Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Hunt tightens unemployment benefit access to 'tackle inactivity'

The country’s unemployment rate has held steady at 4.2 per cent over the three months to the end of September

Hunt tightens unemployment benefit access to 'tackle inactivity'

CHANCELLOR Jeremy Hunt has announced incentives and sanctions aimed at tackling the country's soaring levels of inactivity among working-age people, an increasingly acute economic problem.

The "Back to Work" plan, billed as a way to help people "stay healthy, get off benefits and move into work", will form part of the Autumn Statement that Hunt will present next Wednesday (22).


The plans were welcomed by business groups but the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), a non-partisan think tank, said Hunt's tough talk about people who "coast on the hard work of taxpayers" was misplaced.

The opposition Labour party said the plan failed to tackle the root causes behind economic inactivity.

A record 2.6 million Britons were not working because of long-term sickness as of mid-2023, which economists say reflects the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic but also high waiting times in an increasingly stretched health service.

The plan, which includes £2.5 billion ($3.1bn) of investment over the next five years, aims to boost the support available to those with physical or mental conditions so they can stay in work, helping up to 1.1 million people.

But it also includes tougher benefit sanctions "for people who are able to work but refuse to engage" with their local employment office.

Hunt, hoping to assuage the many Conservative lawmakers who are alarmed at Labour's big lead in opinion polls, looks set to trim taxes in his Nov. 22 budget update.

"These changes mean there's help and support for everyone – but for those who refuse it, there are consequences too. Anyone choosing to coast on the hard work of taxpayers will lose their benefits," Hunt said of the "Back to Work" plan.

Tony Wilson, director of the IES, said extra investment in employment support was welcome but he criticised Hunt's characterisation of people who coast.

"This sort of language just pushes people away – alienating those who could benefit from support, alienating employers and alienating partners like GPs and voluntary services," Wilson said.

Labour said Hunt's plan was "more of the same".

"This poor excuse of a proposal does nothing to fundamentally change the state of our health service or our Jobcentres after a decade of failure from the Tories," said Labour's work and pensions spokeswoman Liz Kendall.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation, a trade body, said it welcomed the plans.

(Agencies)

More For You

Tata-Steel

he Port Talbot EAF will produce up to 3 million tonnes of steel per year using UK-sourced scrap.

getty images

Tata Group begins construction of new Electric Arc Furnace in Port Talbot

TATA STEEL UK has started construction of a new Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) at its Port Talbot site in South Wales. Tata Group chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran marked the groundbreaking ceremony on July 14, joined by Tata Steel CEO and managing director TV Narendran and Tata Steel UK CEO Rajesh Nair.

The EAF project is part of Tata Steel UK’s £1.25 billion plan to transition to low-carbon steelmaking, backed by £500 million from the UK government. The furnace is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2027 and aims to reduce carbon emissions at Port Talbot by about 90 per cent, or 5 million tonnes of CO₂ annually. The project is expected to support 5,000 jobs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Labour’s non-dom tax changes may cost £4bn, experts warn

Starmer and Reeves during a visit to Horiba Mira in Nuneaton in Nuneaton. (Photo: Getty Images)

Labour’s non-dom tax changes may cost £4bn, experts warn

PLANS by Labour to overhaul the tax rules for non-domiciled residents in the UK could cost the public purse up to £4 billion and result in the loss of thousands of private sector jobs, according to a new analysis.

A report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), shared with The Times, suggested that scrapping the current non-dom regime could lead to a sharp drop in tax revenues if even a fraction of those affected decide to leave the country.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tesla set to open first showroom in India

Elon Musk and Narendra Modi (right)

Tesla set to open first showroom in India

US CARMAKER Tesla is finally making its official debut in India with the opening of its first showroom in Mumbai.

The firm, led by Elon Musk, will unveil the new “Tesla Experience Centre” on Tuesday (15) at Maker Maxity Mall in the Bandra Kurla Complex, one of the city's top commercial hubs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asian firm acquires Kings Court Hotel for £2.75m

UK-based Nanak Hotels acquired the 60-room Kings Court Hotel in Warwickshire for £2.75 million. (Photo: Colliers International UK)

Asian firm acquires Kings Court Hotel for £2.75m

UK-BASED Nanak Hotels recently acquired the 60-room Kings Court Hotel, a 17th-century property in Warwickshire, England, for £2.75 million. This is the first regional acquisition by the privately held firm led by British Indians Harpreet Singh Saluja and Karamvir Singh.

Nanak Hotels, which operates a UK property portfolio, plans to invest in the property's refurbishment and repositioning, according to a statement from Colliers International UK, which brokered the transaction.

Keep ReadingShow less
Priya Nair becomes first woman CEO in Hindustan Unilever's history

Priya Nair (Photo: Unilever)

Priya Nair becomes first woman CEO in Hindustan Unilever's history

PRIYA NAIR has been appointed as the CEO and managing director of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), effective from August 1. She will be the first woman to lead the company in its history.

The announcement was made by HUL on Thursday (10). Nair, who currently serves as president, Beauty & Wellbeing at Unilever, will take over the role from Rohit Jawa, who will step down on July 31 to pursue other interests.

Keep ReadingShow less