London tightens access to benefits to boost its labor market

The British Government announced this Thursday “tougher sanctions” against people who receive benefits and who do not look for work when they can, within the framework of a “Back to Work Plan” announced a few days before the presentation of the autumn budget.

“We are serious about growing our economy and that means responding to the rise in the number of people not looking for work” when there are almost a million vacant jobs on the market, Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said in a statement. press.

“We are expanding voluntary support to people with health problems and disabilities (…), but our message is clear: if you are in good shape, if you refuse to work (…) we will take away your benefits,” by Por his part, summarized Mel Stride, the Minister of Labor.

Unemployment rate of 4.2%

The plan “includes £2.5 billion of investment over the next five years” and could eliminate certain benefits for recipients who do not meet “job search requirements,” according to the government statement.

It follows budget announcements made in March, which already tightened job search obligations for recipients of minimum social benefits in the face of severe labor shortages, but also increased subsidized childcare hours for all children over the age of 9 months to help parents return to work.

The unemployment rate in the country remained at 4.2% during the three months ended at the end of September, according to the latest available figures. But the number of vacant positions, although slowly declining, remains historically high: around one million.

Les annonces de jeudi, qui visent le tour de plus d’un million de personnes sur le marché du travail, aussi l’utilisation “d’outils numériques” pour surveiller la participation des bénéficiaires à des événements et entretiens dans le cadre de leur Job search.

The plan also includes expanding certain programs “that will benefit more than half a million people over the next five years and help people with mental health problems stay or find work.”

These announcements are part of “broader plans to grow the economy” that Jeremy Hunt will present next week during the autumn budget, the government says.