'Raising expectations and increasing support: reforming welfare for the future'Welfare Reform Bill published - 14th January 2009
The new Welfare Reform Bill was published on the 14th January 2009. You can read it by clicking here.
Of note is the plan to move existing Incapacity Benefit Claimants to Employment & Support Allowance between 2010 & 2013 (point 3.21)
There is to be a legal right to control for disable people introduced. The role of Carers & benefits is covered.
The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) is to be evaulated to find how effective it is in identifying the level of disability and health conditions amoungst claimants (point 5.15)
Two year gaps between medical assessments (point 5.18)
Some detail on the Support component is found from point 5.45 and if you are over 50 I would draw your attention to point 5.51.
There is an undertaklng to better understand mental health conditions.
You can read the press release from the DWP by clicking here.
PDF version
Consultation on the Right to Control
The ODI has launched a consultation to ask disabled people how to make choice and control a reality in their lives.
The consultation, launched on 11 June, invites stakeholders to give their views on the best way to deliver the Right to Control.
The ODI encourages responses from disabled people, their organisations, public bodies, commissioners and service providers.
The consultation runs from 11 June – 30 September 2009.
- Consultation on Right to Control (PDF, 78 pages, 3.71 MB)
- Consultation on Right to Control - Easy Read (PDF, 92 pages, 2.12 MB)
- Consultation on Right to Control - Rich Text version (RTF, 78 Pages, 220 KB)
To request a copy of the consultation in Braille, audio CD or BSL DVD email right.control@dwp.gsi.gov.uk or telephone 020 7449 5093.
The ODI is running a series of consultation events throughout the summer. Visit the consultation events page for the latest dates.
Consultation toolkit
ODI has created a toolkit, to enable organisations to involve disabled people in their consultation response or organise their own consultation event.
Service providers could use the toolkit to engage with service users. The ODI may be able to support events organised by disabled people. Download the toolkit for more information.
- Message from Baroness Jane Campbell, Chair of the Right to Control Advisory Group (PDF, 1 page, 30 KB)
- The Right to Control Consultation toolkit (PDF, 76 pages, 11 MB)
- The Right to Control Consultation toolkit - Word version (MS Word, 76 pages, 155 KB)
- The Right to Control Consultation toolkit handouts (PDF, 8 pages, 520 KB)
- The Right to Control Consultation toolkit handouts - Word version (MS Word, 8 pages, 63 KB)
A DVD of case studies is available as part of this toolkit. It can be used in consultation events. To order a copy of the DVD, email right.control@dwp.gsi.gov.uk.
About the right to control
A message from the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions about Right to Control
- Secretary of State's letter (PDF, 1 page, 25 KB)
- Secretary of State's letter (Easy Read) (PDF, 1 page, 25 KB)
What is the Right to Control?
The Right to Control is about shifting the balance of power from the state to the individual and recognising that disabled people are the experts in their own lives.
Why is the Right needed?
At the moment, many disabled people do not have the sort of choice and control over their lives that non-disabled people take for granted. The Government is therefore committed to providing greater choice and control over the support they receive from the State.
How will the Right be introduced?
From 2010, we will test how the Right to Control will work. We will do this by trying out the Right to Control for disabled adults in a number of local authority areas in England. These will be called trailblazer sites.
More information on the trailblazers and what they will mean for local delivery agencies is contained in our guide for local agencies:
Right to control: a guide for local agencies (PDF, 14 pages, 120KB)
How does the Right fit with the Welfare Reform Bill?
The Welfare Reform Bill currently before Parliament enables the Secretary of State to make regulations to give disabled people greater choice and control over support provided by the state. The Right to Control is part 2 of the Bill.
The Bill has completed its passage through the House of Commons. There was strong support across the House, with members on both sides warmly welcoming the increased choice and control this policy will deliver. As of June 2009, the Bill is before the House of Lords.
The Hansard page on the Welfare Reform Bill can be found on the Parliament website and includes the full text of the Bill, explanatory notes and reports from the debates.
Download Documents
You can download documents marked with a using Adobe Reader - available free of charge.
You can download documents marked with a using Microsoft Word viewer – available free of charge.
http://www.odi.gov.uk/working/right-to-control.php
The Tories have stepped up their attack on Labour's employment record, accusing them of leaving people trapped in a "vicious cycle" of welfare dependency.
Shadow work secretary Theresa May said unemployment had become entrenched in many families with dire social effects.
Figures released on Wednesday showed the number of UK households with no-one working has risen to a 10-year high.
Labour said the Tories' failure to help the unemployed in the 1980s had left a disastrous legacy.
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The Tories argue the impact of the recession on unemployment, which is predicted to reach three million, shows the government failed to reform the welfare system during better economic times.
Vicious cycle
In a speech, Ms May pointed to what the Tories describe as the financial and human cost of a culture of "worklessness" in many communities.
The cost to the state of paying benefits - such as housing, income, council tax and incapacity support - to those not working has reached £346bn since 1997, she claimed.
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 Worklessness has become a generational problem - passed from father to son, mother to daughter  Theresa May, shadow work secretary
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But the social impact on children growing up in workless families was more alarming, she said, as they were more likely to fail at school, become involved in crime, become addicted to drink and drugs and end up unemployed.
Many people were now stuck in a "vicious cycle" where "they can't imagine getting a job" and "don't know anyone else with a job".
