Labour has been accused of “spouting” aspirational targets to get Britons back into work without having a clear plan.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is attempting to tackle the nation’s ballooning welfare bill with a record number of people out of work because of poor health.
She said job seekers will be obligated to look for work and take jobs when they are offered, Liz Kendall has said.
But Shadow Work and Pensions secretary Mel Stride said “Rather than just spouting out aspirational targets, Labour needs to set out a clear plan for how they are going to get more people into employment and reform welfare.”
He added: “Since 2010, our reforms have successfully focused on getting people into work and off welfare with more than four million people in work.”
Sir Keir Starmer’s Government aims to reach an 80% employment rate would mean getting two million more people back into work.
In her first major speech in taking over at the helm of the Department, Ms Kendall said: “Under my political leadership, the DWP will shift from being a department for welfare to being a department for work.”
The Treasury will have to spend an extra £20 billion on working-age health-related benefits by 2028-29, taking the total bill to £63 billion, according to research from the Resolution Foundation.
Record numbers of working-age people are out of the workforce because of long-term health conditions.
The number of working-age people reporting that they have a disability has increased from 5.9 million in 2012-13 to 8.9 million in 2022-23.
Ms Kendall said: “People who are economically inactive are not one single group. There will be a few who act fraudulently, others who say they can’t work but who can.
“But the vast majority face a complex range of barriers which stop them from getting what both they and policymakers want – a pathway into paid employment.”
She said more attention would also be paid to wider issues – such as health, skills, childcare and transport – that play a role in determining whether people can get work, stay in work and succeed in their work.
The plans include an overhaul of job centres to create a careers service that merges JobCentre Plus and the National Careers Service as well as a “youth guarantee” to offer training to 18- to 21-year-olds.
The Government will also transfer powers to local areas, in what Ms Kendall called “a fundamental shift in the balance of power and resources” to mayors and local areas to lead work, health and skills plans for the economically inactive.
“My department will support local areas to make a success of this new approach, starting by devolving new powers over employment support to catalyse action and change because the man, or even woman, in Whitehall will never know what’s best for Barnsley, Blackpool or Birmingham.”
