Welfare reform is never easy but the Government has begun the hard work - Liz Kendall
Reforming the welfare state is never easy and always contested. Let’s be honest, the last few weeks have made that pretty clear. But while the path of reform is inevitably bumpy, it cannot be avoided because as society evolves and new challenges emerge, the welfare state must adapt to meet the reality of people’s lives if it is to retain legitimacy and last for generations to come.
During our first year in office, we have begun the hard work of reform for children, for working age adults and for older people.
First, we’re supporting families with children, as part of the first UK government strategy to tackle child poverty for 15 long years. Delivering free breakfast clubs. Extending free school meals to half a million more children whose parents are on Universal Credit. And securing funding for holiday food programmes.
And we’re giving parents more support and children better chances in life, with 1000 more Best Start Family Hubs right across the country.
Second, we are embarking on the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation.
Which, of course, is vital for the future of pensions because if you’re not working and earning, you’re not likely to be saving for your retirement either.
So we are overhauling jobcentres to become places where you sign up for work, not sign on for benefits.
Rolling out our youth guarantee so all young people are learning or earning, including with a big expansion of foundation apprenticeships.
We’re tackling work disincentives in the benefit system, legislating for a new right to try, and we’re quadrupling investment in back to work support for sick and disabled people to £1bn a year.
Thirdly, we are delivering security in retirement for today’s and tomorrow’s pensioners.
Our commitment to the pensions triple lock for the entirety of this Parliament means spending on the state pension is set to rise by £31bn a year with up to £1,900 a year more for the full new state pension.
Our commitment to the poorest pensioners has seen the biggest ever campaign to increase Pension Credit uptake with an extra 60,000 awards, meaning many pensioners are now getting thousands of pounds more a year to which they are entitled.
We are also accelerating workplace pension reform too, with vital new legislation that our Minister for Pensions, Torsten Bell, is getting through Parliament now, to ensure today’s workers get more in retirement from their hard-earned savings.
I am proud of everything we have achieved so far, but these are just the first steps.
We have much more to do to deliver the changes that people voted for and the country is crying out for.
The original promise of the welfare state was to provide support from cradle to grave based on a social contract between individuals, state and society where everyone contributes and plays their part and which in return, provides the foundation of security, a springboard for opportunity, and hope for a better tomorrow.
This core purpose, and those guiding principles, remain as true today as they were after the Second World War.
A welfare state that is there for us: at the beginning of life, towards the end of life, and during our working life in between.
Liz Kendall is the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.