Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Work and Pensions Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215560865
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 186
Book Description
The Work and Pensions Committee supports the Government's objectives for the incapacity benefit (IB) reassessment, which are to help people with disabilities and long-term health conditions to move back into employment, while continuing to provide adequate support for people who have limited capability for work or are unable to work. However, the report finds that the Government's positive messages about the IB reassessment are not getting through to the public. The report argues that that the Government should be more proactive in explaining its aims for the process and in emphasising the range of support which will be available. Current incapacity benefit claimants are being reassessed to decide whether they are able to work. The inquiry looked in detail at the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), the test which is used to assess whether an incapacity benefit claimant is capable of work, or work-related activity. WCAs are carried out by Atos Healthcare as part of a contract with the Department for Work and Pensions. It is widely accepted that the WCA was flawed, in the form in which it was introduced in 2008 for new ESA claimants, leading to a high proportion of inaccurate assessments and poor decisions by Jobcentre Plus. Many of these decisions were overturned at appeal. The report acknowledges that many welcome improvements have been made to the reassessment process as a result of the review by Professor Malcolm Harrington and the trial of the process carried out in Aberdeen and Burnley, before it was introduced nationally.
The role of incapacity benefit reassessment in helping claimants into employment
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Work and Pensions Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215560865
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 186
Book Description
The Work and Pensions Committee supports the Government's objectives for the incapacity benefit (IB) reassessment, which are to help people with disabilities and long-term health conditions to move back into employment, while continuing to provide adequate support for people who have limited capability for work or are unable to work. However, the report finds that the Government's positive messages about the IB reassessment are not getting through to the public. The report argues that that the Government should be more proactive in explaining its aims for the process and in emphasising the range of support which will be available. Current incapacity benefit claimants are being reassessed to decide whether they are able to work. The inquiry looked in detail at the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), the test which is used to assess whether an incapacity benefit claimant is capable of work, or work-related activity. WCAs are carried out by Atos Healthcare as part of a contract with the Department for Work and Pensions. It is widely accepted that the WCA was flawed, in the form in which it was introduced in 2008 for new ESA claimants, leading to a high proportion of inaccurate assessments and poor decisions by Jobcentre Plus. Many of these decisions were overturned at appeal. The report acknowledges that many welcome improvements have been made to the reassessment process as a result of the review by Professor Malcolm Harrington and the trial of the process carried out in Aberdeen and Burnley, before it was introduced nationally.
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215560865
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 186
Book Description
The Work and Pensions Committee supports the Government's objectives for the incapacity benefit (IB) reassessment, which are to help people with disabilities and long-term health conditions to move back into employment, while continuing to provide adequate support for people who have limited capability for work or are unable to work. However, the report finds that the Government's positive messages about the IB reassessment are not getting through to the public. The report argues that that the Government should be more proactive in explaining its aims for the process and in emphasising the range of support which will be available. Current incapacity benefit claimants are being reassessed to decide whether they are able to work. The inquiry looked in detail at the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), the test which is used to assess whether an incapacity benefit claimant is capable of work, or work-related activity. WCAs are carried out by Atos Healthcare as part of a contract with the Department for Work and Pensions. It is widely accepted that the WCA was flawed, in the form in which it was introduced in 2008 for new ESA claimants, leading to a high proportion of inaccurate assessments and poor decisions by Jobcentre Plus. Many of these decisions were overturned at appeal. The report acknowledges that many welcome improvements have been made to the reassessment process as a result of the review by Professor Malcolm Harrington and the trial of the process carried out in Aberdeen and Burnley, before it was introduced nationally.
HC 481 - Improving Access to Work for Disabled People
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Work and Pensions Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 0215080858
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 68
Book Description
Access to Work (AtW) is an important element of specialist employment support for disabled people. It is unique in providing help to people already in, or about to start, mainstream work. It has the potential to be an extremely effective model, helping to address the substantial gap between the employment rate for disabled people and that of the rest of the population. Where it works well, it transforms the lives of disabled people, many of whom would be unable to work without it.There is strong evidence that AtW currently supports only a minority of disabled people whom it might benefit. There is a misperception that the sole purpose of AtW is to provide physical aids, equipment and transport for people with sensory impairments and physical disabilities; consequently relatively few people with other types of disability, and different support needs, currently use the programme. In scaling up the programme DWP needs to address this imbalance. Its priority should be supporting a much greater number of people with mental health problems, and intellectual, cognitive and developmental impairments, including learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. AtW's focus should remain on removing barriers to employment for the full range of disabled people who can benefit from it. DWP should make a strong and evidence-based case to HM Treasury for substantial additional funding for AtW and then aim to increase take-up through much more high profile marketing, and proactive promotion of AtW, including through Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches and contracted employment services providers.
