Value for Money savings programme forecast scrutinised
‘Progress with VFM Savings and Lessons for Cost Reduction Programmes: HM Treasury’ (HC 291) reports that the forecast made by government departments to save £35 billion between 2008-09 and 2010-11 is not viable.
The National Audit Office (NAO) concludes that HM Treasury's design addressed some weaknesses in earlier savings programmes, and departments have made some progress in their management of their programmes compared with previous spending periods.
Department aims to reduce incapacity benefit claimants
By 2015, the Department for Work and Pensions aims to lower the number of people claiming incapacity benefits by one million, as ‘Support to Incapacity Benefits Claimants Through Pathways to Work’ (HC 21) reports.
The report suggests that the Department’s Pathways to Work scheme has had a limited effect on reducing the number of claimants and has turned out to provide poor value for money.
Department for Work and Pensions must reduce benefit overpayments
'Department for Work and Pensions: Management of Benefit Overpayment Debt' (HC 444) examines the action the Department for Work and Pensions is taking to tackle overpayment and stem the rising trend in benefit debt; improve its knowledge of its client base; and set realistic targets to improve debt collection and improve write-off.
The Department has increased cash recoveries from £180 million in 2005-06 to £281 million in 2008-09. However, yet again, evidence proves that the Department needs to significantly improve how it makes benefit payments. The total amount of money owed to the Department as the result of benefit overpayments is now £1.85 billion and is rising as recoveries are not keeping pace with the increase in referrals.
Progress in tackling benefit fraud considered
Benefit fraud is a crime and undermines public confidence in the benefits system. In 2006-07, the Department for Work and Pensions (the Department) estimated that it spent £154 million on tackling fraud, identifying £106 million of overpaid benefit against total benefit expenditure of £120 billion.
This Report from the Committee of Public Accounts, 'Progress in Tackling Benefit Fraud' (HC 323), examines the progress made by the Department in tackling benefit fraud. It follows a January 2008 National Audit Office Report on the same topic.
Government outlines Equality plan
A substantial body of equality legislation has been introduced over the last four decades but such legislation has become complex and difficult to understand.
This publication, 'Framework for a Fairer Future - The Equality Bill (Cm. 7431)', sets out the Government's aims for the forthcoming Equality Bill, which will simplify and strengthen the law and introduce a new Equality Duty on the public sector.
Changes to post-19 skills system proposed
The changing nature of the world economy makes increasing participation in education and training an urgent necessity. In the system for young people, responsibility and accountability is given to local authorities for the whole 14-19 age range. They will provide a place in learning for every young person through strategic commissioning.
This consultation paper, 'Raising Expectations: Enabling the System to Deliver' (Cm. 7348), sets out the Government's proposals for supporting participation and achievement for young people and reforming the post-19 skills system to secure better outcomes for adults.
Health of the working population reviewed
Around 175 million working days were lost to illness in 2006. Some 7% of the working-age population is workless and receiving benefits because of long-term health conditions or disabilities. This represents a significant cost to the economy - in cost of benefits, healthcare, forgone taxes, lost production, sickness absence, informal care - estimated at between £103 and £129 billion.
This Review from Dame Carol Black (the National Director for Health and Work), 'Working for a Healthier Tomorrow', establishes the first baseline for the health of the working population. Its vision for health and work in Britain is based on three principal objectives: prevention of illness and promotion of health and well-being; early intervention for those who develop a health condition; and an improvement in the health of those out of work.
Full employment plans revealed
This White Paper from the Department of Work and Pensions
'Ready
for Work: Full Employment in Our Generation (Cm. 7290)' sets out the
Government's strategy for moving people from being passive recipients of
benefits to becoming active in seeking and preparing for work.
Welfare and skills reforms explained
This Paper, ‘Opportunity,
Employment and Progression: Making Skills Work’ (Cm. 7288), examines the
case for reform of welfare and skills provisions in England.
