400,000 made destitute by new JSA sanctions regime
“Quite how someone left with no money is meant to clean, maintain or buy clothes for interviews, or pay for travel for interviews or pay for internet access to look for jobs …seems to be an unanswered question.” Birmingham Against the Cuts questions how sanctions are supposed to help people find work.
A jobless generation: UK Govt creates worst youth unemployment in 20 years
“Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that the level of long term youth unemployment has reached its worst since 1994. With 115,000 18-24 year olds out of work for longer than two years now, the UK government is creating a jobless generation.” Scriptonite looks at the dramatic rise in youth unemployment under the Coalition.
Can the unemployed be ‘nudged’ back into work?
“Unemployed people would be better served by welfare policies that take into account evidence about the reality of human behaviour. However, they would be much, much better served by policies that take into account evidence about the reality of the labour market.” Daniel Sage looks at the role ‘nudge’ could play in welfare to work.
Unemployment is not a sign of bad character
“Rachel Reeves became Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 7th October, Iain Duncan Smith’s new opposite number, replacing Liam Byrne.” Jane Carnall considers Rachel Reeves recent Guardian interview following her recent promotion in the Labour reshuffle.
The politics of ivy
“It should go without saying that data and evidence can be interpreted differently, and there are certainly many and varied arguments to be had about the best ways to address entrenched social exclusion. But that is not what is currently happening.” Jane Mansour is concerned about the disregard of evidence when it comes to welfare to work policy.
The hidden costs of welfare reform
“However, for most participants – regardless of age, qualification level and gender – welfare-to-work appears to increase anxiety. This is a potent reminder that the costs of welfare reform cannot – and should not – be measured in economic terms.” Daniel Sage argues for a broader definition when considering the impact of welfare to work policies.
Frontline Friday 4th October 2013: Our favourite frontline blogs this week
Here’s our list of ten frontline blogs we’ve particularly liked from the week of 30th September 2013 – from welfare reform and legal aid, to the Conservative Party conference and the Daily Mail.
Will George Osborne’s Work Programme Type 2 work better than the Work Programme Type 1?
“This begs the question: what is the purpose of the Work Programme? Why are providers not already addressing issues such as drug addiction and illiteracy? In the view of current providers, are they not viable clients under the payment by results regime?” Andy Winter questions what the ‘new Work Programme’ says about the existing one.
The poisonous politics of reducing unemployment
“The easier political answer to the unemployment issues is to pull the fiscal and legislative levers. …And job done. Only it isn’t.” Writing in advance of George Osborne’s speech to the Conservative Party conference, Puffles laments that politicians are avoiding answering the difficult questions about unemployment.
Shouldn’t “Policy Exchange” be honest? “Propaganda Exchange” is more accurate
“I’m SICK of half truths and misleading sentences. Sick of cherry picked data that uses random figures to paint false pictures. Sick of assumptions about the labour market and fraud that just aren’t true.” Sue Marsh takes aim at a new report from Policy Exchange.
Does welfare-to-work boost well-being?
“Improving well-being through welfare-to-work is not straightforward. To make stronger and more widespread gains, it is likely that the government will have to try a much different approach.” Daniel Sage considers whether welfare to work programmes improve the well-being of unemployed people.
Frontline Friday 13th September 2013: Our favourite frontline blogs this week
Here’s our list of ten frontline blogs we’ve particularly liked from the week of 2nd September 2013 – from welfare reform and the real Chris Grayling to outsourcing of public services and teaching in schools.
Frontline Friday 9th August 2013: Our favourite frontline blogs this week
Here’s our list of ten frontline blogs we’ve particularly liked from the week of 5th August 2013, from unemployment to zero hours contracts, property taxes to policing protests.
Here is how the UK Govt hid 1 million jobless from official unemployment figures
One of the purported achievements of the Coalition Government’s disastrous economic policy of austerity, has been the unemployment figures. Pundits say that at 7.8% (2.51m) they are nothing to shout about but not the disastrous rates seen in states such as Greece (26.9%) or Spain (26.3%). In reality, the unemployment rate is more than double this in […]
Keeping BME women on the agenda
A few years ago, when I sent an email to my mailing list, I knew exactly who to contact about what but I would always need to wait for a response. Waiting for that response gave me a good feeling because it was an indication of how busy organisations were and when it came, the […]
Risky business
“[C]an the Work Programme work for all user groups? The short answer is: no, two years after launch, it is clearly failing the most disadvantaged jobseekers.” Richard Johnson explains why the Work Programme isn’t working - and why its failure holds important lessons for other areas of welfare reform.
Six months in… welfare
It’s six months since we launched this version of Guerilla Policy. Here’s a selection of some of our favourite posts we’ve published in welfare – from the Work Programme to the Bedroom Tax, ‘strivers vs skivers’ to the social impact of cuts.
On social security, universality and public support for the welfare state
As the Government moots the idea of means-testing certain benefits for pensioners, Owen Jones writes for The Independent that universality is an integral component of a good welfare state. In response, Sunny Hundal writes that universality does not automatically generate support for social security. In defence of his view, Sunny argues (quite rightly) that overall support for […]
I am thinking about going back in prison - by ex-offender on licence
Prisoners Families Voices recevied this email from a gentleman who asked them to publish his story. He wishes to remain anonymous and is willing to talk to the media. PFV Admin have edited this story with the writer’s permission. PART 1: Hi. I was released from HMP in July 2012 in the mind set that […]
Selling tomorrow
“Instead of cutting the cost of welfare by cutting the demand for it, the Chancellor may have found a different solution to runaway [social security spending] …a fundamental change in the way governments manage their finances was tucked away in the Budget.” Richard Johnson examines the implications of a decision that could have far-reaching consequences.