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 0215080858
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 68
Book Description
Access to Work (AtW) is an important element of specialist employment support for disabled people. It is unique in providing help to people already in, or about to start, mainstream work. It has the potential to be an extremely effective model, helping to address the substantial gap between the employment rate for disabled people and that of the rest of the population. Where it works well, it transforms the lives of disabled people, many of whom would be unable to work without it.There is strong evidence that AtW currently supports only a minority of disabled people whom it might benefit. There is a misperception that the sole purpose of AtW is to provide physical aids, equipment and transport for people with sensory impairments and physical disabilities; consequently relatively few people with other types of disability, and different support needs, currently use the programme. In scaling up the programme DWP needs to address this imbalance. Its priority should be supporting a much greater number of people with mental health problems, and intellectual, cognitive and developmental impairments, including learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. AtW's focus should remain on removing barriers to employment for the full range of disabled people who can benefit from it. DWP should make a strong and evidence-based case to HM Treasury for substantial additional funding for AtW and then aim to increase take-up through much more high profile marketing, and proactive promotion of AtW, including through Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches and contracted employment services providers.
In Whose Interest?
Author: Ray Jones
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1447351290
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 400
Book Description
As the government continues to open up child protection and social work in England to a commercial market place, what is the social cost of privatising public services? And what effect has the failure of previous privatisations had on their provision? This book, by best-selling author and expert social worker Ray Jones, is the first to tell the story of how crucial social work services, including those for families and children, are now being out-sourced to private companies. Detailing how the failures of previous privatisations have led to the deterioration of services for the public, it shows how this trend threatens the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable children and disabled adults.
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1447351290
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 400
Book Description
As the government continues to open up child protection and social work in England to a commercial market place, what is the social cost of privatising public services? And what effect has the failure of previous privatisations had on their provision? This book, by best-selling author and expert social worker Ray Jones, is the first to tell the story of how crucial social work services, including those for families and children, are now being out-sourced to private companies. Detailing how the failures of previous privatisations have led to the deterioration of services for the public, it shows how this trend threatens the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable children and disabled adults.
Government support towards the additional living costs of working-age disabled people
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Work and Pensions Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215041791
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 186
Book Description
The Government's Welfare Reform Bill includes measures to introduce a new benefit in 2013: the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for working-age claimants, to help meet the additional living costs of disabled people. A new eligibility assessment process will also be brought in. But this report finds that the Government should not introduce Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments nationally until it has satisfied itself, in the planned initial roll-out of the new assessment in a limited geographical area, that the assessment is empathetic and accurate. The report highlights a number of areas of concern. The current draft criteria on which the assessment will be based are still too reliant on a "medical model" of disability, and may fail to take sufficient account of the impact of social, practical and environmental factors, such as housing and access to public transport, on disabled people's ability to participate in society and the additional costs they therefore incur. The Committee believes that the Government should listen to the views of disabled people and their representative organisations and conduct a further trial before the criteria are adopted and the new assessment is introduced. Once the initial assessments for PIP have been completed in the first geographical area, the Government should look again at the value of face-to-face assessments for PIP claims where claimants' conditions are severe and unlikely to change. It is also important that DWP gets the contracting process with the private suppliers right.
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215041791
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 186
Book Description
The Government's Welfare Reform Bill includes measures to introduce a new benefit in 2013: the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for working-age claimants, to help meet the additional living costs of disabled people. A new eligibility assessment process will also be brought in. But this report finds that the Government should not introduce Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments nationally until it has satisfied itself, in the planned initial roll-out of the new assessment in a limited geographical area, that the assessment is empathetic and accurate. The report highlights a number of areas of concern. The current draft criteria on which the assessment will be based are still too reliant on a "medical model" of disability, and may fail to take sufficient account of the impact of social, practical and environmental factors, such as housing and access to public transport, on disabled people's ability to participate in society and the additional costs they therefore incur. The Committee believes that the Government should listen to the views of disabled people and their representative organisations and conduct a further trial before the criteria are adopted and the new assessment is introduced. Once the initial assessments for PIP have been completed in the first geographical area, the Government should look again at the value of face-to-face assessments for PIP claims where claimants' conditions are severe and unlikely to change. It is also important that DWP gets the contracting process with the private suppliers right.
