New Deal and Welfare Reforms - Coursework Example

Running Head: New Deal and Welfare Reforms: Just How New Is It New Deal and Welfare Reforms: Just How New Is It (Course) 1507 words New Deal and Welfare Reforms: Just How New Is It The 2004 New Deal is part of the Government's Welfare to Work Scheme and focuses on the resolution of issues brought about by poverty in the UK. Is it possible to create a Utopia through Government strategy Are the solutions suggested in the New Deal report from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) completely different from past efforts at reform How different is the New Labour ideology from New Right approaches to poverty and employment Does the New Deal offer employment opportunities for all factions of the UK population The decline of the welfare state in 1997 led to a Labour government with Tony Blair as its leader. At that time, it was evident that the Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) was not fully successful with substantial numbers of people unemployed (Building on New Deal, 2004, p. 5). Since then, reforms in the National Health Service, housing, personal social services and social security have been introduced and put into place. The Government believes employment to be the "best route out of poverty (Building on New Deal, 2004, intro, par. 2). For this reason, two efforts in 1997 at bringing this about were the appointment of the first Minister of Public Health and a health strategy developed to break the cycle of ill health due to poverty and deprivation. In addition, the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act of 1999 required all benefit claimants to attend interviews to discuss entitlement. Benefits of the New Deal The DWP report credits the New Deal programme with helping almost two hundred thousand people over 25 into work since 1997. With New Deal 50 plus, the report goes on to say that the employment rate for older workers has increased from 64.7 per cent in 1997 to 70.0 per cent in 2003. And the New Deal has contributed to over 493,000 young people moving into work which has cut unemployment in this sector by half. Remaining Issues The Labour Party has long been considered the party of the working class, and as such has brought about certain expectations for workers. The New Labour policies, however, currently are said to be more focused on morality, and this has opened up an ideological struggle on the left over the politics, goals and strategies of socialist politics. New Labour is compared to the New Right but cannot be considered similar even though it faces similar difficulties such as inflation, welfare dependency and the changing structure of the working class. Key areas that have lacked sufficient attention in the past are support for the disabled, for older persons, for lone parents, for ethnic minorities, for those with health conditions and in areas of child poverty, considered to be relatively high due to family unemployment. These issues have become the challenge for the New Deal in the future. How different are they from challenges of the past Past Welfare Ideologies and Policies The effort to focus on the needs of the poor and oppressed began with the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601, passed to raise compulsory funds for the relief of the poor, and the post of Overseer of the Poor was thereby created. The law was the means for collecting funds to be distributed to the poor either as "outdoor relief", with a dole of money or goods, or as "indoor relief" which gave the poor, the ill, orphans and idle poor a place to live where they could be cared for. Although the living conditions of those given indoor relief often left much to be desired, those who were unable to care for themselves did have a place to go. Even with much to be desired in caring for the poor, it was evident that concern for fellow human beings was at the root of the law. And a comparison of human need between past and future would repeatedly show the same areas of concern. Before 1834, relief of poverty was left in the hands of individual parishes, but it was felt that this led to idleness among the poor because of lack of local organisation. The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 was less flexible than the old law, but it was more organised and under the auspices of the Royal Commission. However, it was apt to harm the defenceless rather than the idle able-bodied. Because it was based on a person's willingness to work, it did not take into consideration physical or mental ill health, old age, or a child's loss of parents, and these people were sent to workhouses. Urban poverty was not addressed by the Commission. It was obvious that the main purpose of the Amendment Act was to discourage people from applying for relief. Again, the same concerns existed, but this particular law was more interested in control than in assistance. The Victorian Poor Law formed the basis for relief for two centuries. With the encouragement of the Royal Commission, the law had easily passed. It offered a central commission not under direct ministerial or parliamentary support and was intended to make workhouse conditions less preferable than those of the lowest paid labourer. It prohibited outdoor relief, it segregated pauper classes (including husbands and wives), and abolished grants to supplement low wages. By 1837, however, it was evident that some outdoor relief had to be permitted and in the interests of humanity, it became available in many households. The general belief that assistance was available only in the workhouses was therefore erroneous. By 1847, the Poor Law Commission was abolished due to abuses which had occurred. A Poor Law Board was set up, increasing National control. In 1909 the Old Age Pension Act was passed, and in 1930 outdoor relief was restored. William Beveridge is credited with the development of the Welfare State and between 1906 and 1941 advised the Liberal government on Old Age Pensions and National Insurance. He recommended that the government should find ways to fight the five "Giant Evils" (Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness). Welfare Reforms in the Twentieth Century In 1946 the National Insurance Act was passed, followed by the National Health Insurance Act. In 1948, the Poor Law was abolished and cash payments from the State were instituted. Also, the National Health Act offered free medical treatment. Thus, the modern Welfare State was established (Historic Figures, 2006). By the 1970s, the weaknesses of the welfare provisions led to high unemployment figures and the need for reform once more. Extensions and supplements to various acts increased services to the chronically ill, the disabled, widows and widowers, families, and education throughout the 1970s. But by 1987, National Health Service financing was questioned and cash crises led to closing of wards. The presidents of the Royal Colleges of Physicians, Surgeons, Obstetricians and Gynaecologists wrote to the prime minister stating that the NHS had almost reached the point of collapse (The Welfare State). Again, reforms were needed. The New Labour welfare ideology brought about the 2004 New Deal policy, with focus on increased employment and training in the workplace. Conclusions Looking back at the various ages and stages of the Welfare State, it was started in the 1600s with concern for the human condition. By the 1800s, control and organisation over-ruled the personal element, and in the first half of the twentieth century, the human condition once more became the focus of reform. The effort has come full circle through the second half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. The effort to improve living conditions and offset poverty has led to increased budgets and various government learning programmes, with the Jobcentre Plus intended to rid the country of unemployment and unfair employment practices. According to the DWP Report (2004) proposals for better service include flexibility for lone parents and partners, carers, disabled people and those with health conditions, as well as civil rights for disabled, the most disadvantaged, and people from ethnic minority communities. Throughout the past 400 years in the UK, the same areas of need continue to exist, alternating between individual concerns and political or financial concerns. The following Times Educational Supplement article questions the New Deal as the ultimate strategy for the evolution of welfare to work policies and programmes: New deal course cutbacks Colleges throughout the country are being forced to cut courses designed to help the unemployed get back to work under Labour's flagship New Deal programme. Hundreds more lecturers working for private training organisations that run courses for the unemployed also face losing their jobs as cuts bite. Courses are being axed as a result of a 125 million cut in the training budget awarded to Jobcentre plus. The Department for Work and Pensions said that Jobcentre Plus had 1.1 billion to spend on its training programmes in 2004-5, but that this year the budget had been cut to 962m. (TES, 16 September 2005) References 'A new deal for welfare: Empowering people to work'. 2006. Department for Work and Pensions. Available from: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/aboutus/welfarereform/docs/A_new_deal_for_welfare-Empowering_people_to_work-Full_Document.pdf [11 April 2005] 'Building on New Deal: Local solutions meeting individual needs'. 2004. Department for Work and Pensions. Available from: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/dwp/2004/buildingonnewdeal/mainreport.pdf [10 April 2006] Historic Figures: William Beveridge. 2006. bbc.co.uk. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/beveridge_william.shtml [11 April 2006] 'The New Deal and employment initiatives'. 2005. National Literacy Trust. Available from: http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Database/newdeal.html [11 April 2006] The Welfare State 1945 - 2002. bbc.co.uk. Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/inside_money/2173941.stm [11 April 2006] Read More