CONservatives: Jobs and Welfare
Post Categories: Flexible New Deal • Welfare Reform
Tags: con-servatives, Conservatives, jobs and welfare
Lets have a quick look at the published Con-servative Policy on “Jobs and Welfare”… step by step criticisms from the content on their website, and link to more criticism.
As quoted from the official Conservative website:
Getting Britain Working
Our big bold plan to Get Britain Working will tackle Labour’s jobs crisis, creating hundreds of thousands of new opportunities to help people move from unemployment back into work.
Central to our plan to Get Britain Working is The Work Programme – simplifying Labour’s numerous and piecemeal programmes into one single back-to-work programme for everyone who is unemployed, including the 2.6 million people claiming Incapacity Benefits currently excluded by Labour’s plans. Support will be provided based on an individual’s needs rather than the benefit that they are claiming.
We will also offer greater support to the young unemployed by referring them on to the Work Programme after six months of unemployment compared to a year under the Flexible New Deal.
The Work Programme will be delivered by private and voluntary providers, who will only be paid when someone gets and keeps a job.
Work Programme providers will be able to draw on a range of Service Academies to offer pre-employment training for unemployed people – our first Service Academy, for hospitality and leisure, will provide up to 50,000 training places and work placements.
The Work Programme will be paid for by reallocating funding from Labour’s New Deals, Train to Gain and other failing Labour schemes.
A Conservative government will also end the couple penalty in the tax credit system as we make savings from our welfare reform plans.
- I assume “Get Britain Working” is one of their manifesto campaign policies – some rather poor English used unless used as a pun which wouldnt be very appropriate in all seriousness
- “Labour’s jobs crisis”? For anyone who has no understanding of this Country’s Governance… Con-servatives are Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition (the political party with the second largest number of seats). The Government is the party with the largest number of seats. Although Con-servatives didn’t have a majority in the last/current Parliament they had a major impact in Parliament’s both houses. Many laws were created by Con-servative MP’s. It isn’t all that clean cut… its not solely Labour Vs Con-servatives although made out to be, many laws and proposals (Bills) have support from several different political parties and independent MPs. An example is that Con-servatives were in favour of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We can play the blame game, but for a political party with the second majority and the opposition, had just as much blame in the “jobs crisis” as Labour (who suck by the way, this isn’t a pro-Labour article). They chose not to implement any laws etc. to protect jobs, thats not solely the purpose of a Government (majority party), the whole concept of an opposition party is to ensure debate of real issues that matter to the people of the UK including ensuring plugging holes left by the Government. If Labour failed (and they did) Con-servatives should have highlighted the problem and solved them. They didn’t. They failed too.
- Some credit to Labour… they are slowly making progress of trying to move away from the one-size-fits all “solution”. Flexible New Deal is an example of this, many people have raised concerns about its effectiveness but I have to judge thats its atleast a minor improvement over New Deal as far as the stick everyone in a room to do the same stuff is concerned.
Con-servatives want to reverse this slow “progress” (I understand those on FND will hate the fact of providers having sanction powers etc. and longer duration so wont see it as progress) and go back to the one-size-fits-all method which Labour has finally realised didn’t work. I assume that perhaps Labour got this method from a previous Con-servative Government. But, whats more? Con-servative claims to provide support on individual needs rather than benefit claimed (although I understood everyone would be forced on Jobseekers Allowance).
So surely this is now a renamed “Flexible New Deal” – the one scheme… so-called individual needs and support. Of course, some parts are still on New Deal at current (but FND by the time this is proposed to take effect) and doesn’t apply to other benefits. Con-servatives stated they might tear up Flexible New Deal contracts and rewrite them. Perhaps this is what they will be doing.
- Young unemployed people are fast tracked at 6 months. Fact! 12 months is the default time for 25+. This isn’t even a clever change – just misinformed… someone didn’t do their homework and the posh twats can’t really complain with their high level of education (the same can’t be said with the standards or more to the point lack of common sense).
- “The Work Programme” will not be solely paid by results. Labour tried that almost on Flexible New Deal… A4e and the like complained and negotiated a top-heavy Service Fee.
