Great Britain: the government pressures beneficiaries of social allowances

The Work and Pensions Secretary, James Purnell, announced on February 29 a wide reform of the welfare system, with a much greater focus on payments by results when awarding welfare-to-work contracts to the public and private sectors to help the long-term unemployed into jobs. Millions of beneficiaries of social allowances now have to find a job, or they will loose their allowances. (Ref. 080177)
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A wide reform of the welfare system, planned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is based on the recommendations made by David Freud, an investment banker who managed to persuade of his proposals’ audacity. According to Mr. Freud, 1.9 million people who declare being too sick to work would actually be able to find a job. The true number of people who can’t work (disabled, sick, and victims of psychological impairments…) should be around 700.000. According to him, it is thus profitable

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