Helping people from workless households into work
Helping people from workless households into work

Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2007-07-19

Total Pages: 68

ISBN-13: 0102947325

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A workless household is defined as a household that includes at least one person of working-age (men aged 16-64 years and women aged 16-59 years) where no one in the household aged 16 or over is in employment. Currently, there are about three million households, containing 1.7 million children, who still have no-one in work. Evidence suggests that many adults in workless households would like to work, but that they face multiple barriers to work, such as low skills, disability, a lack of affordable and flexible childcare, or caring responsibilities and may have been on benefits for a long time. The NAO report examines the effectiveness of Department for Work and Pensions' employment programmes aimed at workless households in England, focusing on two programmes: the New Deal for Lone Parents and the New Deal for Partners. The report finds that these programmes are making a difference for those who take part, but more needs to be done to reach out to workless households and to increase awareness of the support available and help people to prepare for and find work.

Helping people from workless households into work
Helping people from workless households into work

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2008-02-07

Total Pages: 44

ISBN-13: 9780215513465

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The UK has an employment rate of 74.4%, with some 3 million workless households. In such households some 80% comprise of adults who are not seeking active work, with an estimated cost to the Exchequer of £12.7 billion in welfare benefits. The Government has a target employment level of 80%, which means finding work for 2 million people, including 1 million people on incapacity benefits and 0.3 million lone parents. This Committee of Public Accounts report (HCP 301, ISBN 9780215513465) examines the efforts to help people from workless households into work, and sets out a number of conclusions and recommendations, including: the Department of Work and Pensions introduced New Deal programmes to help people into work, the Committee believes that such programmes need more flexibility and earlier intervention with targeted support for those wanting to return to work; that the cost of getting people into work through the Department's employment programmes is higher than subsequent savings generated; that outreach services for workless people does not reflect the fact that 60% of workless households are concentrated in 40 districts across the UK; that recipients of incapacity benefit receive statutory sick pay for 6 months before being offered any support in returning to work, the Committee believes earlier support for people is essential for people claiming statutory sick pay; the Department could not confirm how many of the 2.9 million people who started a New Deal programme were still participating or what proportion of workless households chose not to work rather than being out of work due to personal circumstances and that the Department needs such information to inform future strategies. For the NAO report on this subject, see (HCP 609, session 2006-07, ISBN 9780102947328).

Squandered
Squandered

Author: David Craig

Publisher: Constable

Published: 2009-06-01

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 1849011613

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Over the last ten years, New Labour has boosted public spending by around a trillion pounds - that's £1,000,000,000,000 of our taxes - over £50,000 for every household in Britain. But what have we got for our money? Effective and responsive public services that are the envy of the world? Or the creation of a vast, self-serving bureaucracy that has presided over the greatest waste of money in British history? With so much money, a tsunami of extra cash, being thrown at public services - health, education, policing, defence, social services and public administration - there have been some successes. Nevertheless, the results of the Government's tidal wave of extra spending have been worse than pitiful. In department after department, it is the same sorry story - a triple whammy of incompetence, cover-up and cuts that have all but decimated public services, while those responsible have lavished money and honours on themselves. David Craig exposes the sometimes tragic, sometimes comic story of how New Labour's years of mismanagement have led to a bureaucratization of Britain that has squandered almost unimaginable amounts of taxpayers' money, caused irreparable damage to all our lives and rewarded the man responsible with the keys to Number 10.

Working for a healthier tomorrow
Working for a healthier tomorrow

Author: Carol M. Black

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2008-03-17

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9780117025134

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Around 175 million working days were lost to illness in 2006. Some 7 per cent of the working population is workless and receiving benefits because of long-term health conditions or disabilities. This represents a significant cost to the economy - in cost of benefits, healthcare, forgone taxes, lost production, sickness absence, informal care - estimated at between £103 and £129 billion. The review's vision for health and work in Britain is based on three principal objectives: prevention of illness and promotion of health and well-being; early intervention for those who develop a health condition; an improvement in the health of those out of work. The review establishes the first baseline for the health of the working population. It then examines the role of the workplace in health and well-being. Work is good for both physical and mental health (Waddell & Burton, 2006, "Is work good for your health and well-being?" TSO, ISBN 9780117036949). Employers, trade unions, employees, safety and health practitioners should all promote the benefits of investment in health and well-being. The review calls of a fundamental shift in the perception of fitness for work, to move away from it being inappropriate to be at work if not 100 per cent fit. Early intervention can prevent short-tem sickness becoming more serious, and pilot trials of a new Fit for Work service are proposed. More health support for workless people on incapacity benefits is recommended. Professional expertise for working age health is needed, and occupational health should be in the mainstream of healthcare provision. To safeguard the future health of the working population, young people should understand the benefits of a life in work. The review closes with proposals for taking the agenda forward.

