DWP leads the Government's response to some of the biggest issues facing the country—welfare and pension reform—and is a key player in tackling child poverty1. As the biggest delivery department in the UK, DWP makes a difference to millions of people every day, helping them to lead safer, fairer and more rewarding lives that are free from poverty. We want to give people more choice and control over their lives and are committed to providing greater choice and personalised support to everyone who needs it so they have the opportunity to get into and remain in work. We believe that work works. Even in economically challenging times we know that work works for the most vulnerable and the disadvantaged.
Support to find work
Through Jobcentre Plus, we are promoting work as the best form of welfare for people of working age. Since January 1998, the number of people unemployed in Stroud has increased by 31 per cent. to 1,840, and the number unemployed for more than one year has decreased by 35 per cent. to 200. From August 2000 to August 2009 the number of lone parents claiming income support in Stroud has decreased by 25 per cent. to 660.
Our New Deals have helped lone parents, the young unemployed, the long-term unemployed, disabled people, the over-50s and partners of unemployed people to move from benefit into work. Since their inception, over 2.2 million people in Great Britain have found work with the support of the New Deal, and 2,670 have been helped in Stroud.
Support for children
We introduced a target to halve child poverty by 2010-11 on the way to eradicating it by 2020. Poverty is measured using a headline indicator of the proportion of children in households with an income below 60 per cent. of contemporary household median income before housing costs. This is in line with international best practice.
Statistics on the numbers of children living in poverty are not available at the constituency level.
Support for older people
Since 1997 our strategy has been to target help on the poorest pensioners while providing a solid foundation of support for all.
This year we will be spending over £13 billion more on pensioners than if we had continued with the policies that were in place in 1997. Around half of that money will go to the poorest third of pensioners.
In 1997 the poorest pensioners, who received income support, lived on £69 a week (£98 in today's prices). Today pension credit, which was introduced in 2003, means no pensioner needs to live on less than £130 a week, £198.45 for couples. As of August 2009, 4,790 pensioners in Stroud are benefiting from pension credit.
In 2007-08 there were 900,000 fewer pensioners living in relative poverty in UK compared to 1998-99 (measured as below 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income after housing costs).
Statistics on the proportion of pensioners living in relative poverty are not available at constituency level. But the latest data for the south-west Government office region show that the proportion of pensioners in poverty (measured as below 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income after housing costs) fell from 24 per cent. to 18 per cent. since 20002.
Pensioners in the UK also benefit from a range of additional support such as the winter fuel payment which this winter is worth £250 for households with someone aged between 60 to 79 and £400 for households with someone aged 80 or over. These payments provide vital reassurance to older people that they can afford to turn up their heating during cold weather. Prior to winter 1997-98 less than £60 million per year was spent helping pensioners meet their fuel bills—we now spend around £2.7 billion on winter fuel payments alone. In winter 2008-09 (the last winter for which information is available) 25,540 people aged 60 and over benefited from winter fuel payments in Stroud.
We have also taken steps to strengthen and protect the private pensions system to ensure people can continue to have confidence to save for their future through the establishment of the Pensions Protection Fund, the Financial Assistance Scheme and a more powerful and proactive pensions regulator.
The protection system ensures that, unlike in 1997, people are not left without a pension even in the event that their employer becomes insolvent.
In total, 751 people in the south-west Government office region are receiving compensation from the Pension Protection Fund (data not available at constituency level)3.
We have also taken forward a radical package of pension reforms in the Pensions Acts of 2007 and 2008 which will deliver a fairer and more generous state pension and extend the opportunity of workplace pension saving to millions, many for the first time.
The state pension reforms begin to come into effect from 2010 and will mean around three quarters of women reaching state pension age in 2010 are expected to qualify for a full basic state pension compared to half without reform.
Support for disabled people and carers
Since 2001, we have significantly extended and improved civil rights for disabled people in areas such as employment, education, access to goods and services and transport. Disabled people in Stroud will have benefited from these improvements. The Welfare Reform Act 2009 contains powers to increase choice and control for disabled adults, including disabled parents who are entitled to state support, enabling them to choose how certain state support is used to meet their individual needs. This will be trailblazed in eight local authority sites from late 2010. Older and less well off carers have gained extra help through the provisions within the National Carers Strategy.
1 The Department for Work and Pensions was created in 2001 and so information relates to the Department and its predecessors.
2 Based on three-year averages and changes are rounded to the nearest percentage point or 100,000 pensioners between 2000-01 to 2002-03 and 2005-06 to 2007-08.
3 Regional information about assistance payments received by members from the Financial Assistance Scheme could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.