Policies - Social Security

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31

In 2009/10 the projection for social security benefit payments
are estimated to be £164.7 billion, outstripping projected gross
income tax receipts of £153.7 billion. More money will be paid
out in social security benefits than is raised through income tax,
and it is set to get worse. The figure for social security benefits in
2010/11 is forecast to be £170.9 billion, which is equal to what the
Government will spend on the National Health Service, schools
and universities combined.

According to Andrew Brough of Schroder Investment Management, money
spent on social security benefits could soon be more than what is raised through
both income tax and national insurance contributions. Such projections clearly
show that the current approach to welfare through social security benefits is
unsustainable and must be changed urgently. The Christian Party offers a fresh
approach to social security in concert with a radical approach to taxation and
national insurance contributions.

Escaping From The Poverty Trap

Camilla Cavendish recently wrote in the Times newspaper, “Our welfare system
has become a canyon of dependency. Whole groups of people find it too risky to
climb out of it by taking a job, or even doing training, because of potential loss
of entitlement.” The canyon that Cavendish describes is better known as the
‘poverty trap’. The poverty trap must be destroyed as a matter of urgency. The
current government has failed to recognise that in order to destroy the poverty
trap, the canyon of dependency must be filled with safety, opportunity and hope.

It is too simplistic and therefore untrue to suggest that the long-term unemployed
are simply work-shy. The psychologist Abraham Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’
(see Figure 1.) provides a useful framework for analysing and understanding the
psychological plight of the unemployed and the poverty trap.

Cavendish correctly noted that people find it “too risky” to climb out of the
poverty trap. If Maslow is correct then that level of risk, ‘Safety needs’, has to be
addressed before an unemployed person will seriously attempt to move to the
next level on their hierarchy of need ‘Belongingness and Love needs’, which
includes joining a ‘work group’, i.e. employment. The Christian Party would
address this ‘Safety need’ as an integral part of its ‘back to work’ strategy.

The risk involved for the unemployed in taking a job is that once employed, a
person’s unemployment and all associated benefit claims are closed down and
can take weeks to re-establish in the event of the employment being short-lived.

The prospect of weeks of debt, anxiety and no income if a job does not work out,
is a bridge too far and a risk too great for most that are unemployed.

The solution is simple. Do not immediately close down unemployment and
associated benefit claims. Instead, put the claim on hold for a period of time,
perhaps 9 months, during which the unemployed person establishes themselves
in their new job. Whilst the unemployment claim is on hold, no benefit would be
paid. However, in the event of employment ceasing, benefit payment would be
restored immediately.

To guard against those who would abuse the system, the system would work on
a “Three strikes and you’re out!” basis. In other words, after gaining employment
for the third time the unemployed person’s caseworker would have the discretion
to close the claim.

This ‘back to work’ strategy would work in conjunction with the Christian Party’s
tax policy which exempts those earning less than £12,000 per annum from both
tax and national insurance contribution (both employer’s and employee’s), thus
taking away the ‘tax wedge’, which is often an impediment to employers legitimately
employing staff.

Christian Party Members of Parliament will:

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