Osborne’s trumpeted ‘superior’ skills training programme doesn’t exist
Ministers admit George Osborne’s trumpeted “superior” skills training programme still hasn’t started .
Jobseekers Allowance
Is the UK benefit system really too generous?
By European standards Britain’s benefits system is far from generous.
Rising sanctions will mean ministers blow the trumpet – but we could be forcing people through the safety net
Tom MacInnes of the New Policy Institute looks at the number of sanctions imposed on recipients of Jobseeker’s Allowance.
Osborne’s budget gift to payday lenders
We’ve a gaffe-prone chancellor in George Osborne: before it was the 4×4 in the disabled parking space, then it was the fine for not having a first class ticket. Now he’s caught out by The Sun for eating a “posh burger”.
Health ringfence is not enough to protect the NHS
Health spending has always been a public priority: PwC recently found that 67 per cent of people support protecting the NHS – up from 58 per cent in 2010.
Jobseeker’s Allowance changes will not help more people into work
We were anticipating the announcement about a cap on Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) spending for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). This accounts for a huge lump of government spending overall – much of the rest of the savings are tinkering by comparison.
DWP admits more lies and misdeeds re fake psych ‘test’
There has been considerable furore over the fake psychometric ‘test’ the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been forcing jobseekers to use under the threat of ‘sanction’ (immediate loss of benefits) since I revealed it in April and the Guardian newspaper published its own account of the story at the beginning of May.
Cameron’s recycled rhetoric on benefit claimants
Reports the government will tighten up benefit rules to make people do more to look for work recycle previous Labour policy and miss the point, writes Stephen Evans.