Dole claimants who refuse to find work ‘must dig gardens’

Dole claimants who refuse to seek work could be made to dig gardens as punishment.

Or they may be ordered to spend an entire nine-to-five day in an office looking through situations vacant.

The sanctions were proposed by Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell as a new study found that Labour's much-vaunted pledge to dock benefits from the workshy has failed on a hard-core of claimants.

It found that when a 20 per cent cut was ordered in a single mother's benefits, the actual drop in household income might be as little as five per cent, once benefits for housing and children are taken into account.

In a typical case, the mother would get £60.50 in personal allowance, £59.40 in housing benefit, more than £50 in child and family tax credits, £18.80 child benefit, and £21.19 in council tax benefit — making a total of £210.47.
After a 20 per cent cut in the personal allowance, the total paid would fall by £12.50.

Today's report by Professor Paul Gregg spelled out a series of new ways to use sanctions and tougher demands to make almost all unemployed claimants start trying to prepare themselves to get jobs. In a radical expansion of the system, it said even lone parents with children just a year old should be expected to think about how they would cope going back to work in the future.

People too sick to work, such as bad back sufferers, would be expected to seek medical advice on how to get well enough.

Mr Purnell said he "strongly welcomed" the report, adding: "The approach that virtually everyone should be doing something in return for benefits is the right one."
A welfare reform bill will be included in the Queen's Speech tomorrow.

Professor Gregg, a member of the London Child Poverty Commission, said only claimants with the most serious disabilities should be left on benefits for life.

People with back pain might not be ready to start work immediately but could have regular contact with an adviser and medical assessor to help them think about jobs they might hold down.

The lone mother of a three-year-old would not be ordered to apply for a job but could agree to investigate childcare so in future she could seek work.

Claimants will be divided into three groups. The first will be "work ready", claiming Job Seekers Allowance, whose benefits are docked unless they show they are actively trying to find a job. The second will be a "progression to work" group, such as lone parents of children under seven and people on incapacity benefit who could be fit to work in future.

They would get extra support and would be expected to take it. Sanctions would be imposed if they refused to prepare to become "work ready".

A small "no conditionality" group, including those with serious disabilities, lone parents of under-ones and a few carers will get benefits with nothing asked in return.