- “Service Academy”….. what the fuck?! Wake up Duh-Vid Cam-Moron! Up to 50,000 work placements in hospitality… thats crap compared to the old “failed” Labour New Deal scheme
- Clever but silly? If I won a tender for a contract of x years, financed the scheme around it, I would be suing if the contract is terminated prematurely. If the scheme is renamed and the financial implications are the same then change can be adapted to possibly with some financially incentive for the cost of rebranding. Results in greater expenditure of taxpayers money.
Support for the unemployed
During Labour’s recession, unemployment rose by some of the highest increases on record. Even though the recession is over, the Government predicts unemployment will continue to rise so we need to give people even more help to get back into work. So we will introduce four new programmes to supplement the Work Programme to help Get Britain Working again:
Youth Action for Work. To give young people the skills they need to get a sustainable job for the future, over two years we will fund 200,000 apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships, 100,000 work pairings and 100,000 further education college places.
Work for Yourself. We will build a network of business mentors and offer substantial loans to would-be entrepreneurs, supporting self-employment and franchising as a route back into work.
Work Together. We will establish Work Together, a programme to connect people with volunteering opportunities in their area.
Work Clubs. We will provide the seed funding needed to establish a network of Work Clubs, places where people receive mentoring, skills training and help to find local job opportunities.10,000 new university places. Demographic pressures and high youth unemployment mean that thousands of young people with good exam results risk missing out on going to university because of an acute shortage of places. A Conservative government will address this problem by creating an extra 10,000 university places this year. We will fund the cost of this by giving graduates an incentive to repay their student loan debts to the taxpayer ahead of schedule.
Abolishing tax on new jobs. As part of our plan to Get Britain Working, we will abolish tax on the jobs created by new businesses in the first two years of a Conservative Government. Any new business started in the first two years of a Conservative government will pay no Employers’ National Insurance on the first ten employees it hires during its first year. The tax break will encourage new entrepreneurs and is predicted to generate around 60,000 additional jobs over two years. Clear and simple rules will ensure that the jobs created are genuinely new.
- Are these places ring fenced for unemployed people or are the apprenticeships open for school leavers etc. too and promoted as an unemployment policy when is an education policy?
- Bunch of bullshit. Entrepreneurs is about a business of having a lame start-up capital of say £3000 max. No business ever makes it big. yes, Tesco started off small, market stall in fact, but it was loans and investments including selling shares and gaining capital which made it big. Not reinvesting profits from a market stall. Franchising is clever, but failed attempt. Only a crap franchise is cheap. Any of the “big boys” in like fast food etc. wants atleast £500,000 to setup a small restaurant and £250,000 of that must be your bank balance while the rest can be bank loans or other investors. Of course, you wont be setting up a McDs or anything that large.
Any decent franchise including exclusive rights for an area (excludes the selling door-2-door nonsense) on a small scale is likely to be £20,000 minimum excluding capital expenditure etc. Whats more all franchises that I am aware of DEMAND decent references (its their brand you will be messing with)… so references for jobs are minor in comparison. Difficult to terminate a franchisee but easy to let go an employee. I can guarantee that any reputable non-desperate franchise owner would rather hit liquidation than give a franchise to an longterm unemployed person.
- I thought Con-servatives were sticking everyone into a single programme… this is another one… that makes two! Atleast….
- “Work Clubs” will be a pointless exercise of meeting someone twice a month minimum to talk about being unemployed. Basically, Armstrong Learning etc. are offering a mentoring system alongside New Deal and Flexible New Deal. The difference is, these mentors will be sign posting people…. basically thats what Flexible New Deal scheme is about and so the same for the “single programme” renamed scheme – why a duplication? I assume “Work Clubs” are open to 18-24 year olds under 6 months and 25+ year olds under 12 months. Why not open one of the schemes to all without the wait?
- How do you increase university places? Ideas on a postcard please (apart from building new or extending existing universities)
- How does cutting Employers NI help the unemployed? This isn’t abolishing tax on new jobs… if employers cant afford their NI bill then they don’t really have the cash flow to take a person on. Its these minor incentives which is partly to blame for people losing jobs – especially when applying this to NEW businesses because most new businesses take a couple of years to breakeven. This is a lack of job security. One seasonal variation to sales etc. or disaster (including circumstances out of your control like the volcanic ash which closed down flights for days) is enough to knock the business out of business resulting in lost jobs. Banks are unlikely to help out small, new and unstable businesses in the start-up stage – its growth (Actual – not just projected) and assets they look for.
