Claimants fit to work would have to volunteer for 20 hours a week, says Robert Jenrick
Daily Telegraph 17/08/26
Benefits claimants who have been jobless for more than a year could have to clean streets to keep their payments under a Reform UK government.
Robert Jenrick, Reform’s Treasury spokesman, announced on Monday that Britons on benefits and fit to work would have to volunteer for 20 hours a week.
At a press conference in central London, Mr Jenrick said many of the 6.6 million working-age people claiming joblessness benefits were “really taking advantage of their fellow citizens, their friends, their neighbours and community”.
Mr Jenrick said: “If taxpayers must contribute, so must the able recipients of their support who can as well. I am therefore announcing that a Reform government will introduce a Welfare to Work scheme.
“This will require long-term benefits claimants, who are fit to work, to provide 20 hours a week of work for their community, organised by their local council.
“They will work to clean up high streets and parks, to beautify neglected areas, to carry out minor repairs, to staff libraries and community centres, and to perform many other tasks from an indicative list we have published today. We’ll also let local charities take part.”
Mr Jenrick’s new policy came as he unveiled his party’s full plan for the biggest welfare shake-up in years by scrapping key benefits to save £50bn a year.
According to Reform’s full welfare plan, which was published on Monday, the Welfare to Work scheme will help an additional 24,000 people into work by 2029-30. The party said the policy would also save taxpayers a total of £1bn.
Tasks would be assigned to benefit claimants based on the needs of their community.
These could include maintaining council-house stock, restoring highways, helping in libraries and cultural facilities and performing “non-sensitive” community-safety roles.
Warning that the social contract in Britain has been broken by many on benefits, Mr Jenrick continued: “If claimants refuse to participate or fail to show up, they will face penalties.”
Mr Jenrick confirmed that Reform would fundamentally reform and restrict personal independence payments (Pip) and the health element of Universal Credit for working-age adults as part of a package of reforms that would remove or cut benefits for an estimated three million people.
Last weekend, Reform had suggested that Pip and the health element of Universal Credit would be abolished.
Reform added that changes to disability benefits would operate on a “case-by-case” basis. Richard Tice, Reform’s business spokesman, pledged this would be done “sensitively, fairly, judged by experts”.
Foreign nationals would also face being stripped of their right to claim all benefits in the UK under a Reform government.
The party has proposed that up to 4.5 million EU citizens granted settlement rights in the UK would be included in the ban, requiring Reform to renegotiate the Brexit deal with Brussels.
Mr Jenrick said: “One in six Universal Credit claimants is not even a British or Irish citizen. £55bn to foreigners in four years.
“Just imagine what could be done with that money to make British people’s lives better, like lowering their taxes or investing in the NHS, schools and roads.
“The British taxpayer is acting as the welfare state for the world.”
Sir Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, accused Reform of “flip-flopping” and claimed the numbers behind its policy package did not add up.
Sir Mel said: “I introduced reforms to cut the sprawling welfare budget after the pandemic by reducing the numbers on long term benefits and radically overhauling Pip. Labour called them ‘divisive’ and scrapped all of them, allowing the benefits bill to continue spiralling.
“Robert Jenrick hailed my reforms for making the system fairer and enabling us to cut taxes responsibly. Reform continue to flip-flop like they did on the two-child benefit cap, and their fantasy numbers are simply not plausible.
“Meanwhile, Labour are totally failing to tackle the scale of our welfare problem. Only the Conservatives have a radical and credible plan to cut the welfare bill and get Britain working again.”
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