SNP Westminster spokesperson on Health Dr Philippa Whitford MP has written to the Tory minister David Gauke urging the UK government to use next week’s Budget to sort out the ‘damaging and destructive’ roll out of Universal Credit (UC).
 
Dr Whitford’s constituency of Central Ayrshire is one of the next areas selected for roll out - and the start date will coincide with the Chancellor’s Budget on Wednesday. There are widespread concerns about delays in payments and the flawed advance payments system – which can lead to people going deeply into debt.
 
In her letter to David Gauke the Work and Pensions Secretary - Dr Whitford also raises the issue of  the UC single recipient system – which can hit people in controlling or abusive relationships – writing:
 
‘’I am also concerned for claimants who are in controlling or abusive relationships and who stay because they cannot afford to leave. The Universal Credit single recipient system risks trapping women in dangerous partnerships. No woman should have to decide between poverty and abuse.’’   

Dr Whitford will be presenting a Ten Minute Rule Bill  at Westminster on the 27th November to ask again that the Government shortens the waiting time for the first payment from a minimum of 6 weeks to one month. The Bill proposes some pragmatic improvements such as a longer payback period for advanced payments, the option of twice monthly payments and direct landlord payments. It also asks for a move away from single recipient system.

ABC Comment: Ten Minute Rule Bills. Ten Minute Rule Bills are a type of Private Members' Bill that are introduced in the House of Commons under Standing Order No 23. The ten minute rule allows a backbench MP to make his or her case for a new Bill in a speech lasting up to ten minutes. If the MP is successful the Bill is taken to have had its first reading.

The Centre for Social Justice was co-founded by Iain Duncan Smith. Here is what Edward Davies, Policy Director, has to say about Universal Credit and the coming budget. Iain Duncan Smith’s favorite think tank the Center for Social Justice says tax cuts should be abandoned and the extra cash poured into Universal Credit instead.

Edward oversees the work of the policy research team at the CSJ. He joined the organisation from the Health Foundation where he was a Policy Fellow for two years. Prior to this he spent the majority of his career working as a journalist, specialising in health and social care policy.

This included seven years as an editor at the BMJ and writing for a range of trade and general publications from Medeconomics to The Guardian. He began his career as a research analyst in the pharmaceutical industry.

Image: Edward Davies, Policy Director, Centre for Social Justice.

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Next week’s Budget must support Universal Credit.

In recent weeks I’ve had the privilege of visiting three very different frontline charities. Ostensibly they worked in the areas of housing, youth, and prisons. All three talked about the importance of ‘life change’.

But when pushed on what life change really means for the people they work with, all three had a staggeringly simple and identical response: a job.

There is the obvious economic benefit of this but they also talked about it in terms of dignity and purpose. For people living in chaotic circumstances a job offers routine and a stake in society more than anything else the charities can do. It is the surest tool in our armoury to encourage human flourishing.

It is for exactly this reason that in recent weeks, while many have criticised Universal Credit (UC), the CSJ has been a vocal supporter.

Research among early adopters of UC finds that you are more likely to find job, more likely to work more hours, and more likely to earn more on UC than on the legacy system.

It all adds up to a potential quarter of a million more people in work. This does not just mean 250,000 lives changed. It also changes the chances of their families and communities. A working household can fundamentally change a child’s future. We must not jeopardise this.

And we at the CSJ have also seen it happening first hand in job centres and workplaces around the UK. This example is taken directly from a UC claimant’s journal earlier this year: “I would like to close my claim for UC from today 9th June, as I will be working 30 hours a week and maybe more. I'm truly grateful to yourself and all the team who have helped me since November. I would like to say a very big thank you to you all!!! And all the best! Thank you once again. Really happy to be back to work. Thank you always.”

All that said, individual stories of hardship are emerging, and if UC and people are to thrive, these must be addressed. For that reason, we are asking for two pieces of investment in next week’s budget.

Firstly, along with a number of other individuals and organisations, we would like to see an end to the seven waiting days. This was not part of the CSJ’s original design. UC is partly meant to encourage employment by replicating it and there isn’t a job in the world that asks you to work the first seven days for free. At a cost of roughly £150m this is a relatively affordable and straightforward thing to adjust.

