It has been great getting out and about during the summer break and Party Conference season. Two of my favourite visits were to Abby Gates School in Ravenshead and Halam C of E School. I had a tour of both schools and it really is good to see the work being done by our teachers and their governors. I am continuing to press the Secretary of state on school funding, especially putting the case for Joseph Whittaker and The Dukeries college.
I’ve been talking to the good people of Sherwood for over two years now, knocking on doors listening to the issues that worry or frustrate them. While you never know exactly what you’re going to get after you’ve rung that bell, I can always guarantee that a few key topics will come up and one of those is our benefits system.We have a great tradition in our country of supporting the vulnerable, particularly our children and that is a tradition worth celebrating. There is however no denying that we have found ourselves in the ridiculous position that for some, it is more profitable to live off the state than it is to go to work. That isn’t fair. The Coalition has announced dramatic changes to our existing system. One of the driving campaign points of the Conservatives before the election was to take control of our benefits system; to address some of the unfairness that has become inherent with Housing Benefit; to ask higher earners to forgo their child tax credits but most importantly to make sure that it pays to work.
The changes involved can’t simply be about taking away, Government needs to give opportunities to those who want to work. We will be launching a Work Programme, which in 2011 which will put an end to the situation where anyone who can work will be able to sit at home on benefits doing nothing. There will be much better back-to-work support available to claimants, but if they refuse to use that support, they will lose their benefits. We’ve also looked at a way to make the benefits system simpler: to make it more accessible to those who need support but to protect the taxpayer from those seeking to exploit the system. The Universal Credit is based on a simple premise – that work should pay for everyone in all circumstances.
At the moment people who are receiving benefits and are doing some work are in the bizarre situation. If their employer asks them to do more hours at work they will lose 95p in every pound as their benefits are reduced by an amount almost equal to their increased pay. Nobody is going to do more work for in effect 60p/hour. Under the new system, that can no longer happen. Instead, state support will taper away at a constant rate as people work more hours or move up the income scale.
I think Chris Grayling summed it up when he said “The desire for radical change to our welfare system is to be found right across the coalition. A welfare state is not somewhere that people should live – unless circumstance has made it impossible for them to work. Instead it should be a ladder up which people climb. To escape the cycle of deprivation and poverty that has dogged so many of our communities over the past, long thirteen years.”
I’m proud that this Government has started to take the bold steps necessary to reform a broken system and to make life fairer for hard working families. With these changes, I hope I will no longer be faced with residents telling me that they know someone who is receiving disability allowance, playing golf twice a week, driving a better car than then and holidaying in Spain every year while they work six days a week flat out trying to make ends meet. I hope our young people will be encouraged to find work in a system that encourages them to aspire and that we can strike the right balance between support and dependency and most of all, I hope that Britain’s families at last feel that they have a Government that protects and understands their interests.
My surgeries continue to be 2nd Saturday of the month in Hucknall and 4th Friday of the month at Dukeries College, Ollerton. We are also doing a one off Ravenshead drop in coffee morning at the village hall on Saturday 20th November 10 am to 12pm.
To make an appointment please call the office on 0115 9681186.
Mark