Administrative Justice in Wales and Comparative Perspectives
Author: Sarah Nason
Publisher: University of Wales Press
ISBN: 1786831414
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 479
Book Description
This book offers a unique understanding of what administrative justice means in Wales and for Wales, whilst also providing an expert and timely analysis of comparative developments in law and administration. It includes critical analysis of distinctly Welsh administrative laws and redress measures, whilst examining contemporary administrative justice issues across a range of common and civil law, European and international jurisdictions. Key issues include the roles of commissioners, administrative courts, tribunals and ombudsmen in devolved and federal nations, and evolving relationships between citizens and the state – especially in the context of localisation and austerity – and will be of interest to legal and public administration professionals at home and internationally.
Publisher: University of Wales Press
ISBN: 1786831414
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 479
Book Description
This book offers a unique understanding of what administrative justice means in Wales and for Wales, whilst also providing an expert and timely analysis of comparative developments in law and administration. It includes critical analysis of distinctly Welsh administrative laws and redress measures, whilst examining contemporary administrative justice issues across a range of common and civil law, European and international jurisdictions. Key issues include the roles of commissioners, administrative courts, tribunals and ombudsmen in devolved and federal nations, and evolving relationships between citizens and the state – especially in the context of localisation and austerity – and will be of interest to legal and public administration professionals at home and internationally.
HC 963 - Appointment of the Pensions Ombudsman abd the Pension Protection Plan Ombudsman
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Work and Pensions Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 0215081501
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 28
Book Description
In 2008, the Liaison Committee and the Government agreed a process for departmental select committees to undertake pre-appointment hearings in which they examine the suitability of the Government's preferred candidate for certain public posts. The purpose is to test the individual's independence and expertise, consider any potential conflicts of interest and explore how the individual intends to undertake the job, including his or her accountability to the Committee. Select committees do not have the power to veto appointments. However, the Minister is expected to consider relevant observations before proceeding with an appointment. The pre-appointment hearing for the posts of Pensions Ombudsman and Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman (held by the same individual) falls within the remit of the Work and Pensions Committee. On 15 October 2014 the Minister for Pensions informed us that Tony King, the current Pensions Ombudsman and Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman, would be stepping down in spring 2015.[4] He set out the recruitment exercise that would be followed to select the new Ombudsman and invited us to undertake pre-appointment scrutiny of the preferred candidate, in accordance with the agreed arrangements. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) launched the recruitment process on 29 November 2014. The Minister notified us of the name of the preferred candidate on 3 February 2015. In announcing the selection process, DWP also indicated that a recruitment exercise would be undertaken for the post of Deputy Pensions Ombudsman (and Deputy Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman). This is a part-time role and is not subject to a pre-appointment hearing.
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 0215081501
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 28
Book Description
In 2008, the Liaison Committee and the Government agreed a process for departmental select committees to undertake pre-appointment hearings in which they examine the suitability of the Government's preferred candidate for certain public posts. The purpose is to test the individual's independence and expertise, consider any potential conflicts of interest and explore how the individual intends to undertake the job, including his or her accountability to the Committee. Select committees do not have the power to veto appointments. However, the Minister is expected to consider relevant observations before proceeding with an appointment. The pre-appointment hearing for the posts of Pensions Ombudsman and Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman (held by the same individual) falls within the remit of the Work and Pensions Committee. On 15 October 2014 the Minister for Pensions informed us that Tony King, the current Pensions Ombudsman and Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman, would be stepping down in spring 2015.[4] He set out the recruitment exercise that would be followed to select the new Ombudsman and invited us to undertake pre-appointment scrutiny of the preferred candidate, in accordance with the agreed arrangements. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) launched the recruitment process on 29 November 2014. The Minister notified us of the name of the preferred candidate on 3 February 2015. In announcing the selection process, DWP also indicated that a recruitment exercise would be undertaken for the post of Deputy Pensions Ombudsman (and Deputy Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman). This is a part-time role and is not subject to a pre-appointment hearing.
Can the Work Programme work for all user groups?
