Welfare reform and alcohol misuse
Alan Wheatley, Green Party spokeperson on Disability Issues, responds to an article in Community Care magazine:
James Purnell's move to extend the welfare reform agenda to alcohol misusers can be regarded as part-and-parcel of New Labour's drive to expropriate the free will of vulnerable citizens to the mercy of a new breed of human trafficker.
The 'consultation process' inherent in the Welfare Reform Green Paper "No-One Written Off: Reforming Welfare to Reward Responsibility" was directed at how to reward scheme providers, and yet the more recent invitation for scheme providers to rebid at up to triple their original quotes increases the drain on public spending to boost private coffers without proper investigation of their professional competence.
Substance misuse is largely a reaction to stress. By reducing the choices open to vulnerable citizens, oppressive government actually increases mental health difficulties and decreases the quality of life in our society. Green Party MEPs Jean Lambert and Caroline Lucas have been instrumental in driving forward the Working Time Directive of the EU and other measures that democratise the workplace to empower citizens. The Green Party's proposed 'Citizens' Income' would be non-means-tested and conditional only upon citizenship.
More on "Writing off workfare: for a Green New Deal, not the flexible New Deal" -- the Green Party contribution to the welfare reform debate -- can be found here: "Workfare is not the answer."
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