect on both their skills and self esteem” according to Stephen Timms MP.
A message echoed both at the annual conference and at a seminar held yesterday on an internal review on Housing Benefit. Generally there was a very positive energy about Welfare Reform on both occasions.
Numerous interpretations of the Green Paper have been reported causing confusion and anger over its implications. The Times headlined their story ‘Work-for-dole will force the benefit cheats to start earning their keep’, whilst other online media focus on the move away from outdated benefits Welfare shakeup to scrap incapacity benefit. In The Independent Johann Hari describes how the safely net of benefits should infact be a trampoline. Based on the personal experience of a friend he describes how the current benefits system ‘keeps people in a rut’ and this ‘inactivity is infectious, you become convinced you can’t do anything’
Whatever way you interpret it, the Green Paper is themed around deterrence. James Purnell justified the tough sanctions as a way to deter people from work in the informal economy by filling their time up with community jobs they will have no opportunity to work on the side. The new Welfare System seems to be targeting people who work to earn a little bit of money as a way to lift themselves out of poverty.
In reality this will not work. A visit to the most successful New Deal in London, run by Community Links in Newham illustrated the difficulty of getting people into work and off benefits. It is a long term process and the fundamental ingredient for their success is trust.
The reform hands trust over to the Job Centre Plus staff to decide if people are playing the system. With the power to enforce community work onto benefit recipients the entire reform seems to be unveiling itself as a cleverly masked version of the deterrence campaigns brought in a few years ago. The only message this sends out to people on benefits and doing a little work on the side is to stop using your skills in hairdressing, child minding, painting and either get any job or else pick up some litter in your community. People who have the desire and innovation to go out and work, to try and escape poverty by themselves are going to be penalised the most.
A blog entry beautifully highlights the importance of informal working:
“Money you’ve earned feels stronger, somehow worth more. You feel worth more, having earned it. You’ve proved something important to yourself – that you can do it. You can get out of the hole you dug.”
Working informally, out of need, not greed, is something that should be harnessed. It creates a feeling of self worth, gives people confidence and allows people play a role in their community out of their own choice. Choice is a key factor missing in the current system. If this could be acknowledged in Welfare Reform and effectively utilised as a way for people to contribute to society, gradually come off benefits, a much more efficient modernised welfare system would be in place. It would address capability, responsibility and control and be much more beneficial for those reliant on the welfare system.
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