Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, spoke last night at a joint Theos/Charities Parliament event on the question of How Compassionate are the new Welfare Reforms?
Addressing representatives of local, national and international charities, public sector workers and journalists, just hours after Chancellor George Osborne delivered his budget, Mr Duncan Smith laid out the rationale behind the Welfare Reform bill.
Working from the premise that the current system was too complex and it contained disincentives to work, and that social policy over recent years had offered too much stick and not enough carrot, Mr Duncan Smith drew on William Beveridge’s original vision of the welfare state. This would offer assistance to the needy but would also seek to motivate, offering incentives, opportunities and rewards to enable those in poverty to move out of the destructive cycles which have been so prevalent in recent decades.
Mr Duncan Smith focussed particularly on the Work Programme and other strategies for tackling unemployment, and affirmed the vital role the voluntary sector has to play in helping people find employment. While only the Government can ensure that coming off benefits and moving into work is financially worthwhile for the unemployed, he said, voluntary agencies are crucial partners in helping people to get work-ready and for finding and holding down jobs.
“The destination for Government,” Mr Smith asserted, “must be about life change. We have a duty to ensure that no-one is written off, no-one is discarded, no-one is left behind. Without the voluntary sector, the Work Programme will not succeed.
“You’re the ones that will change the lives, not me.”
The speech was followed by questions from the floor and a panel discussion between Steve Chalke (founder of Charities Parliament and Oasis), Cristina Odone (writer and journalist) and Chris Mould (Director of The Trussell Trust).
The questions, concerns and ideas submitted by the audience will be compiled in a letter to be sent to Iain Duncan Smith. If you would like to contribute any thoughts or questions to the paper, you will be able to do so soon through the Charities Parliament blog here.
The audio of the event is available here:
On 3 May 2011, Theos will again be partnering with Charities Parliament and the Faith and Public Policy Forum at
