DWP to begin Universal Credit, PIP, ESA crackdown after 'years of failure'

The new Labour Party government's Liz Kendall, Work and Pensions Secretary,has launched the Labour Market Advisory Board.

The Department for Work and Pensions is planning a new Universal Credit, PIP, ESA crackdown after "years of failure" as unemployment levels hit 9 million. The new Labour Party government's Liz Kendall, Work and Pensions Secretary,has launched the Labour Market Advisory Board.

The group brings together experts from business, unions, and academia to address the root causes keeping people out of work. Speaking at the launch of a report by the Institute for Employment Studies, Alison McGovern MP pledged to "turn the page on years of failure".

Ms Kendall said: "Spiralling inactivity is the greatest employment challenge for a generation, with a near record 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term sickness. Addressing these challenges will take time, but we're going to fix the foundations of the economy and tackle economic inactivity."

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Paul Gregg, Chair of the Labour Market Advisory Board, added: "Having studied the UK's labour market across several decades, it is clear that the current labour market faces a deep-seated set of challenges. We have seen a sharp increase in economic inactivity and long-term sickness, most notably in our young people post-pandemic."

Ms McGovern emphasised the need to move away from an "obsession with welfare" and focus on boosting employment. She said: "The lockdown generation has been failed - consigned to the scrapheap because they have been denied the support and opportunities to find work, get into work, and get on at work.

"It’s truly shocking that we have businesses crying out for staff at the same time there are queues round the block for foodbanks – a dire situation that we’re determined to put right. The obsession with benefits management must end if we’re to bring about the change the country is crying out for, and that’s why we have a plan to get Britain working again. That is how we will deliver on our mission for growth across the country and ensure future generations are never abandoned by their government again."