Minister says blaming people for their poor mental health won’t be part of Labour’s plan to boost employment
Alison McGovern, the employment minister, was on interview round duty on behalf of the government this morning, talking mostly about the Get Britain Working white paper. Here are the main lines from what she said.
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McGovern said it was good that people are more open about their mental health and she refused to blame people for not working on mental health grounds. Some commentators, and politicians, argue that conditions that were once “normal”, like anxiety, have now been medicalised, and that this partly explains why the number of people off work sick has risen. McGovern did not argue this. She told Times Radio:
I think that it’s a good thing that people are able to be more open about mental health conditions in work, and that we understand more about how people’s mental ill health can affect them in work.
I don’t think having a go at people and blaming them is the right approach.
She also said:
I think it’s definitely the case that we will help work be more sustainable for everybody, if we can take a broad approach to our mental wellbeing.
Asked if she was saying the government wanted to change work, not to change people, she replied:
Exactly. That’s the culture we need to change.
If you look at those international statistics, what you see is that post-pandemic almost all of the countries around the world except us recovered in employment terms. The employment rate did increase, people did go back to work.
That didn’t happen in Britain, something is different, and the level of sickness that we’re experiencing as a country is really high.
Explaining why, she said “really bad” waiting lists in the NHS and “long-term differences in our economy depending on where you live” were among the reasons.
Only one in six of our employers really thinks about using a job centre. That is not OK because it means that the public employment service that’s supposed to be there to support our businesses is failing.
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She confirmed that sanctions would apply to young people who do not take up offers of education, employment or training. But whereas Conservative ministers were normally eager to talk up sanctions, McGovern wasn’t. On the Today programme, she stressed that most young people would want to accept what was offered, and that sanctions already operate in the system. She said:
When good help is offered, it is taken up, that is normally what happens. Of course, people will always think of that small minority […] people who are not interested, they don’t want to do it …
There are rules in the system. Those rules have got to be made to work to make sure that if you take out in the form of social security, you have to do your part of the bargain.
Key events
The Federation of Small Businesses applauds the ambition in the government’s Get Britain Working, but says that overcoming the “pervasive poverty of ambition” about employment in the public sector won’t be easy. This is from Tina McKenzie, the FSB’s policy chair.
This is a start – but only a start – in fixing the pervasive poverty of ambition in the Jobcentre, health and other state systems when it comes to getting people back into work. Increasing employment is ultimately the most sure-fire way to drive up living standards and economic growth.
Ministers have a huge job to persuade public institutions that work is good for health and that everyone who needs work should be helped to get a job or start-up in self-employment – not least getting rid of the idea that the only good work is in graduate jobs, the public sector or volunteering.
The ambition behind the 80 per cent employment target is both clear and important ..
To deliver on this policy agenda, government and small businesses must work in partnership to drive real change through the whole employment system and make sure the country is helping those who most need work.
The TUC has also broadly welcomed the white paper, although it is also calling for proper investment in training and health support. This is from Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary.
It is right to ensure that young people who are seeking work are helped to find a job or training. Positive early experiences in the jobs market are vital for young people’s future life chances. They must be supported to take part, not faced with self-defeating sanctions.
Success will also depend on ministers making the investment that’s needed in health services and quality training. Jobcentre staff must have a central role in redesigning their services, and devolution must never come at the cost of staff terms and conditions.
Employment experts welcome Get Britain Working white paper – but warn benefit reforms could undermine it
Employment specialists are broadly positive about the Get Britain Working white paper – or at least what they have read about it so far. Here is some reaction that has come in.
This is from Stephen Evans, chief executive at the Learning and Work Institute, a thinktank.
The government’s ambition for an 80% employment rate is the right one and our research shows it will benefit people, employers and the economy. More than three million people who are out of work want a job, but too often don’t get the right support. This white paper starts us on the path to change that. I’m particularly pleased to see the Youth Guarantee, which we have long called for. There can be few bigger priorities than ensuring young people get the education and careers they need.
This is from Becci Newton, director of public policy research at the Institute for Employment Studies, a consultancy.
The Get Britain Working white paper brings a welcome focus on overcoming worklessness and improving outcomes for young people and adults, and we are pleased that much of the proposed reform chimes with our own research for the Commission on the Future of Employment Support.
While not specific on the details yet, the white paper’s focus on rights and responsibilities brings a welcome return to a welfare system that meets young people halfway. We have seen success with the New Deal for Young People and the Activity Agreement Pilots for 16-17s under the former Labour government. The offer of careers support, tailoring to health and wellbeing and ensuring young people have the skills employers are looking for should be an attractive offer to motivate young people to get active.
