GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES ‘BACK TO WORK BUDGET’

Posted on 26th March 2023

The government has recently announced that "Parents, over-50s, disabled people and those with long-term health conditions will have opportunities arising from changes announced in the Budget set to be delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions".

This latest announcement went on to state that "Overall, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) measures at Budget represent an investment of £3.5 billion over five years to boost workforce participation and grow the economy".

On childcare it was stated "The Universal Credit childcare cost cap will rise in the summer meaning the Government will pay more of parents’ childcare costs. Parents will also be further supported with upfront childcare costs. This removes any gap in funds which would currently be claimed in arrears..."

On disabled people and people with health conditions it was stated "The Health and Disability White Paper, included as part of the Budget, sets out plans to rewire the benefits system for disabled people, shifting the dial onto what people can achieve and removing barriers to work. A major element of this will be through the removal of the Work Capability Assessment, giving people the confidence to move into work while reducing the burden of unnecessary assessments. A new Universal Support programme will support disabled people and people with health conditions into sustained work..."

On older workers, it was stated "A new digital Mid-life MOT check will be introduced to help older workers understand what their employment choices now mean for the longer-term – reaching 40,000 people a year. They will also benefit from a boost to skills and better access to training through the Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP), Train and Progress and the new ‘Returnerships’ programme."

For more information visit www.gov.uk.