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Benefits

Chapters

  1. Salaries and Taxation
  2. Pensions
  3. Benefits
  4. Health and Care
  5. Education
  6. Housing
  7. Employment
  8. Trades Unions and Labour Laws
  9. Trade and Industry
  10. Transport
  11. Energy
  12. Environment
  13. Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Rural Life
  14. Crime
  15. Legal System
  16. Immigration and Asylum
  17. Local Government
  18. Devolution and Regional Government
  19. Parliament and Democracy
  20. Media
  21. Freedom of Information and Privacy
  22. Northern Ireland
  23. European Union
  24. Foreign Policy
  25. Defence and Disarmament
  26. Conclusions
 Preamble

Chapters

  1. Salaries and Taxation
  2. Pensions
  3. Benefits
  4. Health and Care
  5. Education
  6. Housing
  7. Employment
  8. Trades Unions and Labour Laws
  9. Trade and Industry
  10. Transport
  11. Energy
  12. Environment
  13. Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Rural Life
  14. Crime
  15. Legal System
  16. Immigration and Asylum
  17. Local Government
  18. Devolution and Regional Government
  19. Parliament and Democracy
  20. Media
  21. Freedom of Information and Privacy
  22. Northern Ireland
  23. European Union
  24. Foreign Policy
  25. Defence and Disarmament
  26. Conclusions
Under the Tories, the benefits bill rose because more people were out of work or on wages below benefit levels, and because the system involved expensive means-testing and checking that claimants were genuine. Benefit levels were low, however, and they were removed altogether for 16 and 17 year olds, while invalidity benefits and sick pay were reduced and unemployment benefit paid for a year was replaced by job-seekers allowance paid for 6 months. One-off grants, which helped the poor through crises, were replaced by loans from a social fund.
Labour policy was:
1 To reduce the benefits bill by cutting unemployment rather than cutting benefits  
2 To retain universal benefits and minimise means-testing  
3 To restore benefits to 16 and 17 year olds  
4 To restore a years benefits to the unemployed  
5 To make job schemes for the unemployed voluntary, paid at the rate for the job and carrying employee status  
6 To restore grants for crisis situations  
In fact under New Labour:
1 Unemployment fell, but the benefit bill was also cut through eligibility changes, e.g. for single parents, some disabled people and those judged capable of work even if there was little chance of them finding it  Pledge partially carried out
2 Means-testing was further extended, e.g. across disability benefits Policy shift to right of old Conservatives
3 Those from poor families still in full-time education became eligible for education maintenance allowance (and others?) Pledge partially carried out
4 The unemployed still get 6 months job-seekers allowance Pledge partially carried out
5 Job schemes gained none of these features and were essentially "workfare" Left as under the Conservatives
6 The social fund is still a loan system, its total amount was capped and loans were automatically refused if a previous loan was not fully repaid Policy shift to right of old Conservatives
In addition:
Bullet point New Labour continued the Tories' legal action against the EU's anti-poverty programme  
Bullet point Tax credits replaced some benefits and significantly raised incomes for those who paid tax and claimed the credits  
Bullet point Backdating of underpaid benefits was reduced from 52 to 4 weeks  
Bullet point Child trust funds were set up which will pay out to all at age 18  
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