This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7246111.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 2 | Version 3 |
---|---|
PM sets out training benefit plan | |
(about 13 hours later) | |
Gordon Brown has set out plans to give extra benefits to members of poor families who agree to return to work and sign up to skills training courses. | |
The proposals are based on a US system where some families receive more than £1,000 a year for up to three years. | |
In a speech at the Welsh Labour Party conference, the prime minister acknowledged people from disadvantaged backgrounds faced difficulties. | |
But they must take up the opportunities available to them, Mr Brown added. | |
'Greatest opportunity' | |
The prime minister said he proposed new "contracts out of poverty" for individual families to escape the "daily injustices of poverty". | |
He told the conference in Llandudno: "In the coming decades the number of the world's skilled jobs will double. | |
"It creates the greatest opportunity for whichever country rises to the education and skills challenge. I want that country to be Britain. | |
"Unlocking not just some of the talent of the British people, but all of the talent of our people." | |
Extra payments | |
Employment Minister Stephen Timms will travel to New York to see if parts of the scheme, called Opportunity NYC, can be imported to the UK. | |
The programme gives money to people in poor inner-city areas in return for them staying in work or enrolling in training. | The programme gives money to people in poor inner-city areas in return for them staying in work or enrolling in training. |
Extra payments are added if parents agree, for example, to oversee the behaviour of wayward children, or even to stop smoking or improve their diet if there are health concerns. | Extra payments are added if parents agree, for example, to oversee the behaviour of wayward children, or even to stop smoking or improve their diet if there are health concerns. |
The government is expected to announce a series of pilot schemes, concentrating initially on the employment and training sections of the US experiment. | The government is expected to announce a series of pilot schemes, concentrating initially on the employment and training sections of the US experiment. |
Unproven scheme | |
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Chris Grayling said Mr Brown was "chasing headlines" after warning last month of benefits cuts for those who refused training. | |
"Last month Gordon Brown wanted contracts and benefit cuts for those who refuse training," he said. | |
"This month he says he wants contracts and benefit increases for those who accept training. | "This month he says he wants contracts and benefit increases for those who accept training. |
"Once again he's chasing headlines by latching on to a scheme in New York that has only just started, and no one yet knows if it works." | "Once again he's chasing headlines by latching on to a scheme in New York that has only just started, and no one yet knows if it works." |
The Tories have pledged to adopt a New York "workfare" scheme which forces the long-term unemployed to do community work for their benefits. |