And this is from Ben Harrison, director of the Work Foundation, a thinktank based at Lancaster University
Prioritising improvements to Jobcentres, the reforms rightly aim to make it easier for those out of work – whether claiming Universal Credit or not – to access tailored employment support, training and skills development. Ensuring that local decision-makers have the powers and funding to design and deliver more of this support will be key to ensuring interventions are better tailored to the needs of communities.
But Harrison also argues that these plans will only work if future changes to the benefit system, which are not spelt out today, do not undermine them. He explains:
Overall, the success of these measures will depend on wider changes to the benefits system to de-risk the journey back to employment. Government must ensure that those with long-term health issues are not inadvertently pushed into insecure and low-quality work which may only serve to worsen their condition in the long run. And it is critical that those with health conditions do not face the risk of losing their welfare entitlements should they attempt to return to the labour market and yet are unable to sustain work over the medium to long-term.
UK recently sent more Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine, before strikes against Russia
Britain recently supplied Ukraine with dozens more Storm Shadow missiles, according to a Bloomberg report by Alex Wickham. “The deliveries, which were not publicly announced, took place several weeks ago and were ordered after Kyiv ran low on the long-range missiles, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing security issues,” Wickham writes. The missiles were sent before the UK and the UK allowed Ukraine to use their long-range missiles to strike targets in Russia.
Asked about the report, which has been independently confirmed by the Guardian, the Ministry of Defence said:
We do not comment on operational detail, to do so would only benefit Putin.
The UK’s support for Ukraine is ironclad, that’s why we have committed to providing £3bn in military aid for as long as it takes and have trained more than 50,000 Ukrainian military recruits.
Former lord chief justice argues assisted dying bill flawed because it does not fully explain legal scrutiny process
A former lord chief justice has argued that there is a serious gap in the assisted dying bill that will be debated in the Commons on Friday.
The terminally ill adults (end of life) bill, introduced by the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, would allow a terminally ill person to get help from a doctor to end their life, provided that two doctors and then a judge agree that they are making a “clear, settled and informed” decision.
But the legislation does not spell out in detail what the process would be for the judge to approve that decision – what evidence they would have to consider, and who would present it – and in an interview with the Today programme this morning Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd said this was a problem.
Thomas, who as lord chief justice between 2013 and 2017 was head of the judiciary in England and Wales, told the programme that he was not speaking as a supporter or opponent of the bill, and that he could see the arguments on both sides.
But he said the lack of detail in the bill about how the judicial process would work meant it was not clear what impact it would have on courts.
He said “the process and the impact on the court system is really something about which there should be information before we decide in principle to proceed”. He explained:
It seems to me that the one really difficult question that hasn’t been addressed in this is how is the judge to proceed, as it cannot possibly be a rubber-stamping exercise.
There has to be a process, by which the evidence is put before the judge, and the judge will need help – will need either the official solicitor or some other body that can bring the evidence before him.
What is not possible is to assess from the bill the impact this has …
As far as I can see, no one has grappled with the detail. And of course, as it’s an integral part of the bill, you can’t say, ‘well, look, this is to be sorted out later’. It seems to me it needs to be grappled with now.
The government has not yet published an impact assessment for the bill, which would explain the effect it would have on public services and how much implementation would cost. Opponents of the bill, and constitutional experts (like the law professor Mark Elliott, in this blog) have criticised the government for this. Downing Street has suggested, if the bill passes at second reading, an impact assessment would be published later in the parliamentary process.
Alison McGovern, the employment minister, said this morning she still has not decided how she will vote on the assisted dying private member’s bill on Friday. MPs have a free vote.
Explaining her dilemma, McGovern said:
I haven’t decided how I’m going to vote. I’ve listened to my constituents who have been so kind and so generous to share with me their experiences, and I want to listen to my colleagues in the debate in full and decide how to vote.”
I think it’s so important that people are able to have a good death and that families feel that their loved one was able to die in the most peaceful way possible in accordance with their views, but I haven’t decided on this issue.
Minister says blaming people for their poor mental health won’t be part of Labour’s plan to boost employment
Alison McGovern, the employment minister, was on interview round duty on behalf of the government this morning, talking mostly about the Get Britain Working white paper. Here are the main lines from what she said.
-
McGovern said it was good that people are more open about their mental health and she refused to blame people for not working on mental health grounds. Some commentators, and politicians, argue that conditions that were once “normal”, like anxiety, have now been medicalised, and that this partly explains why the number of people off work sick has risen. McGovern did not argue this. She told Times Radio:
I think that it’s a good thing that people are able to be more open about mental health conditions in work, and that we understand more about how people’s mental ill health can affect them in work.
