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- Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008
- Working
for a healthier tomorrow (2.4MB)
published
17 March 2008 - Ready to Work, Skilled for Work: Unlocking Britain’s talent published 28/01/08
- Ready for work: full employment in our generation published 13/12/07
Welfare Reform
The Government is committed to building an inclusive, cohesive and prosperous society with fairness and social justice for all at its core.
Full employment is at the heart of the strategy. The Government is aiming for an employment rate of 80 percent. It will help us to combat poverty and enable Britain to take the opportunities that the global economy presents.
We have already made significant progress with the introduction of a series of radical welfare reforms to improve the opportunities for people to work.Welfare to work
We have created Jobcentre Plus as a world leading welfare to work organisation. We have introduced innovative employment programmes such as the New Deal, and we are now helping people on incapacity benefits through Pathways to Work. And we have improved incentives to work by providing greater support through the tax credit system and the introduction of the minimum wage.
Together, these reforms have led to a significant improvement in the performance of the UK labour market. There are over 29 million people in employment, more than ever before. And the numbers on key out of work benefits are down by one million since 1997.Looking ahead
In addition to these improvements, much more remains to be done. The Government want as many people as possible to share in the rewards of work. They believe it is good for people’s health, the prospects of their families, and it increases community cohesion.
In the next phase of welfare reform the Government will continue to pursue its ambitions of employment opportunity for all and eradicating child poverty.Ready for work: full employment in our generation
On 13 December 2007, we published ‘Ready for work: full employment in our generation’ which 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. The paper responds to the ‘In work, better off’ consultation exercise which ran from July to October 2007.
See Legislation and key documents for other publications about welfare reform.