Our project has given evidence to the Commons Work and Pensions Committee’s inquiry into ‘in-work progression’ within Universal Credit. We argue that for those in work, UC is intended to increase labour market attachment. However, our research has found that in practice, conditionality can be counterproductive. We recommend more emphasis on support and incentives, and removal of unworkable rigidities in the system to take account of contemporary workplace practices. Read the full submission
Read the Sunday Herald’s story on in-work conditionality featuring early findings from our research
In our new blog Dr Shelley Bielefeld from the Australian National University considers the controversial introduction of cards to replace cash welfare payments. The Australian Government’s cashless welfare card policy experiments have been contested terrain since they were first introduced as part of the Northern Territory Emergency Response in 2007. Originally applicable only to Aboriginal welfare recipients there, cashless welfare cards (referred to in national debate as ‘income management’) have since been expanded and now operate in multiple Australian jurisdictions. Read Shelley’s blog
Dr Shelley Bielefeld from the Australian National University considers the controversial introduction of cards to replace cash welfare payments
The Australian Government’s cashless welfare card policy experiments have been contested terrain since they were first introduced as part of the Northern Territory Emergency Response in 2007. Originally applicable only to Aboriginal welfare recipients there, cashless welfare cards (referred to in national debate as ‘income management’) have since been expanded and now operate in multiple Australian jurisdictions. However, indigenous welfare recipients are disproportionately represented amongst those subject to income management, and Aboriginal communities are grossly over-represented in terms of the geographical locations the government has selected for income management trials. This gives rise to ongoing concerns about racial discrimination, access to justice, structural violence and denial of citizenship rights for Australia’s First Peoples. Read More
Our latest email newsletter is out now with all our latest research news. There are summaries of blogs on Public Spaces Protection Orders and homelessness, sanctions and the right to human dignity, and the key questions on welfare systems. Plus presentations on antisocial behaviour, women offenders, and housing. Don’t miss our future editions – use our easy signup at the bottom of this screen and get your copy every two months.
Practitioners working with lone parents are invited to our research focus group in Sheffield on Friday 11 December. Read More
Getting a tenancy in social housing generally used to mean that you could stay for as long as you wanted. But times are changing. Now it seems that the government wants to end so-called ‘lifetime’ tenancies in England. Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick and Dr Beth Watts from our research team consider our emerging evidence on fixed term tenancies in a new feature for Inside Housing magazine. Read their recent presentation slides.
Our latest guest blogger Mark Simpson of Ulster University explores questions about what respect for human dignity means in law. Following unsuccessful judicial challenges on human rights grounds to the household benefit cap and to mandatory work placements, he considers whether the fundamental right to human dignity is respected by a third pillar of the UK’s ‘welfare-to-work’ regime – Jobseeker’s Allowance sanctions. Read the blog here
Following unsuccessful judicial challenges on human rights grounds to the household benefit cap and to mandatory work placements, Mark Simpson of Ulster University considers whether the fundamental right to human dignity is respected by a third pillar of the UK’s ‘welfare-to-work’ regime – Jobseeker’s Allowance sanctions
Human dignity is a fundamental concept in human rights law, whose protection is arguably the objective of all human rights. Although a precise definition can be elusive, Christopher McCrudden (writing in the European Journal of International Law) proposes that dignity demands: protection from inhuman and degrading treatment, ability to meet one’s essential needs, individual autonomy and protection of cultural identity. Read More
Our new blog by team member Sarah Johnsen investigates the development of Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs). Proposals to develop them in a number of towns and cities have provoked controversy, most especially with respect to the increased powers they provide to fine or prosecute people for sleeping rough. Perpetrators may be given a fixed penalty notice of up to £100 or face prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000. Feelings both for and against the use of enforcement tend to be very strong, she writes. Read her blog.
Proposals to develop Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) in a number of towns and cities have provoked controversy on a number of grounds, but most especially with respect to the increased powers they provide to fine or prosecute people for sleeping rough. Our team member Prof Sarah Johnsen investigates.
PSPOs enable local authorities to apply to prohibit activities that are having, or are likely to have, a persistent and unreasonable detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality. They may ban a whole gamut of things considered to be a ‘problem’ in a defined area. Prohibitions featuring in some include: lying down or sleeping, depositing materials used or intended for use as bedding, begging, consuming intoxicating substances, and improper use of public toilets. Read More
