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Welfare: On the Road to nowhere?
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Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:

Dec 16, 2015

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Page 1: Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:

Welfare: On the Road to nowhere?

Page 2: Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:

Ballooning benefits?• £190billion spend on benefits• 1/3 of all public spending• Bigger than defence and educationBut:• £110billion on pensions• £100billion collected in national insurance• Benefits spend is 13% of GDP, was reducing to

2008

Page 3: Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:

Welfare reform• Overall, public spending is being

reduced 08-16 by 13.5%• More than half of this reduction is

being taken from benefits and local government

• £20Billion cut from welfare benefits/tax credits spend by 2016

Page 4: Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:

Double/triple whammy?• £6billion through flatlining• £7.5billion Family benefits• £7Billion disability benefits• £2billion housing benefits

Page 5: Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:

The “poverty premium”Stagnating wage levelsRising living costsShrinking social protection• families with a child under five have,

on average, lost 30% more of their disposable income than those with no children.

Page 6: Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:

Hitting the poorest places hardest

Page 7: Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:

• Britain’s older industrial areas, a number of seaside towns and some London boroughs are hit hardest.

• Blackpool is hit worst of all UK places – an estimated loss of more than £900 a year for every adult of working age in the town.

Page 8: Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:

• A key effect of the welfare reforms will be to widen the gaps in prosperity between the best and worst local economies across Britain.

• the worst-hit local authority areas lose around four times as much, per adult of working age, as the authorities least affected by the reforms.

Page 9: Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:
Page 10: Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:
Page 11: Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:

Impacts in Lancashire• £360M loss of income, impact on local

economy• Disability Living Allowance: 7K losers • Employment Support Allowance: 14K

losers• Child and family benefits: 150K losers

Page 12: Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:

Examples of impact• Young job seeker, hit by car while

cycling to JC+ appointment. Benefit sanctioned.

• Pregnant woman, missed ESA appt came off of benefit, ended up sleeping in the goods entrance to Farmfoods.

Page 13: Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:

Universal Credit• Universal Credit. Budgeted to cost

more but issues such as:– Direct payment of rent– Monthly payments– Tougher job-seeking rules and sanctions– Fewer “cliff edges”, better work incentives– simplification

Page 14: Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:

Future changes?• Housing Benefit abolished for U25s?• Universal benefits, eg winter fuel

payments, means tested?• Child Benefit.• Pensions. Flat rate and raised

retirement age.• Employment Support

Allowance/JobSeekers Allowance scrapped?

Page 15: Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:

Myth v reality• Benefit fraud at an all time low• Restrictions on benefits for “people

from abroad” at an all time high• “worklessness” untypical• ½ million families used foodbanks in

past year• Poor people pay more in tax

Page 16: Welfare: On the Road to nowhere? Ballooning benefits? £190billion spend on benefits 1/3 of all public spending Bigger than defence and education But:

Jim’s manifesto• Policy based on fact not myth• Encourage rewarding work• Encourage social cohesion• Declare war on poverty• Declare war on inequality