Problems with the Existing System

OUR BENEFIT SYSTEM NEEDS AN OVERHAUL. It was designed 65 years ago and it has failed to keep pace with the changing needs of our population.

We are now a more diverse society made up of many different communities, families and cultures. The way we live and work has changed too, with more women than ever before in paid work and many people in part-time work.

The present system does not deliver what people want or need. It is overly complex with many layers and types of benefit. People do not get all the assistance they need because they do not know what to ask for or the administration of it is too complex to meet their needs.

The system often does not assist people to take on the risks of an entry-level job or take the first step towards a new career. It cannot give people certainty that getting a job will leave them better off. Nor does it respond quickly enough to changing individual needs.

At a time when there are skill shortages in some industries, we still also have many long-term unemployed. Our current system has failed to make the right social investments to bridge this gap.

Overall, it is outdated, complex and ineffective in helping people achieve independence. For example:

• Despite improved economic conditions, one in six people of working age rely mainly on a benefit.
• One in 10 people of working-age has been continuously on a benefit for more than two years.
• Nearly a third of people who leave a benefit to take up work, are back on a benefit within nine months.

We need a social security system that is modern, simple, flexible and more effective in supporting people to take up and stay in work.

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