The Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd has promised to help Brits with the “daunting” task of changing jobs as she lays out a grand vision for the future of work in the UK.
At a speech in central London, seen as a pitch for the Tory leadership – she said that the “modern day” Conservative party must give a leg-up to all workers, not just the unemployed while accusing the Labour party of harking back to the “Dark Satanic Mills of the past” rather than look to the future of work.
“As Conservatives we want every person, no matter their background, to progress in the workplace and outperform what society says they should be able to do.Changing career, perhaps several times, in the midst of working life can be daunting – particularly if you have a family to look after. I know – that’s the path I took.” adding
“The work we are doing across Government, and particularly in my Department, is designed to support people through this.”
She also has vowed to slash the maximum time Brits have their benefits sanctioned for – from three years down to six months.
“While necessary for the integrity of the system, I believe long financial sanctions become much less valuable over time, and ultimately undermine our aim to help people into work.
“That is why we will reduce the length of the maximum sanction to six months to make them more proportionate, and why I have already launched an evaluation to consider further improvements we can make.”
Margaret Greenwood MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary,responding to the announcement said:
“Labour has long been calling for the government to scrap its punitive sanctions regime.
“Six months is still a very long time to leave someone without any income at all. It is not just the individual who is affected, but their family too.
“There is clear evidence that sanctions and excessive conditionality do not help people into sustained employment. They also cause stress and anxiety for many and are one of the key reasons that people ask for help at food banks.
Katie Schmuecker, head of policy and partnerships at the independent Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), said:
“We know it’s not right that more people are working but find themselves locked in poverty. We welcome the Secretary of State’s vision to create better jobs and to help people get on at work.
“In-work poverty is the biggest challenge facing our economy and for millions of families, low pay has become the norm rather a stepping stone to well-paid work and economic security: five out of six workers fail to escape low paid jobs over a ten year period. So it’s vital on government and businesses work together to end this injustice and ensure work helps families build a better life.
“The government could go further by making changes to Universal Credit so it acts a public service that supports people to get on at work. And we need to see a more ambitious approach to places where low employment and low pay are widespread. This should be the job of the Shared Prosperity Fund – a manifesto commitment, which has been delayed by over a year.”