Secondly, however, we would like to see far bolder investment in the system. The 2015 Budget cut the work allowances in UC. Work allowances are the amount of money a person can earn before their benefit starts to taper away and so they give an important financial support for individuals taking that first step into work.

It’s easy to call it a work incentive but it is far more than that – it is a ladder into self-sufficiency where the old system offered a cliff edge.

We want to see these allowances restored to their original level at a cost of more than £3 billion. We recognise this is expensive and fully understand that the Government must act with financial constraint. We are asking the Government not to pause UC, but instead to pause the rise in the personal tax threshold which is being given to the entire population and instead refocus those savings directly at the people that most need it, through UC.

It is a smart use of tight resources that will ensure every penny is directed at supporting a pathway into work and turning lives around.

We also recognise that rolling out a new system like UC is not straightforward, but as an organisation that fundamentally believes in giving every person the opportunity to flourish, we think it is the right engine to invest in.

End

ABC Comment: One in four people in Europe are economically inactive. Yes, we agree, a job can be a way out of poverty... however many jobs are part-time, low-paid and insecure. The cost of travelling to work after privatisation has skyrocketed, and there are issues around childcare. A job is not necessarily a way out of poverty, not in the way it once was. This government has slashed wages and promoted insecure work, yet it still wants people to still believe in the world of work, when automation is taking away jobs.

Universal Credit (UC) has merits, but cutting welfare – thought it may be seen to provide people with an incentive to get a job in the short-term, can in fact be cut so low, that people are more interested in focusing on short-term survival. Certainly, below a certain level of income it makes it very difficult for people to seek work and present themselves in a way they seem credible to an employer.

Some young people’s clothes are so ragged and dirty, and they look so dishevelled, that seeing them as a credible employee in an employer’s eyes is hard to imagine? Economic inequality is a breeding ground for mental illness. Sitting in the offices of a posh London think tank is not the same as living in a squalid bedsit, out in the provinces, surviving on a pittance.

The underclass today is in a terrible financial plight. Getting a job or going onto UC and waiting weeks to get paid, is like climbing Everest for some people [harder even]. You get paid end of month one in your new job and much of your support is stopped. You are back where you were when you started. You starved to complete the first month, eating at the soup kitchen, and now you have £300 after bills to last month two. You wonder why UK productivity is lower than France, that has a two hour lunch break? Poor wages might explain it? 

The Centre for Social Justice want to see UC changes and we agree that the seven days waiting should go. Allowing people to keep more of what they earn is also welcomed, however the treatment of the self-employed needs completely revisiting and when we last checked you could not be a director and on UC? People who found not-for-profits, but do not take salary are under threat. BIG Society was meant to promote the third sector. The right to associate with others is a legal right in European law and we will be looking into this aspect of UC in due course. 

Since 2010 the poorest have been hardest hit, with the lowest earners set to lose 10 percent of their incomes by 2022. Something needs to be done. 

One fourth of the world’s chronically hungry people live in India, while 25-30 percent of all the food produced by the country is wasted.  Last week, the India FoodBanking Network, with support from Global Food Banking Network (GFN), took an important step in bringing vital support to those facing hunger through forging a joint commitment with India’s Ministry of Food Processing to advance food banking in the country. 
 
The partnership, which was announced at World Food India, will assess the extent of food waste at various points in the supply chain, and determine strategies to efficiently capture this surplus and re-direct it to those facing hunger.  The India FoodBanking Network, with technical assistance from GFN, will also:

• * explore policy initiatives that enable food rescue and advance hunger relief;
• * design operating standards that support food safety and reflect organizational best practices; and
• * develop food banking models that can be piloted in rural and urban areas throughout India.  

GFN began exploring food banking in India in 2009 and has partnered with the India FoodBanking Network, which is cultivating food banking in a number of cities, since 2013.  Although the food banking model holds great promise for supporting hunger relief, much work remains to refine a model that best fits with the hunger and food waste challenges facing the country, and then take that model to scale.  This partnership serves as an important next step. 
 
