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The Work and Pensions Sector: Working in the Welfare and Benefits System

This practical Masterclass will look at the scope and cost of the welfare system in the UK and how policy is likely to develop over the coming years in terms of investment, cuts and entitlements. The roles of all the organisations involved in service provision will be examined and delegates will have the opportunity to debate the moral and practical responsibilities of the stat and the individual and how this may impact on policy in practical terms

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the scope and cost of the welfare state
  • Understand the social and financial costs of unemployment
  • Understand the evolution of recent government thinking and how current priorities could possibly change in 2010
  • Understand the roles of the major organisations, and what has made cross-cutting initiatives successful
  • Understand the roles of the various sectors
  • Debate with experts the moral and practical responsibilities of the state and the individual and understand how these discussions impact on your work
  • Understand the possible impacts of new legislation on you in a professional capacity

Programme

9:00
Registration and Refreshments
9:45
Chairman’s Welcome and Introduction
Simon Courage, former Civil Servant and Senior Fellow, Office for Public Management (confirmed)
10:00
An Overview of the Welfare and Benefits System
  • Brief History of the Welfare State
  • Landmark Events from 1945 – 1997
  • New Labour: Opportunities for Reform and Impact
  • The Scope of the Welfare and Benefits System
  • The Cost of the different Elements of the Welfare State
  • The Financial and Social Cost of Unemployment
  • The Varney and Freud Reports
  • The 2008 Consultation, Green Paper and Welfare Reform Bill
Professor Pamela Gillies, Glasgow Caledonian University; Chair, Glasgow Welfare and Benefits Taskforce (invited)
11:00
Morning Coffee
11:15
Departmental Policy and Joining-up Service Delivery
  • The Role of the Department for Work and Pensions
  • The Current Ministerial Team
  • Long Term Departmental Agendas
  • Relationships between the Main Players: DWP, Job Centre Plus, Private Sector Involvement
  • The Third Sector and Local Government
  • The Treasury and Other Government Departments
  • The Bigger Picture: The Practicalities of joining up Delivery: Case Studies and Successes
Neil Couling, Director, Benefits Strategy, Department for Work and Pensions (invited)
12:10
Looking into the Future
  • Trends - social, demographic and employment and the impact of the recession
  • A focus on employment and welfare support
  • The UK approach - characteristics that have defined the last decade
  • A brief evaluation - assess success and shortcomings of 'active labour market policies' and the impact of benefits/tax credits
  • Looking at other examples - EU and US
  • Looking forward - what are the challenges - how are the political parties responding (some of these themes will be broader than employment - e.g. personalisation, increased conditionality, voluntary sector, role of the professional, holistic support)
Lord David Freud, Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions (confirmed)
13:00
Lunch
14:00
Debate and Discussion Forum
Welfare Provision and the Moral Dimension
  • Anti-Poverty and Disincentives to Work
  • Society, Child Poverty and Social Responsibility
  • Personal Responsibility and Opportunity
  • The Morality of the Benefits Culture
  • Systems with no Welfare Structure: Pros and Cons
Dr Peter King, Reader in Social Thought, De Montfort University (confirmed)
Penny Nicholls, Director, Children and Young People Division, the Children’s Society (confirmed)
Peter Kenway, Director, New Policy Institute (confirmed)
15:00
Afternoon Tea
15:10
Afternoon Workshop Session
Working Group Scenarios
  • Prioritising competing policies in the workplace
  • Mapping priorities onto policy frameworks
  • Discussion, Feedback, Conclusions and Recommendations
Simon Courage, former Civil Servant and Senior Fellow, Office for Public Management (confirmed)
16:40
Final Questions and Close

Please note that the programme is subject to change without notice

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Sector specific workshops

Sector specific masterclasses are designed for practitioners, managers, professionals, new starters and business partners who, as well as keeping abreast of developments in their specific area of work, wish to broaden their understanding of the overall structure of their policy sector and learn more about the functions and roles played by each of the delivery partners at both the central and local level.