Force Claimants To Work For Benefits, Says TaxPayers’ Alliance

The TaxPayers’ Alliance has today revealed that they think forcing people to work for their benefits could save the Government £3.5bn a year in welfare costs.

They suggest 30 hours’ activity a week.

They also think that only the ‘extreme sanction’ of removing benefits from people who refuse to do this activity would force them to find work.

Otherwise, they say, the Government’s Universal Credit scheme will have ‘limited effect.’ They believe that people claiming Universal Credit should have their payments automatically suspended if they refuse to take part in the scheme they suggest.

For most people, the scheme would mean community service, charity work, approved training, work experience or “meaningful” job hunting with officials.

With officials? So officials would come and watch their every move while they go to the Job Centre or to job interviews? Well, job interviews are hard enough anyway, without an official there to watch you like a video camera! Sounds like something out of Benefits Britain 1949.

I claim Disability Living Allowance. I spend my days working from home, listening to and covering the horror stories of people who claim Employment Support Allowance and other work-related and/or means tested benefits. I spend my days reading horror stories of the rudeness of ATOS workers during Work Capability Assessments. I read horror stories of  incidents that take place at Job Centres. I read horror stories of the Workfare scheme which already exists and sounds very similar to this one.

I completely oppose this scheme as a whole and agree with all those who told the BBC that it is ‘demeaning.’

Thankfully, pensioners would be exempt from the scheme. However, most people know that most pensioners who are able to have done their fair share of voluntary work anyway for generations with great pleasure and enjoyment.

But here’s the part that doesn’t make sense to me. Parents of children under four and those caring for someone with a severe disability would also be exempt from the scheme. However, disabled people claiming incapacity benefit or ESA would be expected to take part in ‘activity that they are physically able to do.’

It sounds fine to exempt parents of very young children. However, personally, considering how the scheme as a whole would work, I think it would fit in with the scheme as a whole to suggest to parents that they volunteer free childcare to other parents while caring for their own children, in turns, in “return” for their benefits so that they could get some time to look for paid work or even carry out a part time job.

As for exempting carers of severely disabled people? This, too, sounds fine in itself.  After all, their caring role could, and rightly should, count as the voluntary work needed in “return” for benefits. Carers work for free 24/7 in their caring roles. They don’t get to stop after 30 hours.

However, personally, I don’t see why carers couldn’t carry out some voluntary work from home while caring. As I’ve said many times before, many parent carers had their own talents, careers, hopes and dreams before their disabled child came along. Maybe some of these talents could be used from home in “return” for benefits?  I don’t see how it would be fair to make carers exempt when disabled people would not be exempt. Especially since ESA already has a Work Related Activity Group in which people who are physically able to do so carry out- you guessed it- work related activity. Sounds a bit too similar to this suggested scheme for my liking.

The scheme would have to make full provision for the many, many disabled people who are physically unable to do anything at all. I am talking lift a finger- for them work, any work, is a distant dream that they wish every day could come true.

Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the TPA, said “”Taxpayers rightly expect something back for the enormous amount they pay for out-of-work benefits.”

In this, he is absolutely right. There is something I haven’t said yet. I pay tax. Yes, you read that right. Disabled people pay tax too. And personally, I do want something back for my tax. I want my tax to go to severely disabled people in benefit payments so that they don’t have to worry about the fact that they physically can’t lift a finger.

I want my tax to go to parent carers who work 24/7 without a word of complaint to give their disabled child a good life, in benefit payments so that they can pay for food, clothes, shelter and some fun.

I want my tax to go to the parents of very young children in benefit payments, because those very young children have to eat.

I don’t want those carers, disabled people or parents to feel that they are somehow ‘different’ from those who are under some scheme that forces them to work for their benefits.

That, Mr Matthew Sinclair, is what I want in return for the enormous amount I pay in tax.