This partnership is just one exciting step in the work that is enabling GFN to lead in advancing the food banking concept globally.  Approximately 1 in 9 people globally face hunger, and millions of these people can be reached through food banking. 

ABC Note: We look forward to keeping you appraised of  work to support hunger relief in India, and in other countries.  

Image: Food poverty in India.

European Union leaders have solemnly proclaimed the European Pillar of Social Rights at the Social Summit for fair jobs and growth in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Pillar was first announced by President Juncker in his 2015 State of the Union Address and presented by the Commission in April 2017. Today it was signed by President Juncker for the European Commission, President Tajani for the European Parliament and Prime Minister Ratas for the Council of the European Union.

Image: President Tajani for the European Parliament, President Juncker for the European Commission and Prime Minister Ratas for the Council of the European Union.

On this occasion, President Juncker said:

„This is a landmark moment for Europe. Our Union has always been a social project at heart. It is more than just a single market, more than money, more than the euro. It is about our values and the way we want to live.

The European social model has been a success story and has made Europe a world-class place to live and work. Today we assert our common values and commit ourselves to a set of 20 principles and rights. From the right to fair wages to the right to health care; from lifelong learning, a better work-life balance and gender equality to minimum income: with the European Pillar of Social Rights, the EU stands up for the rights of its citizens in a fast-changing world.

The proclamation of the Pillar at the Gothenburg Social Summit comes at a key moment to anchor a strong social dimension in the future of the European Union. The timing was chosen very deliberately, making Europe‘s social dimension the first milestone on our road to Sibiu.

In times of deep change – whether in life or in politics – it is only natural to come back to what defines you and to what holds you together. Therefore I am glad that we could all agree on the European Pillar of Social Rights in less than half a year since the European Commission proposed it. This shared commitment is a strong demonstration of European unity.

The Pillar – and Europe‘s social dimension as a whole – will only be as strong as we allow it to be. This is a joint responsibility and it starts at national, regional and local level, with a key role for social partners and civil society. Therefore, while fully respecting and embracing the different approaches which exist across Europe, we all now need to turn commitments into action. Europeans deserve nothing less.

For More Information

Website of the European Pillar of Social Rights

Official text of the European Pillar of Social Rights

Social Summit for Fair Jobs and Growth: strengthening the EU's social dimension

Website of the Social Summit for Fair Jobs and Growth

Factsheets:

• Social priorities under the Juncker Commission

• European Pillar of Social Rights

• Social Scoreboard for the European Pillar of Social Rights

• Towards fair labour mobility: Revision of EU Posting of Workers rules  

• Towards fair labour mobility: A European Labour Authority  

• Supporting Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers  

• Youth Guarantee & Youth Employment Initiative

• Health and Safety at Work

• European Social Fund: 60 years of investing in people

We have been asked to join Inclusion Scotland and we have proudly signed up as an associate organisation! 

This is Inclusion Scotland summarized in their own words:

Inclusion Scotland is run by disabled people ourselves. This is important because disabled people know best about the barriers that prevent our full inclusion into Scottish society. We experience them every day. But we cannot remove them by ourselves. We need allies and supporters. We need those in power to hear disabled people’s voices and work with us to remove these barriers.

The organisation does great work and we are keen to hear more about the issues the disabled have, especially those whom we know are battling to claim PIPs. Employers who dicriminate against the disabled don't deserve to be in business and we all need to work together to see that everyone is included in society and treated with fairness and dignity. 

We hope to visit sunny Scotland in the not too distant future, and that would include meeting those we have special relations with.   

One in five people in the UK are still earning below the real Living Wage...The research was conducted by Markit for accountancy big hitters KPMG.

Which jobs pay the least?

Download the report below and find out.

The National Audit Office has today published a briefing describing how the centre of government is overseeing and taking forward implementation of the UK’s exit from the European Union. The briefing focuses in particular on the coordination role of the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU).

