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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Tories target long-term jobless | Tories target long-term jobless |
| (19 minutes later) | |
| A Conservative government would adopt a US-style scheme to force the long-term unemployed to work for their benefits. | A Conservative government would adopt a US-style scheme to force the long-term unemployed to work for their benefits. |
| People who claim Jobseekers' Allowance for more than two years would have to take part in a 12-month community work scheme, under Tory plans. | People who claim Jobseekers' Allowance for more than two years would have to take part in a 12-month community work scheme, under Tory plans. |
| The party says those who refused to participate in their "welfare to work" programme would lose their benefits. | The party says those who refused to participate in their "welfare to work" programme would lose their benefits. |
| But Work and Pensions Minister Peter Hain said it would be very costly and would not get people into work. | But Work and Pensions Minister Peter Hain said it would be very costly and would not get people into work. |
| The announcement is part of a Conservative package of welfare reform proposals due to be unveiled by David Cameron, and uses an idea adopted in New York. | |
| The two-year limit on job seekers' allowance would apply to "continuous and cumulative periods of unemployment", the Tories say. | The two-year limit on job seekers' allowance would apply to "continuous and cumulative periods of unemployment", the Tories say. |
| Valuable work | Valuable work |
| They argue this will help stop people claiming for years at a time, by signing off for short periods or taking a job for a short period, then going back on benefits. | They argue this will help stop people claiming for years at a time, by signing off for short periods or taking a job for a short period, then going back on benefits. |
| People would have to take part in a 12-month programme involving "valuable improvement and amenity work in the areas where they live". | People would have to take part in a 12-month programme involving "valuable improvement and amenity work in the areas where they live". |
| We want to provide real help for those who want to work - and be tough on those who are trying to avoid working Chris Grayling | We want to provide real help for those who want to work - and be tough on those who are trying to avoid working Chris Grayling |
| Under other plans due to be announced, people getting other out-of-work benefits would be expected to spend most of the working week at "back to work centres", run by independent groups, where they would receive training and guidance to help find a job. | Under other plans due to be announced, people getting other out-of-work benefits would be expected to spend most of the working week at "back to work centres", run by independent groups, where they would receive training and guidance to help find a job. |
| All job seekers would be screened as soon as they start claiming - those with a "track record" of claiming benefits would be referred to the centres straight away. Others would be given a "grace period" to find a job. | All job seekers would be screened as soon as they start claiming - those with a "track record" of claiming benefits would be referred to the centres straight away. Others would be given a "grace period" to find a job. |
| Those who refuse to take part will have their benefits cut, the Tories say. | Those who refuse to take part will have their benefits cut, the Tories say. |
| Incapacity benefit | Incapacity benefit |
| Shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling said the proposals would transform hundreds of thousands of lives and would help tackle poverty and deprivation. | Shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling said the proposals would transform hundreds of thousands of lives and would help tackle poverty and deprivation. |
| "All of this should also put an end to the situation where people can sit at home and make a career out of claiming out of work benefits," he said. | "All of this should also put an end to the situation where people can sit at home and make a career out of claiming out of work benefits," he said. |
| "We want to provide real help for those who want to work - and be tough on those who are trying to avoid working." | "We want to provide real help for those who want to work - and be tough on those who are trying to avoid working." |
| But for Labour Mr Hain said the government wanted to get people back into work by giving them new skills and training. | |
| He told the BBC: "This is hugely costly and the Tories can't fund it, it also won't work. | He told the BBC: "This is hugely costly and the Tories can't fund it, it also won't work. |
| "If you divert people into mandatory community activities they don't get a job at the end of it." | "If you divert people into mandatory community activities they don't get a job at the end of it." |
| BBC political editor Nick Robinson said although the New York scheme had reduced welfare claimants, it had not reduced the overall bill to the taxpayer. | BBC political editor Nick Robinson said although the New York scheme had reduced welfare claimants, it had not reduced the overall bill to the taxpayer. |
| Matthew Elliott from the TaxPayers Alliance said a similar scheme in the US state of Wisconsin had reduced the welfare bill and led to the creation of new jobs. | Matthew Elliott from the TaxPayers Alliance said a similar scheme in the US state of Wisconsin had reduced the welfare bill and led to the creation of new jobs. |
| He told the BBC's Breakfast programme: "Even the government have admitted themselves that a third of people on incapacity benefit could go back to work tomorrow." | He told the BBC's Breakfast programme: "Even the government have admitted themselves that a third of people on incapacity benefit could go back to work tomorrow." |
| But Kate Green from the Child Poverty Action Group said that British rules on claiming incapacity benefit were already among the strictest in the world, and that levels of fraud were small compared with the amount that went unclaimed. | |
| "What you have is a lot of people who are entitled to benefits but are repeatedly told they are scrounging or taking the state for a ride," she said. | "What you have is a lot of people who are entitled to benefits but are repeatedly told they are scrounging or taking the state for a ride," she said. |
| "We are talking about families in real hardship struggling to bring up their kids." | "We are talking about families in real hardship struggling to bring up their kids." |
| Kate Bell of the National Council for One Parent Families told BBC Radio Five Live that there was no point forcing claimants back to work without giving them childcare alternatives. | |
| "People need help and support," she said. "We are talking about parents with children as young as five." |