Reform UK has unveiled plans requiring benefits claimants to clean up their local communities and do charity work or face being stripped of their benefits. Robert Jenrick, the party’s Treasury spokesperson, said the long-term unemployed would have to work 20 hours a week scrubbing high streets, carrying out minor repairs and “beautifying neglected places”. The scheme would be run by local councils, and those who do not accept work placements will have their funding cut.
Welfare to work scheme
The policy forms part of Reform’s “welfare to work” scheme, which also includes stopping foreign nationals claiming almost any benefits in a bid to cut £50 billion from Britain’s welfare bill. Personal independence payments (Pip), paid to some disabled people, and the health element of Universal Credit for working-age adults would be abolished.
Mr Jenrick told an event in Central London on Monday “those taking everyone else for mugs, under a Reform government, it’s going to stop”. He said: “They’ll work to clean up high streets and parks, to beautify neglected places, to carry out minor repairs, to staff libraries and community centres to perform many other tasks from the list that we’ve published today.”
Penalties for refusal
“We’ll also embrace local charities and community groups and ask them to help us and take part. If claimants refuse to participate or fail to show up, they’ll face penalties. Let me speak very plainly. If people who are capable of work refuse, then they’ll get nothing. That’s fair.”
Since the pandemic there has been a significant rise in the number of people claiming benefits in the capital. There are some 201,000 more working-age Londoners relying on unemployment benefits than in 2019, bringing the total to 349,500 people across the city, according to research by Trust for London.
Foreign nationals and Brexit
The ban on foreign nationals claiming benefits would include European Union (EU) nationals with settled status in the UK, Mr Jenrick said. This would require renegotiating the UK's Brexit deal with the EU and could potentially result in British expatriates losing equivalent rights. Reform claimed the policy would save £21 billion a year by its fifth year.
“The British taxpayer is acting as the welfare state for the world. That is unfair,” Mr Jenrick said. But Labour insisted the "vast majority" of migrants have no access to benefits. Pro-EU campaign group Best for Britain also argued that denying benefits to those with indefinite leave to remain would tear up the UK’s EU withdrawal agreement.
Executive director of policy, Tom Brufatto, said: “Our polling shows that people do want to renegotiate our relationship with Europe, but by moving closer, not by damaging ties with vital allies and punishing our neighbours, colleagues and friends who have settled status here.”
Sir Mel Stride, shadow chancellor, said: “I introduced reforms to cut the sprawling welfare budget after the pandemic by reducing the numbers on long term benefits and radically overhauling PIP. Labour called them 'divisive' and scrapped all of them, allowing the benefits bill to continue spiralling. Robert Jenrick hailed my reforms for making the system fairer and enabling us to cut taxes responsibly. Reform continue to flip flop like they did on the two child benefit cap, and their fantasy numbers are simply not plausible.”
