2 February 2005 - Employment opportunity for all: DWP five year strategy published today.
The Strategy recognises the major future challenge facing the Department is the welcome fact we are all living longer. Since the 1940s, when Beveridge introduced the state pensions system, the average person now spends six more years retired. Helping more people into work and then supporting them as their lives and work patterns change is the best response to this challenge, as well as delivering a fairer more inclusive society.
The Strategy sets the ambitious long-term aspiration of increasing the overall employment rate from 75% to 80% by tackling inactivity while still supporting those who are unable to work. This would mean achieving the highest employment rate in the UK’s history and the highest of any major industrialised country.
An 80% employment rate could mean as many as 300,000 more lone parents working and as many as one million more people in jobs rather than on incapacity benefits. We also envisage one million more older workers being given the choice and opportunity to work for longer.
Alan Johnson, Secretary of State said:
“We know employment is the best route out of poverty and our achievements speak for themselves. There are now more people in work than ever before and we have one of the strongest labour markets in the world. This success is rooted in policies like the New Deal and Jobcentre Plus as well as the stable macro economic framework we’ve put in place.
“This Strategy today sets out how we can go further. Through our successful Pathways to Work Pilots we have started to provide real help to people with a health condition or disability, with greater employment advice, NHS support and a £40 a week credit to make work pay. But we need to build further on this.
“Nine out of ten people coming onto incapacity benefit expect to go back to work and we need to do even more to help them make this happen. We need to make the most of people’s talents to give all the opportunity to work and ensure those who cannot do so get the support they need.”
Specifically the Strategy details:
- How on the back of a big expansion in Pathways to Work we will build the fundamental reform of incapacity benefits to help more people who are able to work, get back to and stay in work. This is part of a six step strategy designed to ensure more people with health conditions and disabilities, are helped back to work. The strategy also includes a £20 million trial to improve workplace health and measures to support GPs in providing fitness for work advice, including placing employment advisers in GP’s surgeries.
- A package of help for lone parents. An integrated package of measures to support lone parents into work, together with the extension of childcare, will mean more people will be able to take up employment and have more flexibility and choice about how to enter the labour market.
- Increased opportunity to work longer and save more for retirement. We will fight age discrimination, increase welfare to work help and give people the chance to save more for their retirement by deferring the state pension and getting a lump sum, which could be between £20,000 and £30,000 when someone works for an extra five years.
Separate press releases with more details on each of these are available.
The Five Year Strategy also sets out how the welfare state is being reformed so that services are now tailored to the individual.
Alan Johnson continued:
“We are moving from a passive to an active welfare state and this reform means we are doing more than just providing a safety net.
“We are now supporting people throughout their lives by providing employment opportunity and security, helping people as they care for their children as well as giving the choice to receive the state pension as a lump sum.
“We will continue to build on the progress we’ve made. Yes, there are now 600,000 fewer children living in poverty but we want to go further. Yes, we’ve lifted 1.8 million pensioners out of absolute poverty, but I am determined to do more.
“Giving people the opportunity to work whilst supporting those who can’t is what social justice is all about and this Strategy today sets out how we can go further than ever before.”
Notes for editors
- The Five Year Strategy was published today and is available at: www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/dwp/2005/5_yr_strat/pdf/report.pdf (1MB)
Press office: 020 7238 0866
Out of hours: 07659 108 883
Public enquiries: 020 7712 2171