Methodology
In order to create the Plan, we held an open call for solutions and a public consultation. Read about these below, or read the Plan’s supporting papers.
Call for solutions
In 2019 the Commission issued a Call for Solutions.
This was a request for people to submit ideas for a better benefits system.
The Call for Solutions can be seen here.
The Call for Solutions contained eight very straightforward questions like ‘Do you think the Government should get rid of Universal Credit? If so, what could they replace it with?’ and ‘How can the welfare benefits system better support people who are sick or disabled?’
It also asked whether people agreed with the Commission’s 5 principles. The answer to that was overwhelmingly ‘yes’.
The Commission received 906 online submissions in response to the Call for Solutions. More than 100 paper/email responses were received.
To ensure there were a variety of ways to feed into the consultation, and in order to be more widely accessible, a legislative theatre initiative was undertaken and there was a poetry forum.
Support from the Social Policy Association enabled 17 workshops to be held across the UK attended by almost 300 people.
Public consultation on proposals for a better benefits system
In August 2020, a public consultation was launched on the Commission’s draft proposals.
You can watch the recording of the launch event below:
In addition to the launch event:
18 workshop sessions were held attended by over 300 people
3 open workshops were held including one for Deaf British Sign Language users
Other workshops were kindly hosted by:
Unite Community & Unemployed Workers Centres
4 private invite only sessions were hosted by other organisations at which the Commission was asked to present its proposals
Funding was provided to a small number of groups for targeted work to engage their communities as appropriate to local circumstances given Covid-19. This included:
An area of multiple deprivation by Thrive Teesside
The Bangladeshi community in East London by Toynbee HallOver a thousand responses were received to the consultation. Final proposals will be published once responses to the public consultation have been analysed.
Public consultation activity was supported by the London School of Economics Knowledge Exchange and Impact fund and the University of Warwick Impact Accelerator Account.
The Commission’s draft proposals.
In 2020, the Commission published draft proposals, for public consultation. The consultation received more than a thousand responses.
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● No benefit cap
● No sanctions
● No 2-child limit
● No conditions (e.g. job-search requirements)
● No bedroom tax
● Benefit rates should be increased each year
● Payments should be made on an individual not household basis
● Entitlement should apply equally to adults aged 18 to pension age
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● Replace PIP with a new personalised payment to cover the extra costs of disability
● Co-produced by people with lived experience
● Assessments in line with the social model of disability
● Recognise people are experts on how their impairment affects them
● Savings, etc. to be ignored when working out Disability Benefit
● Disability benefit to be dealt with by a new government department completely separate from those ‘helping people get back to work’
● Social care to be free instead of taken from an individual’s disability benefit
● The rate of benefit has to be much higher and more realistic than it is nowription text goes here
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● Raise Child Benefit to £50 per child per week
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● A Guaranteed Decent Income of £222 per week for a single adult and £322 per week for a couple to replace Universal Credit, Employment Support Allowance, Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Working Tax Credits.
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● Commissioners did not agree on this point so the public consultation asked people for further ideas.
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● Allow benefits and the right to work for refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants
● Allow refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants access to public funds like everyone else (this means “No Recourse to Public Funds” would be abolished)
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● The government has a lot of power when it comes to money and choice. Things like the ability to make or borrow more money, and the option to set higher taxes for rich people or businesses, mean there is enough money for social security for all.
Links with other areas
No zero hours contracts
Free prescriptions for all
Free dental care for all
Free school meals for all children
Free Early Childhood Education and Care included in the system
National Independent Living Support Service
More affordable housing
Jobs with decent pay and decent conditions
Change local tax because people with the highest incomes currently don’t pay a fair share