STUC critical of Hutton announcement on Welfare Reform

The STUC today voiced grave concern at Government plans to privatise aspects of the welfare service and increase the pressure on single parents to find work.

The Government plans to increase the involvement of private sector and voluntary sector companies in welfare to work programmes, potentially involving the private and voluntary sector in sanctioning benefit.

STUC General Secretary Grahame Smith said:

“Whilst there is much to agree with in the Government and Scottish Executive’s aim to increase employment levels in Scotland, we are deeply concerned that service provision issues will undermine the aims of the strategy.

“We do not believe that the private sector is the right place to provide employment services and there are increasing reports, both from our members and from service users, of the failings of these private companies where they already operate.

“Equally, while we believe that there is an important and continuing role for the involvement of genuine third sector organisations in providing employment services, the last thing that is needed is for such support groups to be forced to take on the role of sanctioning benefit. The STUC believes that such a move would risk bringing about a highly counterproductive break down in trust between service provided and user.”

Grahame Smith also criticised the suggestion of further sanctions on single parents he said.

“The large majority of single parents already work. We should be concentrating on supporting back to the workplace those who want to work, but cannot, rather than trying to force back the minority who usually have very good reasons for not being able to work.”

An examination of the role of private and large voluntary sector organisations in employment services can be found in a report published by the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS): Third Sector provision of employment related services. Steve Davies, Senior Research Fellow, Cardiff School of Social Sciences.

PCS Report: Third Sector provision of employment related services