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Work and Pensions Committee
Publisher: Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215057600
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 236
Book Description
The Work Programme has the potential to work well for relatively mainstream jobseekers but is unlikely to reach the most disadvantaged long-term unemployed people. The Government spent some £248 million less on the Work Programme than anticipated in 2012/13, due to providers' under-performance in a "payment-by-results" programme. In the short term, the Committee urges the Government to use the unspent Work Programme budget to: extend proven, alternative provision for disadvantaged jobseekers, such as the Work Choice programme for disabled people; extend and continue to promote Access to Work to help disabled people overcome the practical difficulties of starting a job; and provide further support for individuals who complete their two-year attachment to the Work Programme without finding sustained employment. The Committee also highlights that people with the severest barriers to work, such as homelessness and serious drug and alcohol problems are often not ready for the Work Programme and need support first to prepare for it. It recommends that DWP pilots ways of providing this additional support to prepare these groups for effective engagement with the Work Programme before they are referred. In the longer-term, the Committee calls on DWP to consider moving away from the current differential pricing model, which is based on the type of benefit a participant is claiming, to a much more individualised, needs-based model. The Report recommends that DWP should assess how a needs-based pricing structure could determine the appropriate level of up-front funding and the types of services required to support individual jobseekers.
Publisher: Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215057600
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 236
Book Description
The Work Programme has the potential to work well for relatively mainstream jobseekers but is unlikely to reach the most disadvantaged long-term unemployed people. The Government spent some £248 million less on the Work Programme than anticipated in 2012/13, due to providers' under-performance in a "payment-by-results" programme. In the short term, the Committee urges the Government to use the unspent Work Programme budget to: extend proven, alternative provision for disadvantaged jobseekers, such as the Work Choice programme for disabled people; extend and continue to promote Access to Work to help disabled people overcome the practical difficulties of starting a job; and provide further support for individuals who complete their two-year attachment to the Work Programme without finding sustained employment. The Committee also highlights that people with the severest barriers to work, such as homelessness and serious drug and alcohol problems are often not ready for the Work Programme and need support first to prepare for it. It recommends that DWP pilots ways of providing this additional support to prepare these groups for effective engagement with the Work Programme before they are referred. In the longer-term, the Committee calls on DWP to consider moving away from the current differential pricing model, which is based on the type of benefit a participant is claiming, to a much more individualised, needs-based model. The Report recommends that DWP should assess how a needs-based pricing structure could determine the appropriate level of up-front funding and the types of services required to support individual jobseekers.
Outcome-Based Cooperation
Author: Christopher Hodges
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1509962506
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 595
Book Description
How do we cooperate – in social, local, business, and state communities? This book proposes an Outcome-Based Cooperative Model, in which all stakeholders work together on the basis of trust and respect to achieve shared aims and outcomes. The Outcome-Based Cooperative Model is built up from an extensive analysis of behavioural and social psychology, genetic anthropology, research into behaviour and culture in societies, organisations, regulation, and enforcement. The starting point is acceptance that humanity is facing ever larger risks, which are now systemic and even existential. To overcome the challenges, humans need to cooperate more, rather than compete, alienate, or draw apart. Answering how we do that requires basing ourselves, our institutions, and systems on relationships that are built on trust. Trust is based on evidence that we can be trusted to behave well (ethically), built up over time. We should aim to agree common goals and outcomes, moderating those that conflict, produce evidence that we can be trusted, and examine our performance in achieving the right outcomes, rather than harmful ones. The implications are that we need to do more in rebasing our relationships in local groupings, business organisations, regulation, and dispute resolution. The book examines recent systems and developments in all these areas, and makes proposals of profound importance for reform. This is a new blueprint for liberty, solidarity, performance, and achievement.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1509962506
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 595
Book Description
How do we cooperate – in social, local, business, and state communities? This book proposes an Outcome-Based Cooperative Model, in which all stakeholders work together on the basis of trust and respect to achieve shared aims and outcomes. The Outcome-Based Cooperative Model is built up from an extensive analysis of behavioural and social psychology, genetic anthropology, research into behaviour and culture in societies, organisations, regulation, and enforcement. The starting point is acceptance that humanity is facing ever larger risks, which are now systemic and even existential. To overcome the challenges, humans need to cooperate more, rather than compete, alienate, or draw apart. Answering how we do that requires basing ourselves, our institutions, and systems on relationships that are built on trust. Trust is based on evidence that we can be trusted to behave well (ethically), built up over time. We should aim to agree common goals and outcomes, moderating those that conflict, produce evidence that we can be trusted, and examine our performance in achieving the right outcomes, rather than harmful ones. The implications are that we need to do more in rebasing our relationships in local groupings, business organisations, regulation, and dispute resolution. The book examines recent systems and developments in all these areas, and makes proposals of profound importance for reform. This is a new blueprint for liberty, solidarity, performance, and achievement.
