Work for your dole

[Ms DD]

Under new government proposals the long term unemployed face the prospect of being forced to pick up litter or clean graffiti or lose their dole money.

 

Incapacity benefit could also be replaced by a new "employment and support" allowance; claimants would be expected to undergo a medical assessment by a doctor who's not their usual GP.

 

What do you think?

 

Benefit shake-up 'revolutionary'

 

Incapacity Benefit will be abolished under the proposals

Benefit claimants could be forced to pick up litter and erase graffiti under plans to be unveiled by ministers.

 

The Welfare Green Paper is set to include proposals to force those unemployed for more than two years to work full-time in the community.

 

Incapacity benefit will be scrapped as part of a scheme to get more people claiming the benefit back to work.

 

Minister James Purnell says the plans are "revolutionary". The Tories say they had many of the ideas first.

 

This shake-up will apply to all 4.5 million people on out-of-work benefits, but is expected to impact most on those on Jobseekers Allowance.

 

Conservative support

 

Under plans laid out in the Green Paper, claimants will have to carry out four weeks' community work once they have been unemployed for more than a year.

 

After two years, they will be ordered to work full-time in the community.

 

Incapacity Benefit claimants will all move to the new Employment Support Allowance by 2013, which ministers hope will be regarded, for all but the most disabled people, as a temporary benefit.

 

FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME

 

 

More from Today programme

 

People who have been signed off sick will have a new medical check with someone who is not their own GP.

 

Drug addicts are also being targeted, with the government expecting them to declare their problem and to embark on treatment in return for benefits.

 

The Conservatives say they will support many of the proposals, effectively neutralising any Labour backbench opposition.

 

The Liberal Democrats have welcomed some elements of the Green Paper, but are reserving their judgment on whether to support ministers.

 

Mr Purnell, the work and pensions secretary, says the welfare reforms being proposed will "transform lives".

 

FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME

 

 

More from Today programme

 

He told BBC Five Live Breakfast: "People have an obligation to work and the benefit system is not there to give you a choice between benefits and work; it's there to help you when you can't find work.

 

"If you can find work you should take it, if there isn't work there you should take steps to get back into work."

 

But people who do not take up the offer of support would lose benefits, said Mr Purnell.

 

He said the government wanted to get one million people off incapacity benefit by 2015.

 

But former welfare reform minister Frank Field told the BBC's Today programme he doubted the proposals would make any difference.

 

Tough choices

 

"The key fault in the old system is being brought into the new system, and that is if you can get through the employment capacity test... you'll get onto a higher rate of benefit," he said.

 

 

HAVE YOUR SAY As long as people are paid a fair wage for their work, why shouldn't they work for benefits?

Peter Hearty, Southend-on-Sea

Send us your commentsMr Field said he had been arguing for 10 years that there should be a single rate of benefit for people of working age who were unable to work. They should be funded via the Disability Living Allowance, not benefits, he said.

 

"The whole emphasis here, naturally, will be for people not to get jobs but to get onto the higher rate of benefit," he added.

 

And Labour left-winger Jeremy Corbyn said he was "surprised and disappointed" that the government seemed to be "punishing people for being poor".

 

'Complex' system

 

In February government welfare adviser David Freud suggested less than a third of the 2.7 million people claiming the benefit were doing so legitimately.

 

Shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling, said: "We very much agree with the package of reforms... it's particularly helpful that they're bringing them forward now because we always expected the reforms to take a couple of years to prepare before being ready to yield results.

 

"So in reality what this announcement means is that the next Government will inherit a set of proposals that have been turned into action and are ready to bring about real change to our welfare state."

 

Jenny Willott, the Lib Dems work and pensions spokeswoman, said the government's plans "ignore the disincentive to work that our complex benefit system has created".

 

"The fact that over half of children living in poverty are in working households is largely ignored," she said. "Reforms must ensure that work really pays or we will see poverty levels rising in Britain."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7516551.stm

 

[Laba-X]

OH No! How could they?

 

So that means I can no longer pay my GP to give me a sick note?

 

Gotta find a new method...

[Ibtisam]

^^^WHAt :rolleyes: Macasoonkoor. LAst ime I saw you, you looked well enough to have 10jobs! all at the same time.

 

Ms DD my free work load has increased. The number of old ladies coming round my house requesting I fill out forms for them is driving me mad! Do you think it is cheeky for me to charge them?

 

I think will harm many ill people but the cheats had it coming! damn them islaamhi beye uu taarisiyen. Yesterday I filled out a form for this lady who had a surgery six weeks ago, can't even move her arm, and when she went to those assessment centers they said she is fit to work ASAP. Even though the consultant said she needs another 3months off. She is 56years old [that is her fake age, I think her real age is in the 60+] I felt sorry for her, writing all sorts on her appeal form.

 

 

I’ve never seen more hideous questions. Do you go to the toilet yourself? Can you get up yourself. Acuudbililah.

[Yaabka-Yaabkiis]

Not in Malaysia

[N.O.R.F]

Aha!

 

Good move.