Benefit losses are dwarfed by £17bn of unclaimed benefits, pigsonthewing, August 10 [1]
Benefit fraud and error, the figures - £5.2bn figure being bandied around is for fraud and error, with (DWP govt) error (£3.7bn) far outweighing fraud (£1.5bn), Will Horwitz, August 10 [2] "...the latest figures I have (for 2006/7) show that 6,756 were successfully prosecuted, a further 12,000 were cautioned, 10,000 received an administrative penalty, 95,000 had their benefit changed but weren’t deemed to have done anything serious enough to warrant any kind of sanction, leaving an enormous 196,000 people who experienced a hugely stressful investigation and were found to have done nothing wrong."
Fraud does not justify a miserly, heard-hearted attitude to benefits policy. 29 Jul [3] The £1 billion lost to fraud compares with £7 – £12 billion of unclaimed means-tested benefits in 2008-9, and about £70 billion - the ‘tax gap’ from tax evasion.
2009
'Tis the season ... Peter Beresford reports on Christmas communication from the Department for Work and Pensions, 23 December [4]
£5 earnings cap, the amount people on benefits are allowed to keep when they get a job, has not been increased since 1988, and is equal to less than one hour’s minimum wage, The Need not Greed coalition, 04 Dec [5]
Fraud and error in the benefits system – where DWP are going wrong. Will Horwitz, November 16 [6]
"It seems our politicians are competing to see who can target the nastiest policies at the most vulnerable groups of people." Church Action on Poverty, October 5 [7]
2008
New Start editorial December 15 It takes a particular kind of bloody-mindedness to climb mountains. Not everybody finds the adrenaline surge of vertiginous heights, the likelihood of losing one or more extremities through frostbite, or the prospect of being responsible for your own death or that of your friends, more appealing than watching the latest Bond flick.
New Start editorial August 27 2008 In the run-up to any war, there’s usually a rhetorical battle, a froth of words designed to bring the masses to a politically desirable point of inertia.
New Start editorial July 23 2008 Numerous sayings and quotes about the world of work have been written or spoken by great wits and philosophers over the years. But can you recall many that were overwhelmingly positive?
New Start editorial March 5 2008 You might have thought that after a decade of government promises to tackle child poverty and social exclusion, a shared objective would be the least we could hope for.
2007
New Start editorial November 14 2007 A friend of mine was explaining to me the other day why he’d decided to stay in his job, despite being passed over for promotion.
The slow death of the Real Job is pulling society apart, October 19 [8]
Dads need twice as much paid paternity leave and a culture shift towards father-friendly work, says Children’s Minister, June 8 [9]
New Start editorial March 7 2007 - There are times when the advent of 24 hour news seems as helpful as a mobile phone weighed down with all manner of gadgetry.
New Start editorial February 28 2007 - Most regenerators, community builders, think tankers and politicians have a touch of the visionary about them.
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2011
Work doesn’t pay for parents as childcare and rail fares swallow up 35% of families’ wages, 28 October 2011 [10]
Government admits Jobcentres set targets to take away benefits, 8 April [11]
Jobcentres 'tricking' people out of benefits to cut costs, says whistleblower, 1 April [12]
Interim report recommends a pay ratio in the public sector of 1:20, meaning a maximum salary of £246,000 for organisations that have staff on the minimum wage. But almost two thirds of the public (61 per cent) think the limit should be 1:10 or lower. 15 March [13]
In the last two years, the number of people classified as economically inactive, has gone up by 300,000 to reach 9.4 million. 16 February [14]
2010
115 companies have now committed to pay the London Living Wage of £7.85 an hour. 16 November [15]
2008
Three and a half million bullied in job, September 4 [16] 21 per cent (one in five) say that bullying is an issue where they work. Bullying is more likely in the public sector where 19 per cent say they have been bullied compared to 12 per cent in the private sector and eight per cent in the voluntary sector.
2007
Jobless who look after grandchildren 'bullied' by benefit officials, The Guardian, June 1
