Budget: helping people back to work
Parents, over-50s, disabled people and those with long-term health conditions will have opportunities arising from changes announced in the Budget, delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Overall, DWP measures at Budget represent an investment of £3.5 billion over five years to boost workforce participation and grow the economy. That includes:
- £2 billion investment in support for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions.
- £900 million investment in support for parents on Universal Credit.
- £70 million investment in support for over-50s
- £485 million investment in support for unemployed people and people who are on Universal Credit and working fewer than full time hours.
Work and Pensions Secretary, Mel Stride MP said:
“We know many people want to work but there are very real barriers we need to break down to help them into employment.
“This package of support helps people at any age and career stage to get into work, progress into better-paid jobs - growing the economy and filling the labour market with skilled employees.
“These interventions are only the start of a long-term journey to drive down economic inactivity and mobilise more people into seeking employment, which I will continue to lead across government.”
Childcare
Parents on Universal Credit looking to move into full-time work will no longer be prevented from doing so because of high childcare costs, the DWP says.
The Universal Credit childcare cost cap will rise in the summer meaning the government will pay more of parents’ childcare costs. For those with one child it rises from £646.35 to £951 and for two children the cap is up from £1,108.04 to £1,630, then increasing in line with CPI each year until 2027/28.
Parents will also be further supported with upfront childcare costs. This removes any gap in funds which would currently be claimed in arrears and eases parents into the childcare costs payment cycle.
Disabled people and people with health conditions
The Health and Disability White Paper, included as part of the Budget, sets out plans to rewire the benefits system for disabled people, shifting the dial onto what people can achieve and removing barriers to work.
A major element of this will be through the removal of the Work Capability Assessment, giving people the confidence to move into work while reducing the burden of unnecessary assessments.
A new Universal Support programme will support disabled people and people with health conditions into sustained work, with those eligible able to opt in to receive up to 12 months of provision, with the government spending up to £4,000 per person and funding 50,000 places every year. This will help them to move quickly into suitable work and, with wraparound support, help them sustain that employment for the longer-term.
Pioneer areas are already mobilising services to provide greater support, and then the programme will ramp up over time, expanding to support thousands more people.
Older workers
A new digital Mid-life MOT check will be introduced to help older workers understand what their employment choices now mean for the longer-term – reaching 40,000 people a year.
They will also benefit from a boost to skills and better access to training through the Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), Train and Progress and the new ‘Returnerships’ programme.
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