The Hutton Work Ethic

The Department of Work and Pensions-crisis has decided to "transform the life chances of some of our most disadvantaged people and communities" outside the House of Lords. At a Guardian-sponsored conference called Managing New Realities, John Hutton unveiled a scheme to give financial rewards to city councils which reduce benefit claims. This transformation in the life chances of city councils is intended as a contribution towards meeting the Government's target of reducing claims of incapacity benefits by one million in the next ten years. City councils will be "allowed to keep the money saved by reducing benefit claims", which will be achieved by "setting up local partnerships with public, private and voluntary agencies". Quite aside from the extra money which will then be available for city councils to spend on PFI projects, Hutton claimed that the scheme will "incentivise" (yes, apparently he did use that word) the councils to reduce people on benefits in inner cities. Reduce them to something deeply fulfilled and communitifying, no doubt.

If this sounds familiar, that's only because it is. A couple of months ago, a possibly related John Hutton unveiled a scheme to give financial rewards to doctors who "encourage" sick people to keep working. It all reminds me of this recently-published book, somehow. I can't imagine why.