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“Get Britain Working” was not the sun newspaper the first with this non starter,they seem intent on the slavery option attempting forcing people into workfare.
“volunteering opportunities” these are already full with the new deal/community service and in this area at least are in short supply,the idea was to provide a work reference but that didnt work at least for me,the “placement” was full of unrest the manager was forced to quit which was not surprising given the unpopularity at a staff meeting,the job centre waded in accusing me of getting involved with the “politics of the store” which was ridiculous forgetting they stuck me there in the first place ” as part of a “team”,a total waste of time that amounted to little more the contempt/bullying.
its little surprise new deal has fallen flat on its face,and should have been scrapped at the earliest opportunity.
1. Claim Dole.
2. Get sanctioned.
3. See your GP about the resultant malnourishment from not being able to afford food.
4. Get signed off sick due to not being able to buy food.
5. Get found able to work…
This is the future of the stupid capitalist system. I’m surprised there ahevn’t been stories like this where people have reported to thier gp they can’t afford food and are thus ill. We are fast sliding into the third world, never mind recession.
Capitalism is the problem: the poor and indeed much of the working class are pushed and pulled by the tides of boom and bust capitlist fraught economics. Yet they get the blame when the tide goes out and the jobs dry up. Our overlords then take a blinkered view and blame the individual in such myopic terms that it’s hard to see how they can function as leaders. Meanwhile the wealthy funnel money out the system – legally too (I would never suggest that rich people commit fraud!) – commiting far far worse than any benefit cheat. Yet time and again it’s the dole scum that get the blame. Community service won’t solve this ever.
Shit has got to change.
Well thats the way it is going martin. All you can do is fight but on terms of community service I urge you to complain, complain and complain. Complain to the MP, Complain to DWP, Complain to independent case examiner, Complain to the local union office tuc, ucatt etc etc, stating that you fear being put on workfare as you feel you will be abused and state the recent studies that say it is bad for the workers, drop in living standards and it has been used to breakstrikes before now in america. and in amsterdam dutch women have been workfared into prostitution or they loose their benefits. GO FIGURE
I haven’t been compelled into this (yet). The JC did once ‘suggest’ work experience (which tbh is something they’ve always ‘encouraged’ and isn’t really much different). When I asked about how much i’d get paid they just laughed. How naive of me to assume that work of any stripe should be properly renumerated.
What we need, as benefit scum, is a central forum to discuss these issues. So far i’ve found nothing. I’m really dreading watching the LibDems capitulate to the Tory ‘majority’ over the next few days.
Kyron: SCENARIO: If Workfare takes the form of emviromental clean-ups, painting community centres etc then the unemployed will be doing ths same work as a criminal sentenced to Community Payback/Service.
You haven’t committed a crime, so why should you have to do the same work?
Article 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998 clearly states “you have an absolute right not to treated as a slave or forced to perform certain kinds of labour”.
So you would be prefectly justified to refuse to perform the kind of labour currently undertaken by criminals sentenced to Community Payback/Sevice.
Sadly semantics and legalese will get around such inconveniences: it won’t be ‘labour’ it will be ‘training’.
The name of the game is DISRUPTION. We have have to anything and everything to delay it and hinder it’s operation. Make it more difficult and ultimately more expensive for which ever scum bag of a provider gets the contract.
This is the message those sentenced to Workfare need to take on board.
That idiot IDS has been shooting off his mouth. Here are some of the replies the guardian published
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/28/problems-getting-welfare-to-work
CAN I encourage all readers of this site that sign on. Play a bit of emotional warfare against FND Providers and workfare. Give them feedback on how goodor crap your provider is and don’t forget to ram the fact that these third party providers will still have jobs as thy are private. How many of their colleagues will hae a job at the end of the year. tell them about backdoor privatisation. The more civil servants you get on your side the better especially when you tell them they are being privatised through the back door