Work and Pensions (DWP)
Work and Pensions: our vision
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has an ambitious agenda of reform which aims to create a new welfare system for the 21st century; to transform the opportunity for people without jobs to find work and support themselves and their families; and to ensure that the most vulnerable in society are protected. We will focus on the Coalition Government’s values of freedom, fairness and responsibility and put welfare spending on a sustainable footing.
Over the course of the business plan period, our reforms will:
- tackle poverty and welfare dependency through a simplified welfare system that encourages and incentivises people to find work, rewards responsible behaviour and protects the most vulnerable
- promote high levels of employment by helping people who are out of work, including people in disadvantaged groups, to move into work
- help people meet the challenges of an ageing society and maintain standards of living in retirement
- provide opportunity, choice and independence to enable disabled people to take an equal role in society
To deliver this vision we will introduce a Universal Credit, which will make work pay and help to break the cycle of welfare dependency; put in place a single Work Programme to support people into sustainable work; and reform the private and state pension system to ensure dignity in later life and make increased pension saving a reality. We will phase out the default retirement age to support improved opportunities for older workers. And we will introduce Work Choice and a Right to Control to improve the opportunities of disabled people in terms of both employment and choice.
Above all, our reforms will promote fairness. They will deliver a welfare system fit for the 21st century and support the Coalition Government’s vision for a better Britain.
Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Work and Pensions: our priorities
Reform the welfare system
Introduce the Universal Credit and other reforms to simplify the welfare system and to ensure that the system always incentivises work and that work always pays. The overall reform package will help to make the welfare system affordable in the longer term.
Get Britain working
Introduce the Work Programme, an integrated package of personalised support to get people into work - from jobseekers who have been out of work for some time, to those who may have been receiving incapacity benefits for many years.
Help tackle the causes of poverty
Develop a welfare system that recognises work as the primary route out of poverty and reduces the number of children in workless households. Introduce a new child poverty strategy focused on eradicating child poverty by 2020.
Pensions reform
Provide decent State Pensions, encourage employers to provide high quality pensions and make automatic enrolment and higher pension saving a reality. Phase out the default retirement age to allow more flexibility around retirement.
Achieve disability equality
Improve equality by promoting work for disabled people, developing new ways to deliver Access to Work and introducing Work Choice to provide employment support for disabled people facing the greatest barriers. Support more independent living for those who face the greatest barriers and cannot work.
Improve our service to the public
Continue to deliver an excellent service to the public, improving its speed, ease and efficiency.