Our welfare system represents the duty we have to one another as citizens, and is central to our unity and respect for each other as a society. It is part of the greatness of our nation. However, benefits provided by the state must be targeted toward the truly vulnerable. The system as a whole must be qualified, contributory, affordable and fair to taxpayers. Our urgent future challenge is, first, to help the millions of our fellow citizens trapped in welfare dependency to find viable routes into employment and self-reliance, and secondly, to re-balance old age pension provision to a level sustainable by the UK tax base.
POLICY PLEDGES:
- A national resilience strategy to inculcate principles of good mental health will be implemented across the nation in schools, colleges, universities and on social media applications.
- The 5% of people who are under 35 years of age and receive disability benefit (a majority of whom have no qualifications) will receive personally targeted medical, education and mentoring assistance to get into work.
- Long term unemployment will be abolished. All persons in receipt of unemployment benefit and deemed fit to work for more than 6 months will be employed by their local authority in civil improvement projects at the minimum wage (local authority funding to be increased to provide for associated costs).
- All future cash wage increases will be matched by an increase in the automatic enrolment pensions levy at the rate of 20p for each pound, until the total individual pension contribution reaches 8% of salary. Over time this will build up a private pension pot for every citizen and augment the pool of national savings.
- The old age-pension will be increased annually not by politically motivated metrics but, rather, by a quantum which is fully sustainable by the UK tax base.
- We will create Community Hubs at Local Authority level to improve access to multidisciplinary social services saving claimants time and cost while increasing the efficiency and knowledge of welfare services.
- National Insurance ID Cards will be issued to all citizens. Anyone living in Britain as a non-citizen will not be given recourse to public funds for at least 10 years after the granting of indefinite leave to remain status. NHS provision will be dependent on status as an ordinarily resident for tax purposes and with a history of NI contributions.
- The housing benefit budget will be gradually reduced year by year. All of the available funds will be diverted into a capital programme of state house building across the nation.