Shadow Employment Minister Stephen Timms has Slammed the Government's Welfare Reform Programme
- 02 Oct
Shadow Employment Minister Stephen Timms has Slammed the Government’s Welfare Reform Programme
Report from Inside Housing 02/10/2012Speaking at a fringe event at the Labour Party conference in Manchester (30 Sept - 4th Oct 2012) Mr Timms said that he believed that the universal credit project ‘is in a bit of a mess’.
‘The universal credit has been presented as a panacea and it simply won’t be,’ he added. ‘There is the potential that it can simplify the incentives that people are getting to work but a lot of that potential is being thrown away by cack-handed implementation.‘At the moment, ministers think they are on to a huge vote winner but the difficulties they are going to run into will change that.’
Mr Timms also criticised the coalition’s decision to remove council tax support from the universal credit. The universal credit is set to replace a range of existing benefit payments, including housing benefit, when it is introduced next October.
Mr Timms said that social security should have a ‘more contributory character’, adding that ‘a significant part of the problem is that when you pay in you do not get anything out.’
Earlier, shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne also said a future Labour government would have to ‘reinvent social security’ but he hit out at government proposals to set benefit caps on a national basis.
Mr Byrne told the Today programme that the cap should be set differently in different parts of the country, calling the coalition’s national limit ‘clumsy and politicised’.
Full article available here
Related articles
- 08 Nov
NHS BOSS SETS OUT A CASE FOR CASH BOOST
The speech by Mr Stevens at the NHS Providers' annual conference of health managers is being made at the time when three reputable health think-thanks- the Health Foundation, the King's Fund and the...
- 09 Jun
THERESA MAY PLEDGES TO REPLACE THE MENTAL HEALTH ACT 1983
According to Ms May, the new bill would introduce the following:According to the Tories, the proposals were described as the biggest change to mental health treatment law in over 30 years.Ms May...
- 30 May
THE PRESENT FIRST PRIME MINISTER OF SCOTLAND IS TO PLEDGE AGAINST ANY PLANS TO PRIVATISE THE NHS
It is also expected that Sturgeon will do the following as proof of her party's commitment to fighting against further austerity:Sturgeon said this before Tuesday's manifesto launch:"While the polls...
- 17 Mar
402 MILLION POUNDS WILL BE INVESTED IN COUNCILS WITH THE GREATEST HOMELESSNESS DEMAND FROM APRIL 2017
Presently, funding is only used for homeless households and not for the prevention of homelessness in the first instance.The funding by the Department for Communities and Local Government is set to...
- 15 Mar
RULES AROUND PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE PAYMENTS MAY CHANGE ON THURSDAY
Ministers have advised chief executives of over 30 charities which claimed that people will be left without vital financial support, to restrict access to a disability benefit.The Disability Benefits...
- 06 Mar
THE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN URGED BY THE BMA TO INCREASE HEALTH SPENDING BY 10 BILLION POUNDS
This increase in health spending to a proportion of GDP that matched that of the 10 leading economies across Europe could pay for at least 35,000 extra beds a day and many more GP's, according to the...
- 05 Sep
MANY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE REFUGES AT RISK OF CLOSING DUE TO HOUSING BENEFIT CAP
Women who have been victims of domestic violence as well as their children are at risk of falling into the hands of their violent partners if the government caps housing benefit in the social sector...
- 03 Sep
Data on disability benefits refused by DWP
DWP officials have refused a second request for basic information on disability benefits using the “Section 22” exemption they used previously, reports The Independent.The Department had been...
- 02 Sep
UN to investigate how welfare reforms will affect disability rights
A disability charity in Scotland has said it’s been contacted by the UN’s Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as part of an inquiry into Britain’s treatment of people with...
- 01 Sep
Benefit cuts affecting 48,500 families in Liverpool
Analysis from Liverpool City Council has found that around 48,500 households are likely to lose their benefits due to new government reforms, reports the Liverpool Echo. Councillor Jane Corbett has...
What are the Future Funding Arrangements for Supported and Sheltered Housing? "Another informative session provided by Support Solutions, excellent session" P.R. - Wrekin Housing Trust
