Idleness by Katy Jones

Author:Katy Jones
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Agenda Publishing
Published: 2022-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?

Active labour market policies for lone parents and disabled people have been designed around the assumption that behavioural and attitudinal barriers are the central drivers of low employment rates amongst these groups. Instead of creating support and services that meaningfully seek to address the disadvantages that they face in the labour market (i.e. childcare, transport, work adaptations), or creating the conditions whereby good quality jobs are accessible to those seeking part-time work, the government has focused on processing and policing benefit entitlement. Fixation on the “behaviour” and “attitudes” of claimants combines with the absence of tangible support. Instead of designing policy and services to support and empower people in the labour market, UK ALMP can make life more difficult for many.

The underlying problem is a “one-size-fits all” approach as a way of delivering cost savings in welfare-to-work programmes. The outsourcing of employment programmes to large private sector providers on a payment-by-results basis has led, inevitably, to widespread “creaming and parking”, which we mentioned in the previous chapter (Carter & Whitworth 2015). In recent years, further cost savings have led to welfare-to-work programmes being scaled back even further (e.g. Work and Health programme).

As new welfare-to-work programmes are introduced, it is vital that these work for groups with the biggest barriers to work. However, while investment in supply-side measures – through improving the employment support available – is important, it can only take us so far. The Making it Work Scotland case study (see Box 6.1) shows that even where support is provided that meets participants’ needs, there are limits to any intervention within a labour market characterized by low-paid low-quality work. Much more needs to be done to make work better and fairer for groups who continue to be excluded, including lone parents and disabled people.

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