gov responses to social inequality Flashcards
1
Q
welfare reform and work act 2016
A
- work act introduced to try and cut welfare benefits by 2020
- Act allows 30hrs free childcare and allows people to work as their childcare less of a burden
2
Q
national living wage
A
- April 2018 NLW increased to 7.83 per hour for over 25s
- shows gov acknowledged need for a higher wage to ensure low paid jobs are sufficient
-policy also reduced gap between minority and white workers - illegal discrimination
- trade unions say that compulsory higher wage ended the exploitation of workers
- shows effectiveness of the policy, those who represent the workers approve of it
-NLW doesn’t affect the unemployed but it does make working more attractive as higher salary, so will tempt people away from relying on benefits
3
Q
universal credit
A
- introduced to simplify benefits system by merging several benefits into one
- aim of UC is that no one is better off claiming benefits rather than working, encourages workers
- Ian duncan smith justified it saying too many people are trapped on benefits and UC “makes work pay”
- shows when people come off benefits and into work, their income will not drop dramatically
- UC created issues with housing as UC payments are paid directly to claimants account meaning they have full responsibility
- land lords less likely to trust UC claimants due to them not knowing how to deal with the money
- 9/10 UC claimants in rent arrears meaning possibility of homelessness
- 17% increase to food banks in 2017 in areas where UC has been fully implemented.
- 2017 24% of claimaNTS waited longer than 6 weeks for first payment
4
Q
gender inequality
A
- 2018, new legislation, companies with 250 plus employees must publish gender pay gap report
- figures published in 2019 shoe 40% of companies now have bigger pay gap than a year ago
- nicola sturgeon aims to have a 5050 cabinet by 2020
5
Q
health inequality
A
- 2 hours pe lessons per week
- free prescriptions since 2011
