Working age benefits

The consultation period on the Government's ideas for fundamental reforms to the benefits system ends on 1 October. Integrating all benefits and tax credits should create a system which is simpler for both claimants and government, but the Government will need to explain much more clearly how a Universal Credit would work and how much different groups of recipients will get if we are to have an informed debate on its merits.

This presentation was delivered at a Daycare Trust seminar, September 16 2010.

The Department of Work and Pensions today published a consultation paper called 21st Century Welfare which sets out ideas for fundamental reforms to the benefits system. The report presents a number of options for integrating different existing benefits.

This presentation was given to a 'Citizens' Jury' run by BritainThinks and PriceWaterhouseCoopers on 16 July 2010 at the University of Warwick.

This I was given to the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group.

Iain Duncan Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, today gave a little more detail on the Government's plans for welfare reform, suggesting that the benefit system needed simplifying, incentives to work strengthening, and welfare-to-work programmes reforming . But what can actually be done?

The Labour party is pointing to the fact that the Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats are proposing cuts to child tax credit for middle- to high-income families with children. But just what cuts are being proposed and which families would be affected? And how different is this from current policy?

All the main UK political parties claim to have put the needs of families at the heart of their campaigns. The Conservative Party has also pledged to end the couple penalty for all couples in the tax credit system. How does the reality - as measured by specific pledges in their manifestos - match up to the rhetoric?

This presentation was delivered at the IFS 2010 Election Briefing on 27 April 2010.

Robert Chote, Director of IFS, delivered these opening remarks at the IFS 2010 Election Briefing on 27 April 2010.