The briefing describes the following:

The scale of the task. We set out the range of matters departments need to consider to deliver Exit and the work streams they have identified.

Who does what across government. We set out the responsibilities of DExEU and the range of government bodies involved in Exit.

How DExEU has set about its task. They set out DExEU’s approach to supporting implementation of Exit and how it is monitoring departments’ progress.

The National Audit Office scrutinises public spending for Parliament and is independent of government. The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), Sir Amyas Morse KCB, is an Officer of the House of Commons and leads the NAO, which employs some 785 people. The C&AG certifies the accounts of all government departments and many other public-sector bodies. He has statutory authority to examine and report to Parliament on whether departments and the bodies they fund have used their resources efficiently, effectively, and with economy. The National Audit Office studies evaluate the value for money of public spending, nationally and locally. Recommendations and reports on good practice help government improve public services. The National Audit Office work led to audited savings of £734 million in 2016.

ABC Note: Not our usual topic but if BREXIT interests you this report below gives a feeling about whats involved. 

As of the 2011 Census, there were 6.5 million unpaid carers in the UK.  As the population ages and people live for longer with complex health conditions, the number of unpaid carers is set to increase rapidly, compounded by pressures on the social care budget that mean people may have to take on more care responsibilities themselves at home.

Currently, over three million of those unpaid carers in the UK are also in paid employment. Research suggests that over 2 million people have given up employment at some point to care for family or friends with long-term illness, disability or problems related to old age, while 3 million have had to reduce their working hours. People who provide the most hours of care per week are significantly more likely to live in poverty: 37% of the 1.4 million working-age adults in the UK who provide at least 20 hours of care live in poverty, compared to the average poverty rate for a working-age “non-carer” of 21%.

In 2014, the Department for Work and Pensions published their ‘Fuller workings lives: a framework for action’ report, which looks at ways that government and employers can work together to support people in employment later in life. It said that ‘supporting carers to stay in work is becoming a major challenge for employers’ and looked at various pilots run by employers to support carers. It also announced that people would no longer face the “cliff-edge” drop off in carers’ allowance with income under Universal Credit.

In 2015, the Government announced £1.6million to support nine pilot projects exploring ways to help carers balance employment with their caring responsibilities. The pilots were intended to ‘explore how technology can be combined with professional support from the Local Authority and the assistance of informal networks of friends, neighbours and Time Bank volunteers to ease the pressure of caring.’ These pilots have now concluded, and an evaluation was initially expected in October of this year.

The Government also committed to producing a cross-government carers strategy, and held a consultation which concluded in March 2016: its conclusions have not been produced yet. 

Rt Hon Frank Field MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “There are millions of unpaid carers in this country doing vital work, ever more so with the pressures on the social care budget. We want to hear from carers and their employers about the realities of juggling caring duties with paid employment, and the kinds of practical ways we can help to get, and keep, people in the paid work they want while crucially ensuring their friends, relatives, and loved ones can continue to receive the best possible care.”

Image: Steve McCabe MP, DWP Committee Member

Steve McCabe MP, Committee Member, said “I believe that carers largely provide unpaid care as an act of love and devotion, but it is really important that their valuable contribution doesn’t end up resembling a form of slavery. We must find ways to recognise and support their work, both paid and unpaid.”  

We invite evidence from any and all interested parties on some or all of the following questions, and are particularly keen to hear from any of you involved in the pilots.  Your evidence will be incorporated into the conclusions of this inquiry, which in turn aims to inform the upcoming carers strategy.

• Does DWP provide adequate support for carers in employment and those seeking employment? What more could the department do?
• How can the Department work more proactively with employers to support carers?
• What are the main barriers to employment for carers and how can these be reduced?
• What role can assistive technology play in supporting carers in employment/seeking employment?
• What examples of employer best practice towards carers could the Department promote? Would mandatory ‘carers policy’ statements be a good idea?
• Is there a ‘cultural shift’ needed in our attitude towards carers in employment? If so, how far can the Department go in influencing such a shift?
• Is there a coherent cross-government strategy for supporting carers in employment/seeking employment?

