Green Party Policy on Welfare and Pensions

Key Green Party aims on Welfare and Pensions are to introduce a

• living wage
• citizen's income
• unconditional citizen’s pension (linked to average earnings)

and to

• increase carer’s allowance
• link housing and disability support to earnings
• double child benefit

The Green Party Manifesto 2010 on Welfare states: … fundamental reform is needed, where most of the complicated benefits, means tests and qualifying contributions are swept away, and all citizens receive as of right a basic income – a Citizen’s Income. The cost of this would be recovered through a more progressive income tax system. 

We recognise that with the public finances in their present state this is not the time to introduce such a scheme. However, we can make a start … with a decent Citizen’s Pension scheme and a major increase in Child Benefit. 

The Citizen’s Pension would be paid unconditionally to all pensioners in the UK (independent of contribution record) at the rate of the official poverty line (currently £170pw for someone living alone, and the rate would be £300pw for couples), and would be linked to average earnings. 

[On child poverty] Rather than add further to the complex and means tested Child Tax Credits system, we would simply more than double the existing and universal Child Benefit payment, by paying an extra £20pw, which would be taxable, for each child. This would cost a further £14bn per year, much of which would be recovered by increased taxation on the most wealthy. 

A more generous Carer’s Allowance, increased by 50% to £80pw. 

In terms of public expenditure … the overall increase in public expenditure … for 2013 is £80bn.

Here also is Haringey Green Party blogger mike.shaughnessy@btinternet.com on 9 July 2012

Citizen’s Income: a Progressive Alternative 

 As their economic policies continue to fail, the ConDem coalition governments demonising rhetoric against welfare claimants grows ever louder. Sanctions (removing Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)) are up sharply (almost doubled) when measured against the last Labour administration. Under Labour, it was far from the free for all as painted by the current government, with sanctions regularly applied to Jobseeker’s, and the harassment and transferral of Employment Support Allowance (ESA) claimants to JSA commonplace.

 I worked as a Jobcentre adviser over the period covering the end of the Labour administration and beginning of the ConDem one, and I can tell you that all the tools we had to help people back into work were systematically removed (not that they were that great anyway), and replaced with only a negative approach of applying sanctions.

 The ConDem’s though have taken this to new level now, presumably encouraged by focus group feedback about ‘the something for nothing society’, it is probably the only popular policy they have introduced. The fact it is inhumane, unfair and doesn’t really save much money is no deterrent to this most odious of governments.

 The Green party takes a very different view of welfare matters, which is embodied in our policy of a Citizen’s Income (CI). It is a progressive policy whereby all adults in the UK would receive a non-means tested payment set at no less than the current JSA, although I would argue that it needs to set at a considerably higher level, because JSA currently at £71.00 per week is not enough to live on, and needs to be over £100.00 per week, at least.

 This would allow people to work part-time if they so wish, to supplement their income, with no reduction in CI, or do voluntary work with no hassle from the Jobcentre, have confidence to start up as self- employed or take up family caring responsibilities.

PS 5/8/13 - Here is motion CΩ12 on An alternative Citizens Income / Basic Income Scheme on page 40 of the Agenda for Autumn Conference 2013 of the Green Party of England and Wales

Synopsis: Guarantees every citizen a decent basic income, without means-testing and to pensioners and those unable to work without further condition. Workers guaranteed a wage rate (equivalent to national mean work-age income per hour worked), for enough hours to equal that payment. Option to complete these hours in decent Government-funded jobs.

Motion:  Delete existing EC730-EC733 and replace with: EC730 A Citizen's Income sufficient to cover an individual's basic needs will be introduced, which will replace tax-free allowances and most social security benefits (see EC711).

