Dependency culture
A ‘dependency culture’ is to blame for the ‘shocking state of the UK labour market’, the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has claimed.
The Office for National Statistics’ Social trends survey of the UK labour market shows that the number of households where no one has ever worked has almost doubled between 1997 and 2010.
In response, Gavin Poole, CSJ executive director, said, ‘This is the result of a dependency culture that has been allowed to grow within society’. This culture is robbing people of the benefits work offers, including increased health and wellbeing.
It is also depriving children and communities of vital role models, he claimed, adding, ‘These figures show why it is essential to reform the benefits system to ensure that it pays to work. Many of the people who say they are not looking for work have made a rational economic decision based on the current rules. They have made a decision based on what they are going to lose if they enter the workforce’.