Work patterns in the UK analysed
This National Audit Office Report, ‘Local Labour
Market Analysis’ (HC 33), considers the patterns of work and worklessness in
the United Kingdom, with an analysis on national, regional and local level.
Full employment and world class skills
challenges
This Report, 'Full
Employment and World Class Skills: Responding to the Challenges' (HC 939),
looks at plans to improve the co-ordination of employment and skills
policies.
Jobcentre Plus performance evaluated
Jobcentre Plus is an executive agency of the Department for
Work and Pensions, supporting people of working age from welfare into work, and
helping employers to fill their vacancies.
This publication
‘Jobcentre Plus Annual Report and Accounts 2006-2007’
(HC 712) evaluates the agency’s performance and success in delivering key
objectives.
Highly skilled migrants immigration rights
examined
This Report
‘Highly
Skilled Migrants: Changes to Immigration Rules’ (HL 173/HC 993) examines
the changes made to the Immigration Rules in 2006, in the light of the impact
on the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme.
Modernising European Union labour law
In its Green Paper about the need for labour market reform,
the European Commission (EC) argued that the increasing diversity of 21st
century working relationships means that existing labour law is no longer
adequate.
Progress in tackling pensioner poverty
This Report from the House of Commons Committee of Public
Accounts
‘Department
for Work and Pensions: progress in tackling pensioner poverty - encouraging
take-up of entitlements’ (HC 169 2006-07) examines efforts by the
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to increase the take-up of benefits by
pensioners and looks at the reasons for unclaimed entitlements, the progress
that has been made in encouraging the take-up of benefits since 2003 and the
scope for further improvement.
UK minimum wage to rise to £5.52
In this report,
'National
Minimum Wage' (Cm. 7056), the Low Pay Commission recommends a 3.2% increase
in the minimum wage for adults to £5.52 in October 2007, which is a moderate
increase compared with the past two years.
Security in Retirement: Responses to the
consultation process
Over the next 50 years, demographic changes will mean only
two people in employment for every one person in retirement. The UK pensions
system needs to be reformed to ensure long-term sustainability.
'Ageism' in the workplace now unlawful
This Statutory Instrument (SI) came into force on October
1st 2006. The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 make 'ageism' -
discrimination on the grounds of age - unlawful and have been described as the
most significant revision of employment law in 30 years.
Only 56 % of calls to DWP call centres
answered
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) delivers
benefits, pensions and employment services to 28 million customers in Britain.
In 2004-05, the DWP spent £190 million using contact centres to provide
customer services.
Following a National Audit Office (NAO) report
'Delivering
Effective Services through Contact Centres' (HC 941), the Committee has
examined the cost-effectiveness, accessibility and quality of customer services
provided.
"Banking the unbanked": promoting financial
inclusion
Financial exclusion can impose significant costs on
individuals and be a barrier to employment and enterprise.
Many people
are still facing problems in opening basic bank accounts and operating them to
maximise their value.
Jobcentre Plus personal advisers 'positive impact'
This Report examines the use of personal advisers by
Jobcentre Plus, including whether they are effective in helping people into
work. Independent research cited in the Paper suggests that the use of personal
advisers has resulted in greater numbers of people coming off benefits.
Next steps to full employment
This Green Paper
‘In
Work, Better Off: Next steps to full employment’ (Cm. 7130) sets out to
deliver a step change in the employment and skills support offered by the
Government to those who are most disadvantaged in the labour market.
Progress in tackling benefit fraud
This Report
'Progress
in Tackling Benefit Fraud (HC 102)', sets out some key facts about benefit
fraud and reviews progress made since the 2003 report
'Tackling
Benefit Fraud (HC 393)'.
More job retention support for disabled needed
In 2004, of the 6.7 million disabled people of working age
in Britain, 50 per cent were in employment compared to 75 per cent of the
working age population as a whole.
Barriers preventing many disabled
people from taking up a job include employer attitudes and misconceptions, lack
of awareness of support available, health conditions, local labour market
factors and a lack of adjustments to work premises.