The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is set to reveal a “groundbreaking” White Paper this Autumn, with the goal of getting more unemployed and long-term sick people back into work. The Labour Government, grappling with what has been dubbed ‘the greatest employment challenge for a generation’, saw its officials meet with the Work and Pensions Secretary on Monday for preliminary discussions.
Liz Kendall MP, Labour’s Work and Pensions Secretary, has established the Labour Market Advisory Board, bringing together experts from business, industrial relations, and academia. At their first meeting, the board members put forward cutting-edge ideas to bolster government efforts to tackle economic inactivity.
The board delved into potential remedies for the root causes that keep individuals out of the workforce, such as inadequate physical and mental health, and explored ways to assist the government in achieving an 80 per cent employment rate.
Charged with developing new proposals and policies for the Work and Pensions Secretary to consider, the advisory board confronts the task of diminishing the rates of economic inactivity. It is noteworthy that the UK is the only G7 country yet to see its employment and inactivity rates return to pre-pandemic levels, an issue inherited from former administrations.
Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall MP, has sounded the alarm on the UK’s employment crisis, stating: “Spiralling inactivity is the greatest employment challenge for a generation, with a near record 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term sickness. Addressing these challenges will take time, but we’re going to fix the foundations of the economy and tackle economic inactivity.”
She further added, “The board’s knowledge, expertise and insight will help us to rebuild Britain as we deliver our growth mission, drive up opportunity and make every part of the country better off.”
The Board’s first meeting will zero in on the impact of ill-health on unemployment, exploring strategies for the Government to support more people into stable jobs.
Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) unveiled on Tuesday show that Scotland’s unemployment rate for those aged 16 and over was 4.2 per cent between May and July this year. This marks a 0.5 percentage point drop from the previous quarter, though it’s still marginally above the overall UK unemployment rate of 4.1 per cent.
Chair of the Labour Market Advisory Board, Paul Gregg, expressed his concerns, saying: “Having studied the UK’s labour market across several decades, it is clear that the current labour market faces a deep-seated set of challenges. We have seen a sharp increase in economic inactivity and long-term sickness, most notably in our young people post-pandemic.”
“Further, real wage growth has been heavily suppressed for 15 years hitting living standards and government tax revenues. Reversing these trends will be key to ensuring the long-term prosperity of the UK’s labour market.”
The Secretary of State is set to unveil plans to empower local regions with more authority to tackle inactivity through bespoke work, health, and skills strategies, as part of an eagerly awaited White Paper due this autumn.
The forthcoming document is also expected to introduce a new youth promise aimed at those aged 18 to 21 and propose a radical overhaul of jobcentres, bringing them into closer alignment with the National Careers Service.
We can anticipate the White Paper to detail the Plan to Get Britain Working, scheduled for release this coming autumn.
