ULTRASIS - ONWARDS AND UPWARDS

part of john Huttons speech on the 19th.... .Welfare has to be built on a coalition of public support. You simply can't have a welfare state without consequences.

We know there is a small group of benefit claimants without the major physical or health barriers to work associated with Incapacity Benefit – who live in areas where there is no shortage of vacancies, particularly for low-skilled jobs but who nonetheless remain on benefits for long periods of time.

This is a key group on which we now need to focus our attention. The vast majority of claimants want to get back to work and take active steps to improve their lives and are keen to get off benefits as soon as possible. And yet we know that the problem of benefit dependency remains a very real one for others, consigning them and their families to poverty.

So we must be prepared to look at all the options for reform. Ten years on it is time to refresh our approach to the New Deal. We need to be prepared to offer individuals more help and support; to better understand how to intervene with individuals on JSA that have mild mental health or alcohol related problems. We need to address basic skills deficiencies with job seekers so that they are not a barrier to sustaining and progressing through the workplace.

But if we are to break the cycle of benefit dependency, we need to ask whether we should expect more from those who remain on JSA for long periods of time in return for the help we provide. More active steps to get back into the labour market. More involvement in programmes that could increase the prospect of getting a job. And for those who won't do so, then there should be consequences, including less benefit or no benefit at all.

Our welfare reforms must confront head-on the “Can work - won't work” culture in our country and ensure benefit claimants can compete for jobs alongside growing numbers of migrants who arrive in Britain specifically to look for work rather than to settle for the long term.