Tuesday 7th June 2011, Central London, 09:00 - 16:00

Welfare Reform: Making Work Pay

BOOK TODAY and secure your place.

Overview

DWP BUSINESS PLAN UPDATE: The Department for Work and Pensions has an ambitious agenda of reform which aims to create a new welfare system as stated in their recent business plan. DWP reforms will tackle poverty and welfare dependency through a simplified welfare system that encourages and incentivises people to find work;promoting and helping people move into work; help meet the challenges of an ageing society and maintain standards of living.

To deliver this vision the government will introduce a Universal Credit, which will make work pay and help to break the cycle of welfare dependency; put in place a single Work Programme to support people into sustainable work; and reform the private and state pension system to ensure dignity in later life and make increased pension saving a reality.

The Welfare Reform Bill launched by the Rt. Hon Ian-Duncan Smith MP, Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, alongside the Prime Minister on the 17th February 2011, symbolises the coalition government’s commitment to carry out the biggest shake up of the system for 60 years.

With plans to transform the benefits system - to make it fairer, more affordable and better able to tackle poverty, worklessness and welfare dependency - the Welfare Reform Bill has already created strong channels of debate across the nation. With reforms aimed at ensuring the proper incentive exists for people to work and to improve the welfare of citizens, these next few years of transition to the new system will transform current working practices.

The new benefits system dominated by the universal credit will replace a raft of benefits including housing benefit, child tax credit, jobseeker's allowance, working tax credit and income support. Attend this forum and hear how these changes will impact all corners of the nation and how your working practices will ensure services are delivered to customers under the reforms.

Agenda

Being prepared for the government’s reform agenda is vital to ensure services continue to be efficient and effective during the coming year of transition. Attend this forum and consider current debates and reforms to the welfare agenda from a range of senior government representative and stakeholders and raise your awareness of how this will impact your working practices both in the short term and long term.

09:00	Registration and Coffee
09:40	Chair’s Welcome Address Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby, FBA, Professor of Social Policy, University of Kent  (CONFIRMED)
09:50	Opening Keynote Address: Reshaping the Welfare System to Increase Employment and Boost Skills The Work Programme: Instilling a ‘pro-work’ ethos into society Putting an end to the welfare dependency of those on ‘inactive' benefits Reshaping social values and improving back to work/work incentives Supporting the public services through changes toincapacity benefits Overcoming the barriers of long term unemployment Encouraging a public skills growth Charlotte Clarke, Deputy Director for Jobseekers and Work Programme Division, Department for Work and Pensions (CONFIRMED)
10:10	Giving a Voice to Those Who Need It Understanding motives - what do clients bring? Giving clients and staff independence to determine the outcomes they want Choice where it matters An advisers perspective - un-learning the (old) rules Choice and trust - a place for personal budgets? Steve Townsley, Director of Service Design, Shaw Trust (CONFIRMED)
10:30	Fit for Work: Providing Personalised Back-To-Work Support One of ten successful national pilot sites in the UK Approximately £1.2 million of government funding from DH and DWP Personalising back-to-work support to people off sick from work on health grounds Helping to reduce the potential cost of sickness to the economy, which stands at £100 billion each year Dr Rob Hampton, GP Principal and Occupational Physician, Clinical Lead for Leicestershire Fit for Work Service (CONFIRMED)
10:50	Questions and Answers Session
11:10	Coffee and Networking
11:40	Impact of the Welfare Reform Bill on Vulnerable Children and Families Overall impact on the poorest families of the proposed changes Potential knock-on effects on families at risk Families with disabled children How the Welfare Reform Bill interacts with other Government plans for legislation affecting children and families                                                                                                                                          Sir Paul Ennals, Chief Executive, National Children’s Bureau (CONFIRMED)
12:00	The Future of Housing Benefit Reform: Being Prepared for the Transition Process The impact of housing benefit reform on communities and individuals The Work Programme Safeguarding social landlords’ income Delivering affordable housing Future strategy and likely policy Toby Lloyd, Head of Policy, Shelter (CONFIRMED)
12:20	Questions and Answers Session
12:40	Lunch and Networking
13:40	Universal Credit: A Preliminary Analysis What is Universal Credit? Who gains and loses? Does it strengthen work incentives? What still needs to be decided? James Browne, Senior Research Economist, Institute for Fiscal Studies (CONFIRMED)
14:00	The Welfare of the Older Citizen: Support for the Ageing Population Challenges ahead in taking forward this welfare agenda Addressing barriers to work for people aged 50 and over A response to the White Paper Universal Credit: Welfare that Works Meeting the needs of carers Localising benefit Sally West, Incomes Policy Adviser, Age UK (CONFIRMED)
14:20	Questions and Answers Session
14:40	Coffee and Networking
15:00	Improving Life Chances and Tackling Child Poverty By Addressing Literacy Provision in Local Areas Working with local areas to develop greater partnership working Better targeting of literacy support Significant impacts seen on unemployment in the areas we work with through literacy support Utilising the services of schools, colleagues and education institutions to develop literacy provision in local areas Working in partnership with education institutions to improve life chances through improving individual's skills set George Dugdale, Policy Advisor, National Literacy Trust (CONFIRMED)
15:20	Closing Address: Reforming the Welfare State Why welfare reform is important and necessary? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the government's current strategy? What are the prospects for success? Is there another approach to welfare reform? Dr Simon Duffy, Director, The Centre for Welfare Reform (CONFIRMED)
15:40	Questions and Answers Session
16:00	Chairs Closing Remarks

*programme subject to change without notice

Audience

Delegates will be drawn from central government, local authorities, private sector, community and voluntary groups, social enterprises and will include chief executives, welfare reform directors, heads of funding, heads of employer engagement and skills delivery, benefit fraud teams, heads of HR, heads of vocational skills, employment and training, policy directors, heads of recruitment, heads of work skills programmes, welfare to work policy leads, work programme directors, professional development groups, procurement directors, apprenticeship directors, local employment partnerships directors, social inclusion officers, heads of access to employment, heads of economic development.

STePS Search a unique pan Government search and retrieval tool: