Government's leaked 'work for benefits' plan welcomed by Tories » Communities » 24dash.com

Government plans to force the jobless to work for benefits were welcomed by the Tories today - as a direct copy of their own policies.

US-style "work for the dole" sanctions are included in a reform package to be unveiled by Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell on Monday.

A leaked late draft of his Green Paper insists there can be "no right to a life on benefits" for anyone capable of working.

Pilot projects will test "compulsory full-time activity" for the long-term unemployed to ensure they make a "fair contribution" in return for state support.

Other proposals include trials of new accounting rules, previously opposed by the Treasury, allowing private firms used to help people find jobs to be paid from resulting savings in benefits.

The draft paper also warns that only disabled people "with the greatest needs" and full-time carers will be exempt from being expected to find work in future.

It represents a 100% acceptance of the recommendations from investment banker David Freud, who believes up to two million people are unnecessarily claiming incapacity benefit.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling said it was a "quite brave" move to publish the radical proposals - opposed from some Labour MPs - ahead of next week's Glasgow East by-election.

There were "tensions" within Labour over proposals to move all existing incapacity benefit claimants on to its replacement, employment support allowance, amid fears they would lose out.

"Once again it is Conservative ideas that are setting the political agenda," he said.

"Many of these proposals first appeared in our Welfare Green Paper six months ago, and it would be great news for Britain if the Government is finally planning to introduce the kind of radical change that we have been arguing for.

"It's really now too late after ten years and billions of pounds wasted, for Gordon Brown's Government to start making a real difference to Britain's benefit challenge before the next General Election.

"What this set of consultations and pilot projects will do is provide the next government with a really useful platform on which to build real welfare reform."

The copy of the draft that was leaked - dated yesterday - was fronted by a letter from Mr Purnell to Chancellor Alistair Darling asking for comments.

In it he said that "for too long certain groups have been left to drift into long-term inactivity and become detached from the labour market".

The "vast majority" of disabled people would be helped to stay in or get back to work, he said, promising a "significant increase" in support funding.

Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokeswoman Jenny Willott said: "This green paper ignores that fact that over half of the adults living in poverty in the UK are in work, largely thanks to the poverty trap Labour has created with the prevalence of means-tested benefits.

"Personalised back-to-work support represents progress, but this paper fails to address the needs of those with mental health problems, who make up 40% of those on incapacity benefit.

"The paper represents a step in the right direction, but there are potential pitfalls for child poverty and vulnerable people which must be addressed before the bill is presented to Parliament."