News from DWP
This page brings you DWP news and announcements. It also includes important changes to our websites and publications we have added. If you want to find out about something from a previous period, please go to the archive.
Remploy plan to give fair deal to disabled workforce
29 November 2007
The Remploy modernisation plan will give a fair deal to the disabled workforce, with fewer factory closures and many more disabled people supported in mainstream employment, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Peter Hain has announced.
Giving the green light for the plan, which will see 55 factories remain open – 15 more than originally proposed – Mr Hain urged the company and the unions to continue working together to make the plan work.
Mr Hain said: “I have today agreed the final proposals that the Remploy Board submitted to me on 12 November. The proposals will mean many more disabled people supported in mainstream employment, fewer factory closures than previously planned and steady improvements in value-for-money.”
New training for nurses to help patients back to work
28 November 2007
A new training programme to help nurses get their patients ready for work following an injury, disability or period of ill-health, was launched by Minister for Health and Work Lord McKenzie and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
The training will cover the relationship between work and health, focusing on rehabilitation and workplace adjustments. It has been written by the RCN, with input from the Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health.
Lord McKenzie said: “If we are serious about helping people back into work after periods of ill health, injury or disability then we need to make sure our nurses are fully supported.”
Extra help to tackle work-related stress
27 November 2007
The number of employment advisers in GP surgeries will be trebled and a new £8million advice and support service for smaller businesses piloted in a bid to help people with stress and other mental health conditions find and keep work, Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain and Health Secretary Alan Johnson announced today.
The measures underpin the development of the first national strategy for mental health and work, led by the National Director for Health and Work, Dame Carol Black.
Greater role for private and voluntary sector to tackle worklessness
27 November 2007
Private and voluntary sector organisations will be paid to get the long-term jobless into long-term jobs, Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain announced today.
Signalling a radical change in the way help and support is provided to get the most disadvantaged into work, Mr Hain outlined proposals in the emerging findings of the DWP’s commissioning strategy which include a much greater focus on results-based payments to specialist providers.
The emphasis in the welfare-to-work market, worth around £1bn a year, will not just be on getting a person into work, but making sure they stay in work. This will require longer and larger welfare-to-work contracts, with a smaller number of lead contractors to achieve this.
Opportunity, Employment and Progression: making skills work
26 November
Plans to work together to make sure people get the training they need to get into work and get on at work have been announced today by Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain and Universities, Innovation and Skills Secretary John Denham.
They include helping benefit customers identify the skills they need and providing the right training to make sure they can move from benefits to work and get ongoing training to progress in work.
The plans are set out in a document published today Opportunity, Employment and Progression: making skills work
HM Revenue & Customs security
21 November
If you are concerned that you are affected by the HM Revenue & Customs loss of Child Benefit data, you can find out more on the HMRC website
New medical test to end sick-note culture – Hain
19 November
A new medical test that will score a person’s capability rather than their incapability to work has been announced by Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain.
Called the Work Capability Assessment, the new fairer and more accurate test will be introduced in October 2008 alongside the new Employment and Support Allowance.
Half of those who take the assessment will not pass, meaning that 20,000 fewer people a year will enter ‘sickness’ benefits as a result. Instead, they will be given the support and skills they need to get a job.
The Pensions Regulator given key reform role
16 November
The Pensions Regulator will monitor a new system of pension saving from 2012, Minister for Pensions Reform Mike O’Brien announced today.
People earning more than £5,000 a year will be automatically enrolled into a qualifying work-based pension scheme or personal accounts, subject to Parliamentary approval of reforms to be published in the forthcoming Pensions Bill. As the regulator for all work-based pension schemes, the Pensions Regulator will monitor personal accounts as a whole, as well as ensuring employers meet their obligation to automatically enrol staff into a good workplace pension scheme.
Mike O’Brien said: “I believe the Pensions Regulator is well-placed to perform this important new role. It currently does an excellent job protecting pension scheme members while also demonstrating sensitivity towards the needs of businesses."
More off benefits
14 November 2007
New figures show a fall of 133,000 over the past year in the numbers claiming the key out of work benefits as more people find work and provide for themselves and their families, said Employment Minister Caroline Flint.
New figures issued by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show an increase of 69,000 people in employment, while the number of people claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA) is down for the 13th consecutive month.
More couples in work and better off
13 November
More couples are in work and better off, according to new research by the Department for Work and Pensions.
The proportion of couples where both partners work has increased from 57 per cent in 1994/5 to 67 per cent in 2005/6.
In contrast, the proportion of couples where both partners are unemployed or not looking for work has fallen from 14 per cent to 8 per cent.
Disabled people given opportunity to influence government
12 November
Disabled people travelled to Birmingham for the first meeting of a new equality body set up to help bring about the changes they want to see in their lives.
The independent body, Equality 2025, was set up by the Office for Disability Issues to ensure the views of disabled people inform Government policy and help achieve real equality in their lives.
“Tell Us” is the first of a series of two way meetings, where disabled people will have the opportunity to tell Equality 2025 directly what change they want to see and give Equality 2025 the opportunity to consult disabled people on issues which Government has brought to them.
Royal Mail industrial action – Your questions answered
1 November
Industrial action by postal workers has been suspended. The DWP contingency arrangements for getting cheques to customers via local post offices have now been suspended across the country including Liverpool postcodes.