Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall today unveiled a series of sweeping reforms as part of the government’s effort to achieve an 80 per cent employment rate.
The £240m initiative, detailed in the Get Britain Working white paper, includes plans to reform Jobcentres, widen access to work and learning opportunities for young people, and review the role of employers in making work accessible for people with disabilities and health conditions.
It comes as stark figures show almost one and a half million people are unemployed, over nine million people are inactive, a record 2.8 million people are out of work due to long-term sickness. Young people have also been left behind with one in eight young people not in education, employment or training, and nine million adults lack the essential skills they need to get on in work.
The UK is also the only major economy that has seen its employment rate fall over the last five years, which has been largely driven by a significant rise in the number of people out of work due to long-term ill health with an outdated employment support system which is ill equipped to respond to this growing challenge.
This White Paper sets out a fundamentally different approach to the employment support system – backed by £240 million of investment – to target and tackle the root causes of unemployment and inactivity, and better join up health skills and employment support based on the unique needs of local communities.
That includes tackling ill health as the biggest driver of inactivity by fixing the NHS. This includes deploying extra staff to cut waiting lists in areas of high inactivity, expanding access to mental health support, as well as a greater focus on prevention to stop people becoming ill in the first place.
The outdated Jobcentre system will also be transformed into a new national jobs and careers service, focused on people’s skills and careers instead of just monitoring and managing benefit claims. Mayors and councils will be empowered to join up local work, health and skills support in ways that meet the specific needs of their local areas.
The government is also delivering a new Youth Guarantee so every young person has access to education or training to help them find a job and transforming the Apprenticeship Levy in England into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy backed by £40 million to expand opportunities for young people to develop skills and get into work.
An independent review will also be launched into how employers can be better supported to employ people with disabilities health conditions, and to keep them in the workplace, ensuring that more people can benefit from a sense of dignity, purpose and financial independence.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “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.”
Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality, said: “Hospitality is proud to offer jobs for everyone – from working parents and students, to people with disabilities or those looking to re-enter the workforce.”
“Many of the proposals in this white paper can benefit hospitality and further that work. The focus on young people, through the Youth Guarantee, is positive, particularly as hospitality gives so many people their first job and a path to progress from bar to board.
“The commitment to overhaul the Jobcentre system is also encouraging. That work must focus on the employment requirements of local businesses if it is to fully to benefit those communities.”
“The transformation of the Apprenticeship Levy is a long-standing priority for hospitality and much needed. We now need to see a clear timetable for reform and that all relevant sectors are included in the testing of Foundation Apprenticeships.”
“Hospitality can help the Government achieve its aim of getting those economically inactive back into employment and I would urge them to permanently roll out our skills pilot to accelerate this. That pilot was extremely successful, generating an 85% completion rate with 80% of people now employed in hospitality.”
“While this white paper is largely positive, the elephant in the room is the detrimental impact the changes to employer National Insurance Contributions will have to employment in the sector. We need to see that urgently addressed with action to mitigate the impact on team members working lower hours.”