A Citizen's Income is an income payable to each individual as a right of citizenship. It will not be subject to means testing. The level for an adult should be set at about £175pw as at Nov 2012, equivalent to the average personal JSA+housing benefit+council tax benefit package. The only condition which a recipient citizen shall be required to meet is: that if they are of working age and capable to work, they shall be required to work for a total of 43 hours in a 4-week cycle

a . This can be for any legitimate employer, self-employment, or a socially or environmentally useful government guaranteed scheme

b  -or a mix of these

c . Those unable to work, in legitimate full-time education (term-time), or beyond retirement age, will receive CI without conditions. Those in prison would be eligible for CI but would be required to pay a proportion as ‘keep’ to the prison -at least as much as an average citizen did in basic rented housing. Workers would not be expected to do work that they had a moral objection to, although there should be plenty of non-controversial possibilities in the government-sponsored schemes. Those with a medical exemption would in no way be penalised for work they did manage to do (unless it was clearly impossible with the condition they'd declared)...and an exemption declaration should be able to specify 'this person may not be capable of reaching hours required for full CI, in which case they should be considered exempt from the time requirement' See d  for job-sharing.

a) This based on a wage-rate equivalent to that of the national mean income for a working person, currently ~£16.25ph. This is called the CI-wage rate (CIWR). The 43hrs/4-weeks are referred to as CI-time requirement (CITR). Where CIWR is greater than the contracted hourly rate, the difference is called the ‘top-up rate’, and is applicable for hours worked up to the CITR. Hours worked as self-employed would be assumed to be at minimum wage rate, and thus be eligible for the maximum top up rate.

b) Govt. provided jobs would include valuable social and environmental jobs that aren’t currently being done. They could be recommended and awarded via local councils or central Govt.*c. The Govt would pay CI to the citizen...this is to ensure everyone gets their CI, guaranteed and without delay. (exception: those fully self-employed would not make a CI contribution, but the Govt would only pay them the top-up part of CI.) Employers would pay the Govt for the employee’s contracted hourly rate up to the CITR –for a total up to the full CI.Employers would pay the employee direct for any hours worked above the CITR. E.g : You are contracted for £8ph for 30hrs/week with employer ‘X’. X pays the Govt £8x 10.75= £86 towards your CI. The Govt pays you £175 CI, effectively ‘topping you up’ by £89. You would receive a further £154 from your employer (as hours beyond your CITR, at your contracted £8ph). Total weekly income =£175(CI, non-taxable)+ £154(taxable). If you got a pay rise to £20ph, X would pay the Govt the full £175pw, which would be passed on to you as CI, with no Govt top-up. By offering higher weekly wages, however, they should be benefitting from attracting high-calibre employees.

d) For employers with only one employee (includes self-employment), that job is considered as an entire job. So if they only work 15hrs/week, a Govt ‘top-up’ would apply for all but 4.25hrs of that. For employers with more than one employee: There should be an incentive for employers to allow job-sharing, but not to splinter into uselessly small jobs in order to gain maximum govt subsidy. Thus an employer of more than one person (at below the CIWR) would have to contribute more than the contracted wage rate towards employees’ CI in certain circumstances: Taking a full-time job equivalent (FTJE) to be 40hrs/week...an employer providing 80 hours’ weekly work in total would be deemed to provide 2 FTJEs -so the Govt ‘top-up’ is allowed on 2 full CI

An employer employing extra persons in the same job (ie job-sharing) would have to pay half the CI ‘top-up’ for the second employee, and three-quarters of the top-up for 3rd or 4th employees on the same job-share.

EC731 The Citizens' Income will eliminate the unemployment and poverty traps, as well as acting as a safety net to enable people to choose their own types and patterns of work (See EC400). The Citizens' Income scheme will thus enable people to engage in personally satisfying and socially useful work.

EC732 When the Citizens' Income is introduced it is intended that very few will be in a position that they will receive less through the scheme than they were entitled to under the previous benefits system. Children will be entitled to a reduced amount which will be payable to a parent or legal guardian. People with disabilities or special needs which require special provisions will receive a supplement according to need in their special circumstance. Single parents will be eligible for subsidised child care whilst working.

EC733 Housing (and council tax) benefit payments will cease. A vigorously enforced system of fair renting and decent housing standards will ensure that excessive rents are not charged (say something like equivalent to 16hrs of minimum wage as a current baseline for decent basic provision for 1 adult, to include council tax). There will be period when this could make landlords letting in very ‘expensive’ areas have to cut rents significantly. Some transitional relief could be given to such landlords who can demonstrate where they have invested significantly in order to provide such properties.