Welfare

In spite of years of steady economic growth and a high rate of employment, economic inactivity remains an intractable problem. Those on long-term incapacity benefit find it hard to get into work, while employment rates among lone parents, though rising, are low by international standards. For those on benefit and those on low incomes, routes out of poverty remain hard to find. Regarding the state pension, the government’s acceptance of the recommendations of Adair Turner’s Pensions Commission has produced a degree of cross-party consensus. However, there remain question marks over the effect of government plans on corporate pension schemes and the degree to which dependence on means testing will be reduced.

Policy Exchange has examined the difficulties facing people excluded from the labour market in Left Out, Left Behind, while Not Working demonstrated the weaknesses of the New Deal and advocated a workfare-based alternative. Our recent report, 2056: What Future for Maggie’s Children? confronted the problems of an ageing society from a novel perspective, looking at the difficulties that today’s young people will face in achieving financial security.

The immediate focus of our research programme will be on welfare delivery, examining both domestic initiatives and international comparisons to assess ways in which the existing system can be made more flexible and responsive to local needs.