What we know about Labour's employment plans to slash benefits
Here's what we know about 'the biggest reform to employment support for a generation'
People who "can work, must work" Liz Kendall has warned, as the government unveiled the biggest reforms to employment support for a generation.
Work and pensions secretary Kendall positioned Labour as "the party of work" as she outlined the government's new 'Get Britain Working' proposals to MPs in the House of Commons.
The plans detail a £240m "radical reform" of services to help more people into work as part of plans to slash the benefits bill.
It includes cash to tackle spiralling NHS waiting lists; skills training for young people at the Premier League; and a wholesale rebrand of job centres.
The announcement comes as figures show almost one and a half million people are unemployed, and a record 2.8 million people are out of work due to long-term sickness. It said that young people have also been left behind, with one in eight young people not in education, employment or training.
Kendall told the Commons that people in the UK have weathered a "social crisis", which has been "paid for in the life chances and living standards of people right across this country."
The proposals form part of Labour's plans to cut the so-called 'bulging' benefits bill by £3bn by getting more people back into employment.
Here's what we know so far.
A 'youth guarantee'
The government's biggest priority is to get those young people not in employment, education or training an apprenticeship, training, or an education opportunity.
It wants to make sure "every young person has a real chance of either earning or learning".
It has pledged that every 18 to 21-year-old in England will get access to these under a new "youth guarantee".
This includes delivering teenagers skills training at the likes of the Premier League, Royal Shakespeare Company and Channel 4.
It will also invest £40m in a growth and skills levy to replace the apprenticeship levy. The more flexible program will deliver new and shorter apprenticeships for younger people in key sectors.
Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall has previously warned that young people will lose their benefits if they refuse to take up work and training opportunities. Kendall said claimants have a “responsibility” to engage with skills or employment programmes and will face sanctions if they refuse to do so.
Cash injection for 'trailblazer' regions
If you're from Yorkshire, the North East, or in a mayoral area, you're in luck.
The government will invest £125 million in eight areas across England and Wales, dubbed 'trailblazer regions'.
Mayors in those regions will be handed the cash to work on ways of joining up NHS treatment for the long-term sick with local employment and skills programmes.
This includes additional funding for the NHS in three of the trailblazer areas — the North East, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire — to stop people falling out of work completely because of ill health.
These three areas will receive a share of £45 million for dedicated input from the local NHS Integrated Care System (ICS) — where medical, psychological and social services can be delivered from one place.
They will all have a set of agreed outcomes, shared governance and a commitment to robust evaluation and learning.
Plans will be developed by mayoral authorities where they exist – and by local authorities where they don't.
Job centres will be renamed
For jobseekers, job centres will be rebranded in the shake-up as the National Jobs and Careers Service.
The revamp was allocated £55m in the Budget to kick-start the ambitious reforms.
The centres will be "transformed" from a "one-size-fits-all benefits administration service" into a national jobs, employment and careers service.
The government said the service will offer a “more personalised” approach, and move away from a ‘tick box’ culture.
Instead of just monitoring benefits, they will offer more tailored support, such as CV advice and AI help with finding suitable openings.
'Connect to Work' scheme
The government will also provide £115 million in funding next year for local areas across England and Wales to deliver a new employment programme called the 'Connect to Work' scheme.
It will provide voluntary employment offers to people with disabilities, health conditions or complex barriers to work.
The scheme will support up to 100,000 people a year.
Fixing the NHS and ill health
Another big focus is cutting NHS waiting lists at the 20 NHS trusts with the highest rates of unemployment.
"Given the strong evidence on the health benefits of good work, extra capacity will be deployed to reduce waiting lists in 20 NHS Trusts across England with the highest levels of economic inactivity," the government said.
"Rather than writing people off, our reforms target and tackle the root causes behind why people are not working, joining up help and support, based on the needs of local people and local places."
It will provide an additional £22.6 billion of resource spending in the next financial year to deliver an additional 40,000 more elective appointments — like non-urgent operations — a week.
This is part of its plan to ensure that patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from a referral to see a consultant.
It will also bring in an additional 8,500 new mental health staff and also expand access to Individual Placement and Support (IPS) for severe mental illness, to help people find a job that matches their interests, skills, and goals.
These measures aim to reach 140,000 more people by 2028/29.
The government also said it wants to have "a greater focus on preventing people becoming ill in the first place."
It will expand preventative health services like talking therapies for mentally struggling young people, a landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill, and a range of steps to tackle obesity.
An independent review of workplaces
There will be an independent review of what UK employers are doing to promote health and inclusive workplaces.
The review aims to find out how to keep more disabled people and those experiencing long-term sickness in work so that they can "benefit from a sense of dignity, purpose and financial independence".