I don’t think having a go at people and blaming them is the right approach.
She also said:
I think it’s definitely the case that we will help work be more sustainable for everybody, if we can take a broad approach to our mental wellbeing.
Asked if she was saying the government wanted to change work, not to change people, she replied:
Exactly. That’s the culture we need to change.
If you look at those international statistics, what you see is that post-pandemic almost all of the countries around the world except us recovered in employment terms. The employment rate did increase, people did go back to work.
That didn’t happen in Britain, something is different, and the level of sickness that we’re experiencing as a country is really high.
Explaining why, she said “really bad” waiting lists in the NHS and “long-term differences in our economy depending on where you live” were among the reasons.
Only one in six of our employers really thinks about using a job centre. That is not OK because it means that the public employment service that’s supposed to be there to support our businesses is failing.
-
She confirmed that sanctions would apply to young people who do not take up offers of education, employment or training. But whereas Conservative ministers were normally eager to talk up sanctions, McGovern wasn’t. On the Today programme, she stressed that most young people would want to accept what was offered, and that sanctions already operate in the system. She said:
When good help is offered, it is taken up, that is normally what happens. Of course, people will always think of that small minority […] people who are not interested, they don’t want to do it …
There are rules in the system. Those rules have got to be made to work to make sure that if you take out in the form of social security, you have to do your part of the bargain.
The Department for Work and Pensions has now published its summary of what’s in the Get Britain Working white paper.
The white paper itself is coming later.
Keir Starmer’s jobs plan won’t work because Labour are ducking tough welfare decisions, Tories claim
Good morning. Today the government is unveiling what it is calling, in the headline on its overnight press release, the “biggest employment reforms in a generation”. The reforms are intended to tackle the fact that Britain is the only major economy where the employment rate has fallen over the last five years, largely because more people are out of work due to long-term ill health. A white paper called Get Britain Working is being published later, and Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, is due to make a statement in the Commons.
In its overnight briefing, the Department for Work and Pensions has already flagged up numerous initiatives which are in the white paper. Overall, the focus seems to be more carrot than stick. “Our reforms put an end to the culture of blaming and shaming people who for too long haven’t been getting the support they need to get back to work,” Keir Starmer says. But quite a lot of key decisions have been postponed, and at this point it is hard to assess quite how significant, or effective, these meaures will turn out to be. The history of welfare reform is littered with announcements that don’t quite live up to “biggest in a generation” hype.
This is how Starmer sums up what is government is doing.
From the broken NHS, flatlining economy, and the millions of people left unemployed and trapped in an inactivity spiral – this government inherited a country that simply isn’t working. But today we’ve set out a plan to fix this. A plan that tackles the biggest drivers of unemployment and inactivity and gives young people their future back through real, meaningful change instead of empty rhetoric and sticking plaster politics.
We’re overhauling jobcentres to make them fit for the modern age. We’re giving young people the skills and opportunities they need to prepare them for the jobs of the future. We’re fixing the NHS so people get the treatment and mental health support they desperately need to be able to get back to work. We’re working with businesses and employers to better support people with disabilities and health conditions to stay and progress in work, and it doesn’t stop there.
Our reforms put an end to the culture of blaming and shaming people who for too long haven’t been getting the support they need to get back to work. Helping people into decent, well-paid jobs and giving our children and young people the best start in life – that’s our plan to put more money in people’s pockets, unlock growth and make people better off.
The Conservatives say the plans won’t work because the government is ducking tough decisions. This is what Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said overnight.
This latest announcement shows that Labour are not prepared to take the tough but necessary choices to bring down the benefits bill.
There is no attempt to match the £12bn in welfare savings we promised in our manifesto. They have even dodged the difficult decisions on sickness benefits, which are needed to make the welfare system sustainable in the long term.
To get people off benefits you also need jobs for them to go to. But Labour’s disastrous anti-growth budget is already making businesses think twice about taking people on.
Here is Pippa Crerar’s overnight story.
I will be posting a lot more reaction and analysis as the day goes on. But here is a full list of what is coming up today.
9.30am: Keir Starmer chair cabinet.
10.30am: The supreme court begins a two-day hearing on a legal case brought by For Women Scotland who are arguing that trans women should not be regarded female for the purposes of the 2010 Equality Act.
11.30am: David Lammy, the foreign secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
After 12.30pm: Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, is expected to make a Commons statement about the Get Britain Working white paper.
After 1.30pm: MPs debate the tobacco and vapes bill, which would over time ban smoking by gradually raising the age at which people can legally buy cigarettes.
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