 On the pilots specifically:

• What were the objectives for the pilots and how have they performed against those objectives?
• Is there scope to roll-out successful schemes more widely?
• What other lessons have been learnt from the pilot schemes?

Simon Collyer founder of the ABC worked in the Gig economy while developing the ABC. On the 14th November Oxfordshire Trading Standards and a large contingent of police raided his former employer. Please see our press release below. 

Simon Collyer v Right2Improve Limited. Case Number 3200189/2017

A Colchester civil rights campaigner, Simon Collyer, founder of the Association of Pension & Benefits Claimants Cic, also known as the ABC – has recently won a significant Working Time Regulations case against Chelmsford based, renewables energy company; Right2Improve Limited.

Mr Collyer supported himself working in the Gig economy while building up his organisation and he was contacted by Right2Improve Limited, who were seeking sales staff. The job was commission only, but the job advertisement included petrol expenses.

Mr Collyer started with Right2Improve on December 12^th 2016 and completed an induction weeks training successfully, but after meeting his manager Mr Gary Hebert at a customer’s residence, Mr Herbert seemed agitated when Mr Collyer was not able to start making sales calls the following day, due to a vehicle mechanical issue. Mr Collyer had asked for more information about petrol expenses on the course, but that request was ignored and in the following week, Mr Herbert again became combative when petrol expenses were brought up.

Following Christmas 2016, Mr Collyer attended the Monday morning sales meetings for two months, but he was given no sales leads. He asked for a meeting with Mr Lewis Borg, the managing director, to discuss the situation. Eventually Mr Collyer asked for help from ACAS at which point Right2Improve Ltd terminated, Mr Collyer.

‘The situation was odd’ said Mr Collyer. Sales reps had to sign a pre-contract agreement promising the earth to the company and then later were given a ‘self-employed contact’ which the Court felt at one stage, might supersede this written understanding.

Mr Collyer took Right2Improve Limited to an Employment Tribunal representing himself. The Working Time Regulations 1998 were brought in by the EU. Effectively ‘workers’ who can be self-employed as well as those employed, are guaranteed basic rights in law such as minimum wages, holiday pay and so on. A lot of these cases have hinged on the ‘field of dependant working relationships’ and the right of the individual to substitute an alternative worker. In the Right2Improve case, the Company stated in their contract that Mr Collyer could substitute someone else, but that person would have to be approved by the Company.  In other words, it was not an ‘unfettered’ relationship. The on-line job advertisement had been taken down and the fuel offer could not be proven at tribunal.  

Mr Collyer won his case against Right2Improve represented by their legal experts, Chelmsford solicitors, Archers Law. ‘I was elated’ said Mr Collyer. However, it was a pyrrhic victory as Mr Collyer did little work beyond attending sales meetings and initial training.

‘Some of the sales practises were alarming’ says Mr Collyer. ‘I was being managed out of the business'. 

‘The home improvements industry has its share of cowboy operators’ said Mr Collyer. The term ‘hungry salesman’ is no empty metaphor. Simon hopes his victory will lead to better treatment of sales people, which in turn will lead to greater protection for consumers. 

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: Simon has offered his article 'For Whom the Doorbell Tolls' to you, about the home improvements, direct sales industry. A touch of Hemingway you might say!! 

Image: Right2Improve Limited

House of Commons

Thursday 16 November 2017 Meeting starts at 9.30am

ABC Note: The Centre for Social Justice was set up by Iain Duncan Smith and Tim Montgomerie a leading Conservative activist who has since resigned from the Party over its pro-EU stance. The Centre for Social Justice produced a report in 2009 called Dynamic Benefits - see below. This report became the foundation of Universal Credit. Dr Stephen Brien, author of the report that became the blueprint for the benefit, has told the BBC today, claimants should receive their first payment after four weeks. This is going to be a difficult day for the government. Theresa May's authority continues to shrink and the government can expect some robust criticism, even from their own more moderate MP's, concerned about their own constituents opinions.    

Agenda

Oral questions: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (including Topical Questions)

Oral questions: Attorney General