More than 50,000 in North Wales targeted in welfare reform

MORE than 50,000 people in North Wales will be targeted in the most radical shake-up of the welfare system in 60 years.

David Cameron admitted the reforms would be painful, but promised to end the “insidious” benefit culture and slammed the current system.
The Prime Minister’s controversial measures will see benefits stripped from claimants who repeatedly turn down job offers and ensure people are only classed as disabled if they really cannot work.
Critics warned the blueprint will hit vulnerable families – and questioned how it could succeed at a time of rising unemployment in Wales.
The latest government figures show more than 56,000 people in North Wales on out-of-work benefits, including 11,810 in Wrexham, 11,320 in Flintshire and 9,550 in Conwy. There are 8,930 in Denbighshire, 8,660 in Gwynedd and 6,140 in Anglesey.
However Denbighshire has the highest proportion of the population aged between 16 and 64 on benefits, at 15.2%, followed by Anglesey (14.7%), Conwy (14.6%), Wrexham (13.8%), Flintshire (11.8%) and Gwynedd (11.7%).
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “Making low-income working families thousands of pounds worse off through welfare cuts over the next two years to claim that they will be slightly better off in 2013 is an absurd argument that will ring hollow as families suffer the toughest income squeeze for nearly a century.”
But the Prime Minister said: “We're finally going to make work pay – especially for the poorest people in society."
The proposals include replacing nearly all existing benefits with a universal credit - designed to ensure people are always better off when they are employed, and close the loophole where some couples receive more living apart.
Those who refuse to take up job offers face losing their handouts for up to three years.
Mr Cameron also announced moves to tackle the UK's "sicknote culture".
But ministers ditched controversial proposals to cut housing benefit by 10% for anyone on jobseeker's allowance for more than 12 months.
Mr Cameron said the reforms would slash £5.5 billion from the welfare bill in real terms over four years.
Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan said thousands of Welsh households would be better off, and lift many of its poorest families out of poverty.
“Too many families in Wales are caught in the trap of benefit dependency,” she said.
“This is bad for the benefit recipients, bad for Welsh communities and bad for Wales.”
But Vale of Clwyd MP Chris Ruane MP slammed the reform plans: “It’s a policy that doesn’t make sense at a time when the government is planning enormous job losses in the public sector, which employs 46% of people in the Vale of Clwyd and 45% in Clwyd West.”
Plaid Cymru spokesman Hywel Williams, Arfon MP, welcomed the U-turn on housing benefits, saying it was a “callous” proposal.
But he added: “While the ConDem coalition pushes ahead with slashing public sector jobs too, it cannot expect jobs to just magically appear.”
Lynne Evans, Head of Supported Housing for North Wales Housing Association, said: “Many of our residents work hard to try to get jobs and our staff work hard to support them to succeed. Lots of them give their time and efforts as volunteers, attend training programmes, and make great efforts to improve their job prospects.
“It would have been so unfair if they had lost housing benefit, and potentially lost their home, if they still had not got a job after 12 months trying.”
Business chiefs have welcomed the controversial proposals.
Regional director for the Welsh CBI David Rosser said: “We welcome the government’s plans to get people off benefits and into long-term employment, and to tackle long-term sickness.”
Rhyl City Strategy board chairman Barry Mellor gave a cautious welcome to the plans.
He said: “There is a small, hardcore minority who could work but don’t want to work and if these reforms get them into jobs I would support that. But, there are people who have been out of work, some for a long time but, need a bit of help and encouragement.”