Welfare conditionality and behaviour change

Dwyer, Peter; Scullion, Lisa; Jones, Katy; McNeill, Jenny; Stewart, Alasdair

doi:10.51952/9781447343721.ch003

Cited by 3 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Overall, their analysis suggests that the impact of Universal Credit on employment is positive albeit small and inconclusive, requiring this evaluation to be carried out systematically and at scale (Millar & Bennett, 2017). Examining the trajectories of people moving between Universal Credit and paid work Dwyer et al (2022) in their longitudinal study 'WelCond' interviewed people about their pathways into paid work via Universal Credit and Jobseekers Allowance, and the impact of welfare conditionality between 2014 and 2017. Their findings highlight that many of the interviewees had 'stasis' in so far as they had an absence of significant or sustained change in their employment status.…”

Section: A Universal Basic Income and 'Idleness'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Modern welfare in the United Kingdom is a universal (dis)credit to Beveridge. Is it time for a basic income?

Beck,

Peters,

Bridge

et al. 2024

Soc Policy Adm

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Universal Credit signalled a revolution in the delivery and costs of welfare provisioning. UC aimed to reduce spending on welfare, but in doing so now threatens the stability of a functioning and cohesive society. Over recent years, and most notably during the COVID‐19 pandemic, it has become ever clearer that adequate social security is vital to the functioning of society, as well as to the health and well‐being of the population. Yet this period has also served to highlight the fragility and insufficiency of welfare in the United Kingdom. This article explores how the current welfare crisis, is associated with UC. In this article, we also consider the uncertainty that UC has created in most recipients. We argue that there are other ways to support the most vulnerable in society, and that we are now at that critical juncture in needing to make significant change. Universal Basic Income (UBI) offers one such alternative by offering stable, individual, non‐means tested, and unconditional money transfers, to all citizens. Over the last decade, there have been multiple experiments around the world trialling basic income, each of which has a specific focus, or target population, as different elements of a UBI were scrutinised. In this article, we reflect upon what we consider to be the potential shortcomings of the current welfare system in the United Kingdom as a move away from its origin, arguing that the United Kingdom is now primed for UBI to be considered a fair and legitimate way to provide social security.

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Section: A Universal Basic Income and 'Idleness'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Modern welfare in the United Kingdom is a universal (dis)credit to Beveridge. Is it time for a basic income?

Beck,

Peters,

Bridge

et al. 2024

Soc Policy Adm

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Any evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of conditional interventions in achieving their intended aims must be placed in the context of wider unintended impacts (both positive and negative). Here it is apt to note that, in both the US and UK, harsh forms of benefit sanctions have been associated with material hardships including food poverty, debt, rent arrears, homelessness, and destitution (Lindhorst and Mancoske, 2006;Loopstra et al, 2015;Wright and Stewart, 2016;Reeve, 2017;Fitzpatrick et al, 2018), and negative physical and mental health outcomes (Griggs and Evans, 2010;Dwyer, 2018). Such findings seriously challenge the utilitarian and paternalistic case for these strong sanctions, and probably the contractualist case too, at least as regards those theorists concerned with the fairness of the imagined social contract (White, 2003).…”

Section: Social Justicementioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing Value Pluralist Approaches to Social Policy Controversies: A Case Study of Welfare Conditionality

Watts-Cobbe

Fitzpatrick

2023

J. Soc. Pol.

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‘Value pluralism’ is a strand of analytical philosophy that posits the plurality of morally significant values. By enabling systematic mapping of the diversity of moral registers within which social policy concerns might legitimately be considered, we contend that value pluralist-inspired analysis can aid constructive policy dialogue. Our argument is founded on four claims: first, as a matter of normative principle, value pluralism represents a defensible ethical standpoint; second, as a matter of fact, people are attracted to a plurality of moral values; third, as a matter of democratic legitimacy, pluralism offers a means of (partially) reconciling rival moral claims; fourth, as a matter of political strategy, pluralism offers a pragmatic approach that can engage protagonists on their own terms. To demonstrate its efficacy, we apply this pluralist approach to the vexed question of welfare conditionality, which we interrogate via six normative perspectives (rights, utilitarianism, contractualism, communitarianism, paternalism and social justice).

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“…Furthermore, sanctions have been put in place to penalise people who are unable, not unwilling, to meet these requirements (Work and Pensions Committee, 2015). The consequences of these sanctions could have a detrimental impact on the material well-being of vulnerable claimants, with the relationship between sanctioning and conditionality causing destitution (Dwyer and Bright, 2016). Dwyer and Bright (2016) report that many UC recipients noted a “tick box” (highly bureaucratic) path to support.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The consequences of these sanctions could have a detrimental impact on the material well-being of vulnerable claimants, with the relationship between sanctioning and conditionality causing destitution (Dwyer and Bright, 2016). Dwyer and Bright (2016) report that many UC recipients noted a “tick box” (highly bureaucratic) path to support. Some participants reported their experience as intimidating, dehumanising and disempowering.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some participants reported their experience as intimidating, dehumanising and disempowering. Moreover, some had many arrears (utilities, rent) and had experienced eviction threats, while other social tenants with fixed-term, conditional forms of tenancy who were unaware of the possible delays to accessing UC reported that these had caused them much anxiety and repossession (Dwyer and Bright, 2016, 2020; Hardie, 2021, 2022). Wickham et al (2020) reported that the introduction of UC led to an increase in psychological distress, a measure of mental health difficulties, among those affected by the policy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A thematic analysis of homelessness practitioners’ perception of the impacts of welfare reforms in the UK: “Hard to maintain my own mental equilibrium”

De Oliveira

2023

HCS

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Purpose This paper aims to explore the lived experiences of key stakeholders working with homeless people during the implementation of universal credit during the austerity years. Design/methodology/approach The literature on austerity reveals welfare reforms’ impact on support services staff. Service providers’ perceptions of the impact of austerity-led policies and welfare reform via nine interviews with people working in homelessness organisations in Brighton and Hove in the UK. Service providers see the situation for their service users has gotten worse and that the policies make it more difficult to extricate themselves from their current situation. Three central themes relating to the impact of austerity-led welfare reforms were, namely, Universal Credit: the imposition of a precarious livelihood on welfare claimants; a double-edged sword: “If people are sanctioned: people can’t pay”; and “Hard to maintain my own mental equilibrium”. Findings More precisely, this paper captures service providers’ perceptions and experiences of the impact of austerity-led policies on their services and how they believe this, in turn, impacts their clients and their own lives. Research limitations/implications The dimension cuts across service provision to vulnerable people and is intertwined with health and well-being outcomes. Austerity is detrimental to the health of service users and their clients. It is known that when it comes to the health and well-being of the most vulnerable, who have suffered most from the impacts of austerity policies. However, in times of open austerity, it falls also on those trying to ease their suffering. Originality/value The data suggest that policies were developed and accentuated by austerity, which led to the stripping of welfare support from vulnerable people. This process has impacted the people who rely on welfare and service providers.

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Welfare conditionality and behaviour change

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Modern welfare in the United Kingdom is a universal (dis)credit to Beveridge. Is it time for a basic income?

Modern welfare in the United Kingdom is a universal (dis)credit to Beveridge. Is it time for a basic income?

Advancing Value Pluralist Approaches to Social Policy Controversies: A Case Study of Welfare Conditionality

A thematic analysis of homelessness practitioners’ perception of the impacts of welfare reforms in the UK: “Hard to maintain my own mental equilibrium”

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