Tuesday 1 January 2013

Shirkers, workers, strivers and skivers. What is the welfare uprating bill?

Cap on benefits to target 'shirkers, not workers' will worsen poverty, say critics | Politics | The Guardian:

This is about how benefits should be calculated. For several decades benefits have increased in line with inflation.  The 'uprating bill' will do the following:

Instead of increasing benefits in line with consumer price inflation of 2.2%, as had been expected for 2013-14, the chancellor said he would keep welfareincreases at 1% next year and for two years after that, saving the public purse £3.7bn a year by 2015-16.

The article has slightly different figures later on but an interesting comparison:

Through the measures, the public purse will save £1.43bn a year by 2014-15 – almost enough to cover the loss of revenue from the cancelling the fuel duty rises, also announced on Wednesday.

Therefore in real terms benefits claimants will lose out in real terms as prices rise faster than benefits.

The chancellor claims that this is justified as it will encourage skivers to get off their backside and find a job. Critics (LW) claim that the the coalition are deliberately increasing social resentment and that the majority of those affected are either in work (60% according to John Harris of The Guardian) or unable to find work.

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