Sustainable employment
Sustainable employment

Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2007-11-14

Total Pages: 56

ISBN-13: 9780102951202

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This NAO report examines the subject of sustainable employment, and the options available to support people in their efforts to maintain their work and advance in their roles. It has been prepared against a background of considerable focus and activity on skills and on employment, in particular the Leitch review (ISBN 97801108404860), as well as the Department for Work and Pensions, "In Work, Better Off" (Cm.7130, ISBN 9780101713023). Sustainable employment is at the centre of the Department's work to help low-skilled people into work and out of poverty. A number of recommendations are set out, including: that more and better information is needed on how long jobs are sustained and to identify the people most at risk of early exit; sustainable employment can be improved by a programme of targets that take account of both job duration and individuals' aggregate employment; that an ongoing development of economically valuable skills is a key element of sustainable employment along with better integration between employment programmes and programmes for raising skills; that the "Train to Gain" programme needs to achieve a good balance between focusing on "hard to reach" employers and engaging employers in raising skills

New Opportunities
New Opportunities

Author: Great Britain. Cabinet Office

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 118

ISBN-13: 9780101753326

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This White Paper sets out the Government's proposals to invest in education, skills and families in order to equip the UK to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by the global economy. Chapter 1 examines the new opportunities: the emergence of a global "middle class"; new production patterns enabled by technological change; new technologies creating new industries; increased personalisation of goods and services; increasing social mobility. Success in the global economy (chapter 2) will depend on building a world-class business infrastructure (including transport and communications), encouraging innovation and enterprise, and enhancing the skills of the workforce. The Government recognises the importance of child development in early years as crucial to children's subsequent lives, and chapter 3 outlines the proposals on improving the health and well being of children, providing more effective support to families and ensuring access to high-quality early learning and childcare. Education continues as the theme of chapter 4, setting out policies to deliver world class schools and teaching profession. The critical pathway from education to employment for 16-25 year olds is the subject of chapter 5. The Government believes that all those who have the desire and ability to study and train throughout their working lives should be able to access the support needed to raise their skill levels, and chapter 6 introduces new policies to ensure that people's potential to get on in work is supported. Strengthening family life (chapter 7) - through improving parental support, legislating to eradicate child poverty, helping families at risk - will help prevent the pressures of modern life from having a detrimental effect on individuals' life chances. The final chapter outlines a range of programmes to engage young people in community life and empower communities to respond locally to the problems they face.

Local labour market analysis
Local labour market analysis

Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2007-11-14

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 9780102951240

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This NAO report considers the patterns of work and worklessness in the United Kingdom, with an analysis on national, regional and local level. The report sets out a number of findings, including: that competition for vacancies is greater in some regions and local areas than others; the workless population have significantly lower qualifications than the work-in population, and in their last job, were more likely to have worked in lower skilled jobs; that the economically inactive have characteristics that are further removed from the employed than those of the unemployed; the relationship between qualifications, jobs and worklessness is not simple; disability has an impact on working and worklessness; black and minority ethnic groups have a lower employment rate, however the degree of the employment gap varies between areas; Jobsearch methods of the workless differ substantially from the methods reported as successful by those in work; Jobcentre use varies by region, sector, qualification level, and ethnicity; local area analysis shows significant differences within and between locations

The Governance of Active Welfare States in Europe
The Governance of Active Welfare States in Europe

Author: Willibrord de Graaf

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2011-05-27

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 0230306713

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During the last decade, many European countries introduced extensive reforms to the way that income protection and activation programmes for the unemployed are implemented and delivered. This book analyzes and compares these reforms in nine European countries, focusing on the reforms programmes themselves, as well as on their effects.

Sustainable employment
Sustainable employment

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2008-02-28

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 9780215513816

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This report examines the reasons why people are unlikely to stay in work; the contribution which education is making to improving employability; and whether employment programmes reflect the needs of business and local markets. Although the UK has high employment levels, many people have difficulty staying in work. Of the 2.4 million Jobseeker's Allowance claims made each year over two-thirds are repeat claims. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills have been slow to develop suitable shared objectives and targets for sustained employment. The DWP has used 13 weeks in work as a yardstick for sustained employment, but it now accepts that this measure is too short. The Government has set targets to be achieved by 2020: 95 per cent of adults to achieve functional literacy and numeracy skills (the levels needed to get by in life and at work) and 90 per cent to achieve a first full Level 2 qualification (equivalent to 5 GCSEs at grades A*-C). The Departments hope to achieve these goals by introducing skills screening for benefits recipients, relaxing rules that restrict access to training provision for people on benefits, promoting better integration and take-up of pre-work and in-work training, increasing government funding for basic skills training, and launching a new Skills Account to give adult learners greater choice and control over learning. Through Skills Accounts, learners will be able to purchase, using public money, relevant learning at an accredited, quality assured provider of their choice. Around a third of employers do not invest in training, although the number of employers who say that they are training their staff has increased slightly. People with the lowest skills are the least likely to be trained by their employers.

Industrial and Organizational Psychology Help the Vulnerable
Industrial and Organizational Psychology Help the Vulnerable

Author: W. Reichman

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-06-25

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 1137327731

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Industrial and Organizational Psychology Help the Vulnerable documents a new direction for industrial and organizational psychology. The chapters are written by psychologists who have used the methods, procedures and theories of industrial and organizational psychology to help the vulnerable people of the world.