Policies - Social Security 2010 General Election Manifesto

“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’ 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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