Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, has declared that Labour must stop “simply writing a cheque” for health and disability benefit claimants and instead provide more job support. Speaking to the Guardian during a visit to a jobcentre in south London, McFadden said the government was preparing a renewed welfare reform effort focused on encouraging people with health conditions to enter the workforce.
Government owes more than handouts
“I don’t believe government fulfils its responsibilities simply by writing a cheque. I think we owe people more than that,” McFadden stated. He emphasised that for those who can never work, the system must always be there, but for others, the government must help them change their situation.
The comments come as ministers await final recommendations from two major reviews: Alan Milburn’s report on youth worklessness and Stephen Timms’s review of disability benefits. Both have already identified deep-rooted problems in the welfare system.
Pip system ‘not working’
The Timms review, in its interim report last week, concluded that the personal independence payment (Pip), claimed by nearly 4 million people in England and Wales, was “not working” and called for bold, radical proposals. Meanwhile, the first phase of the Milburn review in late May urged a “whole system reset” involving welfare, schools, and employers to address the rise in young people not in work or education, now over 1 million.
McFadden, who commissioned both reviews, said work on the government response is already underway in anticipation of the final reports this autumn. “Even before they’ve reported, I’m already speaking to the Department for Education and the Department for Health. We’re going to have to respond to this as a government,” he said.
Changing the welfare question
“It’s my job to put together a plan, a proposal, that changes the question of the welfare state from simply asking, ‘what benefits are you entitled to?’, to asking, ‘how can we help you live the fullest life?’” McFadden added.
The government previously attempted a £5bn package of cuts but was forced into a partial U-turn after a backbench rebellion. McFadden hinted that Labour could stage a fresh attempt at overhauling the system, despite tight public finances and a rising welfare bill due to spiralling health-related benefit caseloads.
Welfare reform a priority for Burnham
Questions are mounting about how Labour will respond before Andy Burnham is expected to become prime minister next week. McFadden has been floated by some Labour MPs as a candidate for chancellor, but he suggested he is focused on his current role. “This is an agenda for all seasons,” he said, “because the Labour party should always believe in opportunity and work.”
The government also announced that its Pathways to Work scheme now supports 100,000 people on the highest level of health-related benefits – limited capability for work and work-related activity. The scheme provides no-strings-attached support to help claimants gain confidence to engage in the jobs market.
Meeting work coaches and people with health conditions at Kennington jobcentre, McFadden said the programme showed the need to offer more employment support. “You have to invest in the support. In the past, people have been signed off [on benefits] and written off. That has – as we’ve heard from this morning’s group – often led to people feeling isolated, depressed, their condition becoming worse, not better,” he concluded.
