Finally, some good news in a pre-budget report

It is great news that an extra £15.85 million has been allocated to debt advice in the pre-budget report, £5.85 million for free telephone advice and £10 million for face-to-face advice. This could not have come at a more crucial time, as the impact of the recession begins to deepen.

I must admit it’s always welcoming to see the Government recognise the benefits and impact of free impartial advice. However, although this news is to be applauded I am not sure I agree entirely with the decision to give all of the £10 million in extra funding for face-to-face advice to Citizens Advice. There are many other providers in the independent advice sector who do an important job and are able to reach clients from communities which CABs are not necessarily able to access.

The Government must recognise that although Citizens Advice are the main provider of independent advice, they are not the only provider and more should be done to make sure that these other agencies are properly funded too.

They must also ensure that other areas of social welfare law such as welfare benefits, housing and employment receive adequate funding as well, because in an economic downturn demand for advice in these areas increases too.

Getting parents back to work – credit crunch style

This month we have invited our Chair, Liz Sewell, to provide a guest blog on the Government’s Welfare Reform Agenda.  Liz runs a programme that helps parents return to work, education or training, so this issue is very close to her heart.

Getting parents back to work – credit crunch style
The DWP has chosen this credit crunch November to voluntarily add to the UK’s jobless total, it will move lone parents with children aged twelve and over from Income Support to Jobseekers Allowance.

The Government sees this as part of a staged approach to reducing the time lone parents spend on benefits. They argue that work lifts families out of poverty and improves life chances. And to show they mean business, by 2010 they will have further lowered the age limit to seven

I genuinely feel every parent should be able to work, if it suits their family. And I know what a decent job means. As well as a pay packet, it is a boost to self confidence and a chance to re-enter the “grown-up world”. But, the Governments thinking on this approach was done in the time of plenty: they need to make sure it works in this time of reckoning too.

First we need jobs that people can do, in the time they have available.  That means incentivising employers to create such jobs.

Step two is that work needs to pay more than staying on benefit and it needs to do that from day one.

Then, childcare needs to be affordable, and when you are on a very low income, that probably means free.

Finally, it is not just about being away from your children. It’s about making work and children compatible. So we need extend the right to request flexible working, not remove it.

A version of the full article is available at  http://www.lasa.org.uk/benefits/parents_back_to_work.doc