- Welfare reforms will lead to ‘extreme hardship’, say campaigners, By Hélène Mulholland, November 11, 2010, The Guardian: “Ian Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, faced a backlash from poverty campaigners today over plans to impose severe welfare penalties on people who are out of work and refuse to take up jobs. Leading anti-poverty charities accused the coalition government of creating a ‘climate of fear’ and exposing families and children to the ‘risk of destitution’ as Duncan Smith outlined tough sanctions as part of a radical shake-up of out-of-work benefits which he said represented a ‘fair deal’ for both the jobless and the taxpayer. Under the changes outlined in a white paper, published today, a work programme will be introduced to help people return to the workforce – with some long-term jobless required to do unpaid community work. But unemployed people who persistently fail to turn up or turned down and refused to apply for jobs will lose their £65-a-week jobseekers’ allowance for up to three years…”
- Facing austerity, Britain unveils welfare cuts, By Sarah Lyall and Alan Cowell, November 11, 2010, New York Times: “A day after violent protests against government proposals to cut education spending and steeply increase tuition for university students, the government unveiled proposals on Thursday for welfare reforms that could penalize Britons deemed to be work-shy and stir further resistance. In one particularly contentious proposal, unemployed people would be stripped of a $100-a-week job-seekers allowance for up to three years if they turn down three job offers – a proposal that drew protests from civic groups. Some economists called the sanctions the harshest ever imposed by a British government…”
- Off the sofa! UK gets tough on welfare, By David Stringer (AP), November 11, 2010, Washington Post: “Britain announced the most radical overhaul in decades Thursday to its once-generous welfare system, pledging harsh penalties for those who refuse jobs and community work service for the unemployed in return for benefit checks. Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith unveiled sharp changes to the country’s cradle-to-grave social safety net, which was first introduced after World War II to better protect newborns, families, the jobless and the sick. Critics have long said the British system offered hefty benefits unavailable to other citizens across Europe, the U.S. and other major economies – encouraging some people to snub modest jobs in favor of an easy life on handouts…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty