Labour was last night accused of putting off urgently needed reforms to cure sicknote Britain.
Ministers are launching a drive to ‘get Britain working again’ and achieve an ‘ambitious’ target of getting another 2 million people into jobs.
But the white paper published today is solely focused on employment support, including a revamp of Jobcentres as well as extra NHS appointments in unemployment hotspots.
A shake-up of the benefits system and a crackdown on welfare spending will not take place for many more months with proposals not even published until next year.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said it will ‘bring forward measures to overhaul the health and disability benefits system’ to ‘tackle the spiralling benefits bill’ and a ‘consultation will be published in spring’.
In addition, bosses will be asked to do more to recruit people with disabilities and health conditions – but only after a review that will run until next summer.
It comes despite ministers admitting the scale of the problem, with the Department for Working and Pensions (DWP) citing ‘stark figures’ that show almost 1.5million people across the UK are unemployed, 9m are classed as ‘economically inactive’ and a record 2.8m are out of work as a result of long-term sickness.
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately said: ‘This latest announcement shows that Labour are not prepared to take the tough but necessary choices to bring down the benefits bill.
‘There is no attempt to match the £12 billion in welfare savings we promised in our manifesto. They have even dodged the difficult decisions on sickness benefits, which are needed to make the welfare system sustainable in the long term.’
And John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Taxpayers would be slow to forgive ministers if they fail to deliver on the promises they’ve made to crackdown on the ballooning benefits bill.
‘The proposals made so far look like a typical example of a government reaching for gimmicks and quick fixes rather than taking the difficult decisions needed.
‘If Labour want to solve this issue they need to go further and faster and ensure a comprehensive solution, not simply apply another sticking plaster.’
However the Government insisted that the Get Britain Working white paper to be published today represents the biggest reform to employment support for a generation.
It marks Labour’s first major intervention to reach its target of an 80 per cent employment rate, up from 74.8 per cent currently, and is backed by £240m of public money.
In order to tackle huge levels of worklessness caused by ill-health, 20 NHS trusts across England will get ‘extra capacity’ to reduce waiting lists.
An extra 8,500 staff will also be deployed to help people with mental health problems back to work.
A new National Jobs and Careers Service will be created from existing Jobcentres and careers advice to help people get skills and progress as well as finding them work, with a ‘radically improved digital offer’ promised including ‘the latest technologies and AI’ to provide up-to-date information.
Every person aged between 18 and 21 in England will have access to an apprenticeship, training or help to find a job under a new ‘Youth Guarantee’, with big names including the Premier League and Royal Shakespeare Company offering opportunities to young people.
Last night Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘Our reforms put an end to the culture of blaming and shaming people who for too long haven’t been getting the support they need to get back to work.
‘Helping people into decent, well-paid jobs and giving our children and young people the best start in life – that’s our plan to put more money in people’s pockets, unlock growth and make people better off.’
And Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said: ‘To get Britain growing, we need to get Britain working again. We can build a healthier, wealthier nation – driving up employment and opportunity, skills and productivity – while driving down the benefit bill.’