Pleased that Universal Credit is being extended and that a slow and steady roll out is taking place

Universal Credit is being extended – starting to take claims from families from this week, and making sure work always pays more than benefits.

The Coalition inherited system of welfare that disincentivised work and trapped people in poverty. The public, and more importantly the people on welfare, lost trust in the system because it did not reward work. There were often few incentives to escape a benefit trap.  

That’s why reforming the welfare system is a key part of our long-term economic plan to secure a better future for Britain. Universal Credit is restoring fairness to the system by making sure work always pays more than benefits. By spring next year, it will be in a third of job centres. Universal Credit claimants are now moving into work faster and staying in work longer, and the system is being road tested so that we are now bringing families on-board with extra childcare support and flexibility for employers.  

Universal Credit is already changing lives: we are seeing claimants spending more time looking for jobs and moving smoothly into employment safe in the knowledge that it will always pay more to be in work. This gives people security and hope for the future. People have criticised the Coalition for doing Universal Credit changes slowly. I disagree; I want this ground breaking and highly complex reform to be road tested before each new quantum leap.

Cruddas contribution and assessment of the welfare debate as job numbers improve year on year

I occupy a unique position in the House of Commons. My office in Room 101 in Norman Shaw North has two neighbours. On my right is the ultra pragmatically Labour chair of Home Affairs Select Committee, Keith Vaz, MP for Leicester East.

On my left is Jon Cruddas, Labour MP for Dagenham: he is the head of Ed Miliband’s policy unit. I have shared debates with him - including the 10th March event with the Equality Trust and the authors of the keystone book - The Sprit Level. It is hard not to be impressed by Cruddas - he is a genuine thinker.

On 21 June Cruddas was speaking to Compass, a left-wing policy group, and was recorded speaking frankly about the Labour policy review: he was very critical. Cruddas said:

‘We managed in the political world to condense it into one story about a punitive hit on 18 to 21-year-olds around their benefits. That takes some doing, you know, a report with depth is collapsed into one instrumentalised policy thing which was fairly cynical and punitive… And instead instrumentalised, cynical nuggets of policy to chime with our focus groups and our press strategies and our desire for a top line in terms of the 24-hour media cycle dominate and crowd out any innovation or creativity.’

The Labour spokeswoman, Rachel Reeves’ plan is to deny the dole to the under-25s unless they go to study for some exams to take them up to Level 3 (the equivalent of an A-Level). Will this be effective or is it a gimmick, even though a massive proportion have no GCSEs?
The Coalition plan is based on apprenticeships and work. Each day, the UK employment count is rising by 2,000. In addition, Youth unemployment is falling at the fastest rate in 15 years:
Cruddas makes it clear that Miliband and Reeves do not have answers to Britain’s serious problems.
Hexham JSA Claimant rate is down 31.1% on last year
Indeed throughout the North East every constituency is seeing an improvement in job numbers and JSA claimants. The plan is working.

BBC Sunday Politics Show on Iplayer - 36 minutes, 30 seconds in

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03yvtxc/Sunday_Politics_North_East_and_Cumbria_30_03_2014/
Discussion of Living Wage, Welfare Cap, Labour disarray on welfare and SNP stance on the referendum on scottish independence

Labour and Benefits - committed to spending more on benefits for all, and opposing every welfare reform

The budget debate today focused on the words of Rachel Reeves, Labour Welfare Minister, who stated at an earlier meeting:
‘It will be much better if we can say that all of the changes that the Government have introduced we can reverse and all benefits can be universal.’

Despite being pressed she refused to deny saying this.
As others have pointed out:
- Implementing working-age Universal Benefits alone after the next election would cost Rachel £180 billion a year, which is double the benefits bill now.
- If you then include reversing all of IDS’s savings made in this parliament - like £2.1 billion to Housing Benefit Reforms or £1.3 billion to Employment and Support Allowance - you’re looking at another £50 billion needed. That takes Rachel’s bill to £230 billion . How can that figure possibly be seen as ‘much better’?
The truth is that Labour have opposed every single cut to the Nation's Budget. They are addicted to spending.