The government has announced big changes to job centres as it puts Labour’s Back to Work plans into practice. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has now committed to creating a new national jobs and career service to help get more people into work.
The move means that Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service will be merged. The DWP has also announced a new Youth Guarantee, promising more opportunities for training, an apprenticeship or help to find work for everyone aged 18 to 21 years old.
Regional mayors will also be given more powers to help disabled people and those with health conditions to enter and stay in work. It comes after Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham called for DWP funding for employment support to be devolved to local areas.
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Earlier this year, Liz Kendall, who is now the Work and Pensions Secretary, said that Greater Manchester is ‘leading the way’ with the Working Well programme after visiting two of its centres. The local scheme has helped more than 75,000 people in the last decade.
On her first visit as Secretary of State today (July 11), Ms Kendall will confirm the government’s commitment to Labour’s Back to Work plan. Joined by her ministerial team in Leeds, Ms Kendall will visit a job centre to see first-hand how they help people before meeting West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin on a visit to Smartworks, a charity providing interview clothes and training to unemployed women.
The visit comes days after the Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled the government’s first steps to securing sustained economic growth, saying that this is the only route to improving the prosperity of the country and the living standards of working people. Speaking ahead of the visit, Ms Kendall said rising levels of economic inactivity are unacceptable and that immediate action must be taken.
Currently, 9.4m people are economically inactive, a record 2.8m people are out of work due to long-term sickness, and 900,000 young people – one in eight – are not in education, employment, and training. The Labour Party has said ‘too many people’ are out of work.
Ahead of the visit, Ms Kendall said: “Growth is our number one mission and, as the Chancellor said, our Back to Work Plan is central to achieving our plans. “Economic inactivity is holding Britain back â itâs bad for people, itâs bad for businesses, and itâs bad for growth.
“Itâs not good enough that the UK is the only G7 country with employment not back to pre-pandemic levels. It is time for change in every corner of the country.
“Weâll create more good jobs, make work pay, transform skills, and overhaul jobcentres, alongside action to tackle the root causes of worklessness including poor physical and mental health. Change delivered by local areas for local people, driving growth and delivering opportunity and prosperity to everyone, wherever they live.”
Disability equality charity Scope has welcomed the government’s new plan. But it has encouraged the government to go further.
James Taylor, executive director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope, said: “The government has set out a positive vision.
“Tackling economic inactivity by addressing the root causes of ill health and NHS waiting lists, rather than demonising people who are too unwell to work, is a victory for common sense. Bringing in a localised approach is a key part of this – local advisers are best placed to advise on local opportunities for disabled people.
“We encourage the government to go further and address other significant barriers disabled people face, such as such as employersâ negative attitudes, inflexible working practices, and backlogs getting the right support. They must also reassure disabled people who arenât well enough to work that they wonât be forced into unsuitable jobs, or have vital financial support taken away.”
However, the Conservatives claim that welfare spending is still set to rise significantly despite Labour’s new plans to get people back to work . A Conservative Party spokesman said: “Unless action is taken, the working-age welfare bill will rise by more than ÂŁ20bn a year by the end of the decade. The Labour Party refused to match our measures to save billions of pounds from the welfare bill by the end of the next parliament. They must wake up to the fact that their approach on welfare will come at huge cost to the taxpayer.â
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