Getty ImagesPrime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has promised to get more people into work with reforms to overhaul job centres and more mental health funding.Sir Keir said the government had inherited a country that “isn’t working”, and the changes would tackle the biggest drivers of unemployment and inactivity.But many details of what the reforms will mean in practice have not been confirmed, and a review of sickness benefits will not begin until next year.The Conservatives said the proposals showed Labour was “not prepared to take the tough but necessary choices to bring down the benefits bill”.Businesses have also warned tax rises in the Budget will make it harder to hire more people.On Monday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves defended her decision to raise National Insurance on employers. She said despite “a lot of feedback” on her tax and spending plans, she had not heard many alternatives.The government has said young people must take up offers of a job or training, or lose their benefits, but it has not spelled out how such sanctions will work or when they will come into force.It has pledged to increase the employment rate to 80% from its current level of around 75%, which would mean around two million more people in work.The prime minister said the reforms would “put an end to the culture of blaming and shaming people who for too long haven’t been getting the support they need to get back to work”.On Tuesday, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall will announce funds to cut waiting lists at the 20 NHS trusts with the highest levels of economic inactivity, in a bid to get more people currently off sick back to work.She will also announce plans to expand mental health support and efforts to tackle obesity.In other measures to be unveiled: Every 18 to 21-year-old in England will get access to an apprenticeship, training or education opportunities or help to find a job as part of a new “Youth Guarantee” projectJob centres will be rebranded as the National Jobs and Careers ServiceThere will be an independent review of what UK employers are doing to promote health and inclusive workplaces The North East, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire will get more cash to stop people falling out of work because of ill healthGetting more people into work and equipping younger people with skills, is seen as essential to the government’s goal of boosting productivity and delivering growth.But it also does not want to be seen as a “soft touch” by some on welfare payments. Helen Whately, shadow secretary of state for work and pensions, said the government has “dodged the difficult decisions on sickness benefits, which are needed to make the welfare system sustainable in the long term”.While unemployment stands at almost 1.5 million, the number of people classed as economically inactive – not employed or actively looking for work – has jumped to more than nine million. It surged during Covid, but has remained persistently high since.Gary Wroe, managing director of Hockley Mint, a jewellery manufacturer in Birmingham, employs 98 people and take on a number of apprentices each year but Mr Wroe said the business would struggle to continue to recruit apprentices giv …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnGetty ImagesPrime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has promised to get more people into work with reforms to overhaul job centres and more mental health funding.Sir Keir said the government had inherited a country that “isn’t working”, and the changes would tackle the biggest drivers of unemployment and inactivity.But many details of what the reforms will mean in practice have not been confirmed, and a review of sickness benefits will not begin until next year.The Conservatives said the proposals showed Labour was “not prepared to take the tough but necessary choices to bring down the benefits bill”.Businesses have also warned tax rises in the Budget will make it harder to hire more people.On Monday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves defended her decision to raise National Insurance on employers. She said despite “a lot of feedback” on her tax and spending plans, she had not heard many alternatives.The government has said young people must take up offers of a job or training, or lose their benefits, but it has not spelled out how such sanctions will work or when they will come into force.It has pledged to increase the employment rate to 80% from its current level of around 75%, which would mean around two million more people in work.The prime minister said the reforms would “put an end to the culture of blaming and shaming people who for too long haven’t been getting the support they need to get back to work”.On Tuesday, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall will announce funds to cut waiting lists at the 20 NHS trusts with the highest levels of economic inactivity, in a bid to get more people currently off sick back to work.She will also announce plans to expand mental health support and efforts to tackle obesity.In other measures to be unveiled: Every 18 to 21-year-old in England will get access to an apprenticeship, training or education opportunities or help to find a job as part of a new “Youth Guarantee” projectJob centres will be rebranded as the National Jobs and Careers ServiceThere will be an independent review of what UK employers are doing to promote health and inclusive workplaces The North East, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire will get more cash to stop people falling out of work because of ill healthGetting more people into work and equipping younger people with skills, is seen as essential to the government’s goal of boosting productivity and delivering growth.But it also does not want to be seen as a “soft touch” by some on welfare payments. Helen Whately, shadow secretary of state for work and pensions, said the government has “dodged the difficult decisions on sickness benefits, which are needed to make the welfare system sustainable in the long term”.While unemployment stands at almost 1.5 million, the number of people classed as economically inactive – not employed or actively looking for work – has jumped to more than nine million. It surged during Covid, but has remained persistently high since.Gary Wroe, managing director of Hockley Mint, a jewellery manufacturer in Birmingham, employs 98 people and take on a number of apprentices each year but Mr Wroe said the business would struggle to continue to recruit apprentices giv …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
