[UK] Reforms 'may create more poverty'

from The BBC

The government's proposed welfare reforms could force vulnerable people deeper into poverty, according to more than 30 Scottish organisations.

The warning has come from a coalition working in the field of social exclusion and poverty in Scotland.

In a letter sent to every Scottish MP, the group expressed concerns about the "threat of greater compulsion and the adequacy of current benefit levels".

The Department for Work and Pensions said the current system was failing.

The coalition, called The Scottish Campaign on Welfare Reform, includes Citizens Advice Scotland, Capability Scotland and the Scottish Association for Mental Health.

It warned that the planned reforms could alienate people who genuinely wished to return to work.

However, a DWP spokeswoman said: "The welfare reform green paper isn't about compulsion it's about striking a balance between those who can't work and need financial help, and those who can work get back into work by retraining and supporting them.

"The current benefit system is inadequate and doesn't work as it should and that is the whole point of the welfare reform."

The proposed changes aim to cut the number of people claiming incapacity benefit by one million.

'Unsustainable jobs'

The government said 2.7 million people were currently claiming the benefit.

Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton has confirmed plans to cut benefits for people who refuse to take part in back-to-work projects.

But he insisted that the most seriously disabled, who were unable to work, would be exempt from the changes.

The coalition's letter stated: "Compulsion and sanctions risk alienating people who genuinely wish to return to work and could force them into unsuitable and unsustainable jobs."

The group also said the government's Green Paper had failed to address the responsibilities of employers to provide greater job opportunities for claimants.

'Hard-pushed'

It said: "Employers are often reluctant to take on lone parents, older people, disabled people or people with long-term health problems.

"Yet there is little mention of how they will be encouraged to change their attitude and practice as part of these reforms."

While the coalition welcomed plans to raise benefits for people with severe health problems and disabilities, it criticised the fact that the increase was not quantified in the Green Paper.

The group also claimed that proposals to close some JobCentre Plus offices in Scotland and cut jobs in the DWP could "leave the government hard-pushed to deliver the substantial additional staff and resources required to help more people move from benefits to work".