Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is set to unveil a “groundbreaking” White Paper this autumn aimed at getting more unemployed people and people with chronic illnesses back into work. The Labour Governmentfacing what has been dubbed “the biggest employment challenge for a generation”, saw its employees rally with Labor and Pensions Secretary on Monday for preliminary discussions.
Liz Kendall The Labour Party’s Work and Pensions Secretary MP has established the Labour Market Advisory Board, bringing together experts from business, industrial relations and academia. At its first meeting, board members put forward cutting-edge ideas to bolster the government’s efforts to tackle economic stagnation.
The council investigated possible solutions to the root causes that keep individuals out of the workforce, such as poor physical and mental health, and explored ways to help the government achieve an 80 percent employment rate.
Tasked with developing new proposals and policies for the Work and Pensions Secretary to consider, the advisory board is faced with the task of reducing economic inactivity rates. Notably, the UK is the only G7 country that has yet to see its employment and inactivity rates return to pre-pandemic levels, a problem inherited from previous administrations.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall MP has sounded the alarm over the UK’s jobs crisis, saying: “Rising inactivity is the biggest employment challenge for a generation, with a record 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term illness. Addressing these challenges will take time, but we will fix the foundations of the economy and tackle economic inactivity.”
She added: “The council’s knowledge, experience and vision will help us rebuild Britain as we deliver on our mission to grow, create opportunities and improve every part of the country.”
The first Council meeting will focus on the impact of poor health on unemployment, exploring strategies for the Government to support more people into stable employment.
New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed on Tuesday show that Scotland’s unemployment rate for those aged 16 and over was 4.2 percent between May and July this year. This marks a fall of 0.5 percentage points from the previous quarter, although it is still marginally above the overall UK unemployment rate of 4.1 percent.
Labour Market Advisory Board chairman Paul Gregg echoed his concerns, saying: “Having studied the UK labour market over several decades, it is clear that today’s labour market faces a profound set of challenges. We have seen a sharp rise in economic inactivity and long-term ill health, particularly in our young people post-pandemic.”
“Furthermore, real wage growth has been severely suppressed for 15 years, hitting living standards and government tax revenues. Reversing these trends will be essential to ensuring the long-term prosperity of the UK labour market.”
The Secretary of State is set to unveil plans to empower local regions with more authority to tackle inactivity through tailored work, health and skills strategies, as part of a eagerly awaited White Paper due for release this autumn.
The forthcoming document is also expected to set out a new youth pledge, aimed at 18-21 year-olds, and propose a radical overhaul of job centres, aligning them more closely with the National Careers Service.
We can expect the White Paper to detail the Plan to Make Britain Work, due for release next autumn.