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Labour leadership: Kendall and Burnham unveil work policies | |
(about 9 hours later) | |
Labour leadership contender Liz Kendall has vowed to scrap the government's welfare-to-work programme. | |
Ms Kendall branded the scheme - which pays firms for getting people back into work - a "failed experiment in welfare privatisation". | |
Instead the task of getting people off benefits should be handed to cities and regions, the Labour MP said. | |
And fellow candidate Andy Burnham will urge employment tribunal fees to be axed, ahead of a hustings later. | |
Ms Kendall, Mr Burnham and the two other candidates in the contest - Yvette Cooper and Jeremy Corbyn - are taking part in a debate with trade union members. | |
The four MPs are competing to succeed Ed Miliband as leader, with the election result due to be announced in September. | The four MPs are competing to succeed Ed Miliband as leader, with the election result due to be announced in September. |
In a speech in the City of London prior to the hustings, Ms Kendall said Labour must support enterprise and entrepreneurs but also address what she claimed was the "unnecessary suffering" being caused to those who face the biggest barriers to finding work. | |
Major changes, she suggested, are needed to the Work Programme, the government's flagship welfare-to work scheme which in 2011 replaced a variety of schemes which existed under the previous Labour government. | |
It gives intensive support, work experience and training to those on Jobseekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit and other benefits for up to two years, with private, public and voluntary sector providers paid by results in terms of job outcomes. | It gives intensive support, work experience and training to those on Jobseekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit and other benefits for up to two years, with private, public and voluntary sector providers paid by results in terms of job outcomes. |
According to the House of Commons library, between June 2011 and March 2015, 1.73 million people were referred to the Work Programme in Great Britain and 432,610 found some form of work as a result. | According to the House of Commons library, between June 2011 and March 2015, 1.73 million people were referred to the Work Programme in Great Britain and 432,610 found some form of work as a result. |
But Ms Kendall claimed the programme "lamentably failed to help the long-term sick and disabled return to work" and oversight of the scheme needed to be taken out of the hands of officials in Whitehall and given to local consortiums. | |
"Labour's replacement for the work programme... will be designed and led by our towns, cities and county regions," she said. "They know their labour markets best." | |
"And they can build partnerships with local employers, housing associations and other agencies far better than any national programme. I want local areas taking control and keeping some of the money they save by helping people back to work." | "And they can build partnerships with local employers, housing associations and other agencies far better than any national programme. I want local areas taking control and keeping some of the money they save by helping people back to work." |
The government argues that more flexibility, local autonomy and financial incentives have been built into the Work Programme than any previous back-to-work scheme but critics say this has led providers to target easier-to-help individuals. | The government argues that more flexibility, local autonomy and financial incentives have been built into the Work Programme than any previous back-to-work scheme but critics say this has led providers to target easier-to-help individuals. |
Andy Burnham will announce plans for a review of charges for workers seeking to take their employers to a tribunal. | |
The review would be led by former director of public prosecutions Sir Keir Starmer, who became a Labour MP in May, Mr Burnham will announce. | |
Mr Burnham will say the fees, which can see claimants pay £1,200 to secure a full hearing, were making it harder for employees on short-term and irregular contracts to protect themselves in an increasingly casualised jobs market. | |
"Workers with genuine grievances are denied access to justice because of their inability to pay the fees," he will say. "The fees are a barrier that puts justice out of reach for the workers who need it most." | "Workers with genuine grievances are denied access to justice because of their inability to pay the fees," he will say. "The fees are a barrier that puts justice out of reach for the workers who need it most." |
He will say the review, in consultation with unions and businesses, would safeguard the "basic human right of access to justice regardless of ability to pay". | He will say the review, in consultation with unions and businesses, would safeguard the "basic human right of access to justice regardless of ability to pay". |