"Worklessness has become a generational problem - passed from father to son, mother to daughter," she said.
"Recession or no recession, it makes no difference to their lives. They have been trapped on benefits for as long as they can remember and they can't see any chance of getting out."
The number of households in which no-one over the age of 16 has a job rose by 240,000 to 3.3 million in the year to June, official figures show.
Benefit reforms
They include early retirees, full-time students and those on disability benefit who are not included in official unemployment statistics.
Ministers unveiled plans to shake up of the benefits system earlier this year which would require nearly everyone except single parents with very young children and the severely disabled to prepare for work or face potential penalties. They hope to get one million people off incapacity benefit by 2015.
Ms May said the proposals were not radical enough and said the Tories were committed to reassessing all existing incapacity benefits claimants.
The Tories want a bigger role for private firms and voluntary organisations to provide advice and support to the long-term unemployed.
Ministers criticised the Conservatives' record in government during the 1980s and 1990s.
"Labour's programme of welfare reform cut the number of people on incapacity benefit after they trebled between 1980 and 2000 as a result of Tory policies," employment minister Jim Knight said.
"If Theresa May wants to get serious about tackling worklessness she should stop opposing our £5bn programme to deliver real jobs and help people into work.
"Just as the Tories turned their backs on people in the last recessions - so too today they oppose Labour's investment to help people now when they most need it."
English councils are losing almost £90m a year through fraudsters claiming the single person's discount on their council tax, says the Audit Commission.
The 25% discount can be claimed by individuals who are the only adult over 18 living at an address.
The spending watchdog also says an estimated 50,000 homes are not available to let to people who need them because of housing tenancy fraud.
It says councils should do much more to tackle fraud.
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People falsely claiming to live alone are estimated to cost councils nearly £2 million a week, with other council tax payers meeting the cost of the 25% discount.
In its report, "Protecting the Public Purse", the Audit Commission says local authorities need to crack down harder on fraud and could save hundreds of millions of pounds.
"It has never been more important that councils fight fraud. Every pound lost to cheats is a pound that can't be used for people in real need", said the commission's chief executive Steve Bundred.
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COUNCIL TAX FRAUD
20.8m households eligible for council tax
7.5m get single person discount
800,000 households estimated to be falsely claiming
Source: Audit Commission
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The commission also says that housing tenancy fraud has resulted in an estimated 50,000 properties being kept off social housing lists in England.
And it warns councils should be wary of fraudsters looking for jobs in town halls where they can then commit other types of fraud.
It urges councils to urgently reassess their counter-fraud plans, and ensure that staff understand, and have faith in, whistle-blowing arrangements.
Margaret Eaton, chairwoman of the Local Government Association, which represents local authorities in England, says councils are already working hard to tackle fraud.
"Councils are dedicated to bearing down on cheats to keep council tax as low as possible for the vast majority of honest, hard-working tax payers", she said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8254634.stm
Summary [Download full report below this summary]
This report considers the key fraud risks and pressures facing councils and related bodies and identifies good practice in fighting fraud. It has never been more important that councils fight fraud. Every pound lost to cheats is a pound that cannot be used for people in real need. The report identifies specific risks that are often not adequately addressed, to do with housing tenancy, council tax and recruitment fraud.
The Commission found housing tenancy fraud could be tying up at least 50,000 council and housing association properties worth more than £2 billion, while queues for homes have increased by more than 50 per cent over the last six years. The number of people in need of social housing is predicted to rise to 2 million by 2011.
Council taxpayers could be losing almost £2 million a week to fraudsters claiming a 25 per cent single person discount on their council tax. The discount can be claimed by householders where there are no other residents aged 18 or over living at an address.
The report provides an overview of the threats of fraud facing councils. It calls on them to urgently reassess their counter fraud plans and to ensure that staff understand, and have faith in, whistle-blowing arrangements.
The report is supported by a range of materials including:
- a short summary
- a checklist for councils to help ensure that they have sound governance and counter-fraud arrangements that are working as intended (found at the back of all documents)
If you have any questions about the report contact Derek Elliott, Head of Governance and Counter Fraud, email: derek-elliott@audit-commission.gov.uk or tel: 0844 798 2313.
Get the full report
Download the full national report below. This report contains all our findings and recommendations.
Full report: Protecting the public purse (opens in a new window) (PDF)
Size: 1mb Get free PDF Reader from Adobe
Summary report: Protecting the public purse (opens in a new window) (PDF)
Size: 248kb Get free PDF Reader from Adobe
http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/localgov/nationalstudies/Pages/200909...
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TUC response to Welfare Reform Bill
Responding to the Welfare Reform Bill published today (Wednesday), TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:
'This is the wrong bill for the economic crisis we're in. With thousands of people losing their jobs every week, now is not the time to introduce even tougher conditions for claimants.
'We're also disappointed that the Government appears to be persisting with plans that amount to a 'work for your benefit' scheme. Paid work is scarce enough. Forcing claimants to work for their dole too could make this even worse.
'Unions will continue to oppose any plans to privatise Jobcentre Plus services.
'There are some welcome changes to the Government's earlier plans, including the scrapping of an earlier proposal to make disabled people look for jobs or risk losing their benefits.'
'We will continue to discuss these issues with Government and seek improvements to the Bill.'