Whitehall Editor Jonathan Walker was in the room for the dramatic announcement
Reform UK Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick announced plans for a welfare-to-work scheme (Image: Getty)
Reform UK says it will save UK taxpayers £50billion through huge cuts to the benefits bill. There are two key parts to the scheme. One involves banning non-British citizens from receiving almost all working-age benefits. So that would mean no more Universal Credit or Jobseeker’s Allowance, among other things.
The second element is slashing the number of people getting disability benefits, such as Personal Independence Payments (PIP). Of 6.9million claimants now, only 2.16million would still get the same amount of money. But speaking at a press conference in London, Reform Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick announced a third massive change. I was one of the journalists there to hear him say that people claiming unemployment benefits for more than a year would be put to work.
He said: “There are more than 330,000 adults on Universal Credit capable of work, and who are supposed to be looking for it, which they have been reportedly doing so for more than 12 months.
“That can’t keep going on. If taxpayers must contribute, so must the able recipients of their support who can as well.
“I am therefore announcing that a Reform government will introduce a welfare-to-work scheme.”
It would mean claimants have to work for 20 hours each week in a scheme run by their local council, perhaps cleaning up high streets and parks, carrying out minor repairs to council houses or working in libraries and community centres. They could even help schools or social service departments, but only in “non-sensitive” roles that don’t involve working with children or people receiving care or accessing private information.
Anyone who refuses to carry out work could have their benefits cut or ended. But those who take part would get an extra £30 a week on top of their benefits, with the extra cash designed to cover expenses such as travel or food.
Anyone who gets a proper job would be free to quit the welfare-to-work scheme immediately. And the hope is that getting them into the habit of going to work and giving them something constructive to put on their CV will help them land a position.
In the past, both Labour and the Conservatives have promised similar schemes. Tories wanted young unemployed people to do community work.
Labour has traditionally opposed welfare-to-work schemes, but has promised a “jobs guarantee” in which unemployed people are given a compulsory job, meaning they can lose their benefits if they turn it down. Instead of working for the council, Labour’s scheme involves employers such as E.ON, JD Sports, Tesco, and TUI.
Could Reform’s proposal succeed in slashing the welfare bill where the other parties failed? We cannot know, but it’s safe to say many people who work and pay taxes, contributing to the benefits system, will feel it’s only fair that claimants work too if they can.