NATIONAL charity Shaw Trust, which launched its hard-hitting Break the Chains campaign at the Labour Party Conference, is offering the perfect solution for a government rattled by mounting criticism of Incapacity Benefit costs.
As Prime Minister Tony Blair promised to cut benefit claimants and use the savings to fund a new pension system if Labour is elected to a third term, Shaw Trust pledged to support 20 times as many people into work if only the government would provide up front funding for successful welfare to work programmes.
"We will help 5,000 people into work this year, representing a saving to government of £10 million over two years, and that's after the government has paid the Trust to provide the programmes," says Ian Charlesworth, Managing Director of the UK's leading provider of employment services for people with disabilities.
"Imagine the savings if we could reach 100,000 people a year, as we'd like to."
The Prime Minister pledged action on benefits and pensions in his party conference speech, which included a ten-point programme for Britain under a re-elected Labour government. He announced plans to increase the numbers moving off all benefits, including Incapacity Benefits, and to use the money saved to design a pension system with the basic state pension at its core.
"But first the government needs to help people move off benefits into employment. There are 2.4 million trapped on Incapacity Benefits, which costs the taxpayer £7.1 billion a year. Yet the government seems slow to invest properly in the highly successful Job Broking service which enables long term incapacity benefit claimants to move from welfare to work," adds Ian Charlesworth.
"It is proven that programmes like Job Broking save the government money, but we are having to work hard to persuade government to invest sufficiently in this programme."
The Break the Chains campaign, backed up by the website www.breakthechains.org.uk calls on the government to invest some of the benefit savings into employment programmes, which pay for themselves eventually.
The government is challenged to free up current thinking that cannot see that increased investment in successful employment programmes will cut escalating benefit costs, and to ditch the labels that say IB claimants can't work - they can, and they want to.
Similarly the campaign challenges business bosses to look anew at the labour crisis. Industry shells out £12 billion a year on days lost because of sickness leave alone. The number of school leavers is shrinking, the workforce is ageing and obviously an ageing workforce will suffer more health problems.
The campaign calls on bosses to break free from prejudices it's not what the person looks like that matters, it's whether they've got the right skills; to throw away the blinkers, because the shrinking and ageing workforce is everyone's problem, and to rethink their employment and staff retention strategies.
"At least 1.5 million frustrated IB claimants want to work NOW, given the right opportunity and support, and we can provide it," adds Ian Charlesworth.
"The current system isn't working and we need to break the chains that are stopping us moving forward. The government and industry have the key to unlock the potential of millions of people with disabilities who want to work, and it's our duty to speak out to liberate people trapped in the system."
Readers who want to take part in the Break the Chains postcard lobby of MPs should log onto www.breakthechains.org.uk or contact their local Shaw Trust employment office on freephone 0800 085 1001.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. We have illustrations and case studies, and can provide interview subjects to support our Break the Chains campaign. Contact Regional PR Manager Josie Hoskins on 01905 795194 or 07779 317793 for more information.
2. Shaw Trust is a 22 year-old national charity, which is internationally recognised as one of the leading authorities in disability, disadvantage and employment.
3. We provide training and work opportunities to people disadvantaged in the labour market due to disability, ill health, or other social circumstances. We are the UK's leading provider of employment services for disabled people.
4. There are 3.68 million people of working age without employment due to poor health or disability.
5. There are just 49% of disabled people are in work compared to 81% non-disabled. Shaw Trust joins the TUC in calling for the government to set a target of 60% disabled people in employment, to be achieved in the next three years.
6. It is estimated that 60% of employees will be over 60 in 2045, when the average retirement age will be 77 for men and 72 for women.
7. Job Broking, part of the government's New Deal for Disabled People, is a specialist provision, delivering a return to work service for those currently in receipt of incapacity and sickness benefits. Shaw Trust (freephone 0800 085 1001) delivers 33% of the nationwide Job Broking provision.
8. For further information, please contact Shaw Trust's Regional PR Managers Josie Hoskins on 07779 317793 and Evelyn O'Keefe on 07974 224938. Or you can email crucial@dircon.co.uk or click onto www.shaw-trust.org.uk
