THE Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) defended sanctions yesterday as the Scottish Government pressed for an end to the penalty regime for Scots on work programmes.
Holyrood is to gain control over work programmes for out-of-work welfare claimants next year. The schemes are currently mandatory, but the Scottish Government plans to make them voluntary in a bid to restore “fairness, dignity and respect” to the system.
At present, anyone breaching the rules of the programmes is reported to the DWP and subject to sanctions.
The SNP administration has already indicated that it will tell the staff co-ordinating these programmes not to pass on information that could lead to money being docked from a person’s payments.
Now Jamie Hepburn, the minister who will head up the schemes has written to Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green asking him to acknowledge the change and therefore end sanctions for those on work placements in Scotland.
The issue affects thousands of people. Writing on a Scottish Government blog, Hepburn said: “Our programmes will operate on a transitional basis and will focus on disabled people and people at risk of long-term unemployment – up to around 4,800 people. We have already decided that as part of this transitional year, the programmes operated by the Scottish Government will be entirely voluntary.
“We fundamentally believe that these programmes will work better if they are voluntary. That brings people with us, makes sure the services are designed around them and ensures they are seen as an opportunity, not as a threat.
“I want this to be the case for our permanent programmes from 2018 when we take full control of all the main employability programmes. So whilst there will be a key role for Jobcentre Plus to act as a body referring people to our employment programmes, it is my ambition that they do so on a different basis, without utilising the UK Government’s rudimentary carrot-and-stick approach to mandatory requirements and their system of conditionality.”
The letter to Green seeks “clarification on conditionality” for devolved work programmes, asking him to confirm that the DWP “will also view our programme as voluntary, and therefore not a mandatory requirement of those clients’ claimant commitments”.
Hepburn asks for the issue to be treated with urgency, requesting an answer by the end of the month.
Commenting on the issue, a DWP spokesman said: “Sanctions are an important part of our benefits system and it is right that they are in place for those few who do not fulfill their commitment to find work.
“The Scottish Government now has significant new welfare powers and we will continue to work together to ensure that devolution works for the people of Scotland and the UK.”
Yesterday Greens co-convener Patrick Harvie raised the issue at First Minister’s Questions. His party recently published a paper calling on the Scottish Government to tell staff delivering work training programmes not to pass on information about sanctionable offences, such as lateness or absences, to the DWP.
The research said this could put up to £7 million a year “back into the hands of poor Scots”.
Following the session, Harvie said his party had offered a “credible, detailed proposal” backed by thousands of people in an online petition, but called on the Scottish Government to go further, adding: “Our new powers also offer us a chance to recognise the value of unpaid care to our society, particularly young carers.
“There are 44,000 carers under the age of 16 in Scotland. A Young Carer’s Allowance would be a step towards providing the support they need and it’s encouraging that the Scottish Government is willing to explore this Green manifesto commitment.”
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