Legislation and key documents

Below is a list of recent Welfare Reform legislation and other key documents.

• Welfare reform regulations and policy briefing notes – we will publish draft regulations relating to the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and associated policy briefing notes as they become available.
• Welfare Reform Act 2012 – March 2012. Introduces a range of reforms to make the tax and benefits system fairer and simpler.
• Universal Credit: welfare that works – November 2010. Sets out the Coalition Government’s plans to introduce legislation to reform the welfare system by creating a new Universal Credit.
• 21st Century Welfare – July 2010. Consultation paper that sets out the Government’s proposals to simplify the benefits system in order to improve incentives to work.

Previous administration publications from before May 2010

• Building bridges to work: new approaches to tackling long term worklessness – March 2010. This sets out the Government's next steps on welfare reform, outlining how we will help the long-term workless back into work and support disabled people and those with health conditions who are at risk of long term unemployment and worklessness to make sure no one gets left behind in the recovery.
• Work and Skills Plans: Next Steps, Policy Statement (102KB) – February 2010. Sets out how local authorities, together with their partners, will develop and agree their response to the local employment and skills needs.
• Building Britain’s Recovery: Achieving Full Employment – December 2009. Restates the Government’s response to the recession and signals the start of the programme to return to full employment.
• Realising ambitions: Better employment support for people with a mental health condition – December 2009. Independent report on mental health and employment.
• New Opportunities: Fair chances for the future – January 2009. White Paper sets out the Government's agenda for capturing the jobs of the future and investing in families, communities and citizens throughout their lives to help them get on and get ahead (National Archives).
• Raising expectations and increasing support: reforming welfare for the future – December 2008. Responds to the ‘No one written off’ consultation and sets out how we plan to take our proposals forward as part of our vision for a personalised welfare state, where more support is matched by higher expectations for all.
• Realising potential: A vision for personalised conditionality and support – December 2008. Professor Paul Gregg’s independent report to the DWP on Personalised Conditionality and Support.
• Getting on, getting ahead (1.54MB) – A discussion paper: analysing the trends and drivers of social mobility (links to Cabinet office website)
• No one written off: reforming welfare to reward responsibility - July 2008. Sets out a range of options to reduce welfare dependency, support more people into work, provide greater support and control for disabled people and strengthen parental responsibility.
• Work skills – June 2008. Outlines what the Government is doing to help people take control of their skills needs, both for today and in the future and how we will support employers to get the skilled workforce they need. (National Archives).
• Employment and Support Allowance Regulations – March 2008, set out the entitlement conditions to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) from 27 October 2008.
• Working for a healthier tomorrow (2.4MB) – March 2008. Dame Carol Black’s review of the health of the working age population, jointly commissioned jointly by DWP and the Department of Health.
• Ready to Work, Skilled for Work: Unlocking Britain’s Talent - January 2008. Sets out how government and business working together, can unlock Britain’s talent, ensure employers have access to the skills they need to prosper, and give millions of people the chance to realise their potential and change their lives.
• Transforming Britain's labour market - Ten years of the New Deal (493KB) – January 2008. Reflects on the success of the New Deal over the last ten years and looks forward to the future.
• ‘Ready for work: full employment in our generation’ – December 2007. Responds to the ‘In work, better off’ consultation and sets out the steps the Government will take to reach the goals of an 80 per cent employment rate and working people with world class skills
• ‘DWP Commissioning Strategy – interim report’ (74KB) – November 2007. Outlines some of the main ways we intend to work in partnership with the private, public and third sectors.
• ‘Opportunity, Employment and Progression: making skills work’ (462KB) – November 2007. Sets out how the Government will move forward on the employment and skills agenda.
• 'In work, better off‘ – July 2007. Sets out further measures to achieve the Government’s goal of employment opportunity for all.
• Welfare Reform Act 2007. The legislation bringing into law measures including, reform of incapacity benefits and Housing Benefit, and other measures to amend the benefit system. 
• ‘Working for Children’ – March 2007. The Government’s strategy for tackling child poverty. (This link takes you to the child poverty pages of the DWP site.)
• ‘Reducing dependency, increasing opportunity: options for the future of welfare to work’ – March 2007. David Freud’s independent report to DWP for the Government’s long-term review of welfare to work strategy.
• The Welfare State: the next 10 years’ seminars – January / February 2007. A series of seminars to discuss key issues in the development of the welfare state in the next decade.
• ‘Prosperity for all in the global economy – world class skills’ – December 2006. Lord Leitch’s review of long-term skills needs. (This link takes you to HM Treasury website.)
• ‘Delivering on Child Poverty: what would it take?’ – November 2006. Lisa Harker’s report to DWP on their child poverty strategy. (This link takes you to the resource centre of the DWP site.)
• ‘A new deal for welfare: Empowering people to work’ – January 2006. Sets out proposals including reform of incapacity benefits and Housing Benefit.