Automatic enrolment in workplace pensions and the National Employment Savings Trust
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Work and Pensions Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215042972
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 238
Book Description
The Government established NEST as a low-cost pension scheme to help deliver the auto-enrolment programme and to address a market failure in the pensions industry which meant that many employers and employees were unable to access low-cost, good quality pension provision. However, the Committee believes that certain restrictions placed on NEST will create complexity for employers and will disadvantage some employees. The Committee's report recommends that, if state aid rules allow, the Government should remove the following restrictions: the cap on the annual contributions an individual can make to a NEST scheme; and the ban on individuals transferring existing pension pots into NEST. The Committee further urges the Government to proceed with its plans for State Pension reform, introducing a flat-rate State Pension and reducing the level of means-testing without delay. The report also highlights the difficulties and complexity employers and employees currently face in comparing the fees and charges applied by pension providers and recommends that, from 2013 onwards, if some auto-enrolment schemes still have hidden charges, or charges that represent poor value for money, the Government should use its powers to intervene. Auto-enrolment will impose new costs and may be particularly challenging for small employers however the Committee considers that the Government has taken appropriate steps to minimise the impact on businesses through its gradual and flexible approach ("staging and phasing") to implementation. Exempting small employers would create significant complexity, as well as excluding many employees from the benefits of workplace pension saving
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215042972
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 238
Book Description
The Government established NEST as a low-cost pension scheme to help deliver the auto-enrolment programme and to address a market failure in the pensions industry which meant that many employers and employees were unable to access low-cost, good quality pension provision. However, the Committee believes that certain restrictions placed on NEST will create complexity for employers and will disadvantage some employees. The Committee's report recommends that, if state aid rules allow, the Government should remove the following restrictions: the cap on the annual contributions an individual can make to a NEST scheme; and the ban on individuals transferring existing pension pots into NEST. The Committee further urges the Government to proceed with its plans for State Pension reform, introducing a flat-rate State Pension and reducing the level of means-testing without delay. The report also highlights the difficulties and complexity employers and employees currently face in comparing the fees and charges applied by pension providers and recommends that, from 2013 onwards, if some auto-enrolment schemes still have hidden charges, or charges that represent poor value for money, the Government should use its powers to intervene. Auto-enrolment will impose new costs and may be particularly challenging for small employers however the Committee considers that the Government has taken appropriate steps to minimise the impact on businesses through its gradual and flexible approach ("staging and phasing") to implementation. Exempting small employers would create significant complexity, as well as excluding many employees from the benefits of workplace pension saving
The Oxford Handbook of Administrative Justice
Author: Marc Hertogh
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190903082
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 745
Book Description
"The core animating feature of administrative justice scholarship is the desire to understand how justice is achieved through the delivery of public services and the actions, inactions, and decision-making of administrative bodies. The study of administrative justice also encompasses the redress systems by which people can challenge administrative bodies to seek the correction of injustices. For a long time now, scholars have been interested in administrative justice, but without necessarily framing their work as such. Rather than existing under the rubric of administrative justice, much of the research undertaken has existed within sub-categories of disciplines, such as law, sociology, public policy, politics, and public administration. Consequently, although aspects of the topic have attracted rich contributions across such disciplines, administrative justice has rarely been studied or taught in a manner that integrates these areas of research more systematically. This Handbook signals a major change of approach. Drawing together a group of world-leading scholars of administrative justice from a range of disciplines, The Oxford Handbook of Administrative Justice shows how administrative justice is a vibrant, complex, and contested field that is best understood as an area of inquiry in its own right, rather than through traditional disciplinary silos"--
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190903082
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 745
Book Description
"The core animating feature of administrative justice scholarship is the desire to understand how justice is achieved through the delivery of public services and the actions, inactions, and decision-making of administrative bodies. The study of administrative justice also encompasses the redress systems by which people can challenge administrative bodies to seek the correction of injustices. For a long time now, scholars have been interested in administrative justice, but without necessarily framing their work as such. Rather than existing under the rubric of administrative justice, much of the research undertaken has existed within sub-categories of disciplines, such as law, sociology, public policy, politics, and public administration. Consequently, although aspects of the topic have attracted rich contributions across such disciplines, administrative justice has rarely been studied or taught in a manner that integrates these areas of research more systematically. This Handbook signals a major change of approach. Drawing together a group of world-leading scholars of administrative justice from a range of disciplines, The Oxford Handbook of Administrative Justice shows how administrative justice is a vibrant, complex, and contested field that is best understood as an area of inquiry in its own right, rather than through traditional disciplinary silos"--