The Prime Minister said that private companies and charities would be offered new "incentives" for getting the long-term unemployed back to work and also pledged to close loopholes in the benefits system.
| ![Gordon Brown addresses the CBI conference](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vMKv7ntEAfyavPclhTerL5H5v-C_zZNFPQ9KJuUR-OK4o2DYInC3g40wl_NhzlWHuqbMlHXlV_kn79XFTGUEgaQKxEYUi_8O9fYsCXrq2KZhHFLzboKxfgfHf2sx_FoF9UmbqB=s0-d) | Mr Brown said companies would be offered incentives for getting the unemployed back to work
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Mr Brown's proposals came in a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) as he sought to regain the political initiative following his mauling last week. He also indicated to business leaders that the Government would push ahead with plans to expand Heathrow airport, build a new generation of nuclear power stations and streamline the planning system. "Let us face facts – as a result of changes in the global economy, many of the jobs British workers do now are becoming redundant," Mr Brown said "As we prepare and equip ourselves for the future, many of the policies of the past are out of date, with no answers to be found in old dogmas – and long-term reforms changing the role of education and welfare – the responsibilities of the individual and Government will have to intensify and be stepped up," he added. Peter Hain, the Work and Pensions Secretary, and John Denham, the Skills Secretary, later set out the details of the welfare overhaul. Mr Hain said that those out of work and claiming benefits will be forced to undertake a "skills health check" to identify deficiencies in basic numeracy, literacy or language needs. Those who need further training but refuse to undertake it will face cuts in benefits. There will also be a major push to get lone parents and those claiming incapacity benefit back to work and changes to benefit rules to allow people to study without losing state handouts. The Prime Minister said there would be an "intensification" of compulsion in the benefits system in future but also greater incentives for taking part. However, the most controversial part of the package is expected to be plans to encourage the private sector and charities to run back-to-work programmes. Firms succeeding in getting the long-term unemployed back into work will receive bonuses. The plans were immediately attacked by trade unions. A spokeswoman for Unison said: "It is all very well for Gordon Brown to tell the bosses' union he is going to increase privatisation, but he must know that they are short on delivery and are only interested in lucrative contracts with no risks. "Study after study shows that the private sector does not deliver good value for money and walks away from contracts when the going gets tough." Recent statistics have shown a fall in the number of British people in work and the country faces a growing problem with teenagers who are out of both work and education. Mr Brown warned yesterday that Britain faced a growing skills shortage unless the problem is addressed urgently. "Of today's six million unskilled workers, we will soon need only half a million – over five million fewer," he said. "We have nine million highly-qualified workers in Britain, but the challenge of the next 10 years is that we will need 14 million – five million more." Following recent disquiet about the scrapping of taper relief on capital gains tax, Mr Brown also used his appearance at the CBI conference to tell business leaders that he would continue to "listen and discuss" concerns about it.
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3 comments:
Thanks for the links to the Telegraph article and for posting about it on this blog.
I shared my views in the comments section of the Telegraphy bloggy thing.
I dont know what good it will do because the Telegraph have not published mine ...But hell who cares I tried and they are only glorified blue barbed bloggers anyway......
"Outlaw US Insurance multinational driving U.K Government welfare policy"
"07 Nov 2007 by jase"
"On Tuesday 6th November, the BBC Ten Oclock news broadcast a report about the massive US multinational UnumProvident and how it is driving UK welfare reform policy. Fronted by the Secret Policeman investigative journalist, Mark Daly: the report uncovered documents from Unum in the UK boasting that they were, and are, influencing Government policy. Policies influenced included the assessment of ability to work, the ending of G.Ps sicknotes and the Welfare Reform Act. The insurance giant has been described in the US as a an outlaw company that for years has operated in an illegal fashion. and been accused of racketeering and cheating tens of thousands of insured Americans out of their claims. Currently a BBC Scotland programme and a Radio 4 programme on the issue are planned."
http://tinyurl.com/2vqj2l
"Now, to understand the sequence of events, you can Read the Case file of UNUM?s massive cheats as they unfolded, or Read the Lawsuit as filed against UNUM for Racketeering, Extortion, and Murder. You can also Download the Zip file of the suit since this is a very large page"
http://tinyurl.com/ynnhxs
"Errors block benefits to disabled"
"Almost 80,000 sick and disabled people a year are being wrongly denied benefits, according to a BBC investigation for Radio Five Live."
"The investigation found that some handwritten medical reports were altered so that the meaning was completely changed, while in other cases a computer-based medical questionnaire produced misleading or nonsensical information."
"In another part of the report, the doctor had originally said that she was able to walk 30 metres. The "3" had later been turned into an "8", thereby making it less likely that she would be awarded DLA."
"The BBC approached Atos Origin for a response to the criticisms of its medical reporting but the company has declined to comment."
http://tinyurl.com/32zxrn
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