About The CampaignWhat we are fighting for
Greater understanding in Society
For policy changes to be effective we need to create a better understanding amongst society and Government around the relationship between poverty and cash-in-hand work.
I am not a statistic, I never wanted to have a life on benefits, I used to work and I really enjoyed it. When I worked I was a real grafter I loved being financially independent. Now when I work it's for cash-in-hand and it's at times when things are really tight. Living in fear of being caught is a terrible way to live but what is scarier is giving up benefits altogether and having no safety net.
Jo, local Newham resident and mum of three.
DWP needs to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the complexity and chaotic lives that so many people have who live on benefits. This must be the foundation of any reform.
In the news:
- Colne mum placed on curfew after admitting to benefit fraud.
- Prosecute the rich, not the poor- The Guardian
- 'We're closing in' on benefit thieves National Campaign launch
- Work-for-dole will force the benefit cheats to start earning their keep, says jobs minister
- Debt out of need not greed
- Life in the shadows
- Johann Hari: Yes, for welfare you must be made to work
Media coverage of poverty in the UK and of people working cash-in-hand is largely negative. Similiar to Government departments newspapers, TV programmes and films all place those who act out of need and those who act of of greed in the same catagory. Check out our blog article: On the Fiddle- The riddle of Fraud.
As a result people become stigmitised and perpetuate one of the major effects of poverty. Politicians make laws and policies aimed at people living in poverty but rarely understand the reality of peoples lives whom will be affected as a result. Check out our blog article: DWP: Guilty before proven innocent
Negative attitudes towards people experiencing poverty become embedded in society. Current Department for Work and Pension advertising campaigns may create hostility and suspicion between Jobcentre Plus advisers and benefit recipients. Advertising punitive measures risks pushing people working informally further underground rather than supporting them to formalise their work or make the transition to secure formal employment. By introducing more positive advertising that encourages people to declare their work, combined with practical policy changes, advisers should be able to take a more proactive role in service users' lives. They will be more likely to form trusting relationships and take a truly holistic approach to helping an individual secure formal employment and tackle the numerous complex issues that have trapped them in poverty. Politicians should replace words such as 'languishing' and ‘dependency’ with 'hardworking' and 'resourceful' in acknowledgement of the hard work involved in trying to get by when on benefits. We need language that empowers rather than stigmatises people in order to encourage them to use services
Ruth Lister, Professor of Social Policy, Loughborough University
October 2008
- There needs to be an increase in specific poverty awareness training and hands-on experience to acknowledge the poverty traps and grasp a better understanding of personal fear of moving off benefits and fear of debt.
- Combined with training, Jobcentre staff should work with local support groups to share expertise and form better relations with service users. This would increase the likelihood that people would make the transition out of cash-in-hand work and into formal sustainable employment.
- Current advertising does not incentivise people to declare work and progress in formal work or formalise their current work. It is a barrier to tackling the root causes of unemployment as Jobcentre advisers cannot confront and deal with all aspects of people from taking up formal employment.
99% of the system is aimed at 2% trying to fiddle the system
A participant at a Community Links Green Paper roundtable meeting, summer 2008
Action
- The Need Not Greed campaign is calling for more accurarte depictions of people living in poverty. Peoples stories provides real life accounts of individual experiences of people living in poverty and working cash-in-hand .
- Voices for Changeprovides a place for individuals to have a voice, share experiences and provide better understanding for society.
- Our Need Not Greed discussion groups bring peole together to talk openly about the difficulties of poverty, the benefit traps and identify what are the changes needed to enable people to declare work and move out of living in poverty.
Read more about this on our blog: http://www.community-links.org/linksuk or get in touch with Maeve, 020 7473 9644, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
to have a role in social inclusion you need to understand social exclusion
Neil Lawson, Compass