Britain's War on Poverty

Appendices

Appendices APPENDIX 1: CHRONOLOGY OF THE BRITISH ANTIPOVERTY REFORMS, 1997 TO 2009 Key Dates for the Labour Party Government and the Antipoverty Initiative May 1997 Labour Party elected; Tony Blair becomes prime minister, and Gordon Brown becomes chancellor of the Exchequer March 1999 Blair delivers Beveridge speech, making a commitment to end child poverty in a generation June 2001 Labour Party reelected; Blair continues as prime minister, and Brown as chancellor May 2005 Labour Party reelected to a historic third term; Blair continues as prime minister, and Brown as chancellor June 2007 Blair steps down after a decade in office; Brown becomes prime minister March 2008 The government begins a review of its child poverty strategy with the publication of Ending Child Poverty: Everybody’s Business January 2009 Government consults with poverty experts on proposals for legislation on the child poverty target (Ending Child Poverty: Making It Happen) Key Dates for Measures to Promote Work and Make Work Pay July 1997 New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) is piloted in eight areas; Low Pay Commission is appointed October 1998 NDLP is implemented nationwide; Family Credit rates for children ages zero to ten are raised April 1999 National Minimum Wage is introduced October 1999 Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) replaces Family Credit (in place since 1988). New credit is more generous, particularly for children ages zero to ten, and includes a child care credit; pilot program combines Benefits Agency and Employment Service offices April 2000 WFTC rates for children ages zero to ten are raised to eliminate differential with older children April 2001 Rollout of work-focused interviews in NDLP APPENDICES 186 March 2002 Jobcentre Plus offices (combining Benefits and Employment) open; new Income Support (IS) claimants are required to attend workfocused interviews April 2003 Working Tax Credit (WTC) replaces WFTC October 2003 Pilot of Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) program April 2004 Requirement to participate in work-focused interviews is extended to IS claimants with children under age five; New Deal for Partners requires mandatory interviews for new and existing claimants October 2004 Lone-parent IS claimants are required to come in for quarterly interviews October 2005 Special child care assistance grant for lone parents starting work October 2006 New Deal Plus for Lone Parents introduced November 2006 Lisa Harker completes an independent report calling for measures to increase employment but also to reduce poverty among working parents and vulnerable groups March 2007 David Freud completes an independent report calling for measures to increase the share of working parents; publication of Working for Children, which sets out the government strategy to tackle child poverty by getting more parents into work July 2007 Publication of a green paper on welfare reform, In Work, Better Off, which proposes measures to get more parents into work, including a requirement that lone parents work when their youngest child reaches age eleven December 2007 Publication of Ready for Work: Full Employment in Our Generation , which sets out the government strategy to provide more active support for employment July 2008 A review of the tax credit system is announced December 2008 Paul Gregg completes an independent report calling for the benefit system to provide personalized support for claimants to move into work; publication of a white paper on welfare reform, Raising Expectations and Increasing Support: Reforming Welfare for the Future, which sets out new expectations and supports to help welfare recipients move into work Key Dates for Measures to Increase Financial Support for Families with Children October 1997 Lone Parent Benefit is eliminated April 1999 Sure Start Maternity Payment of £200 replaces £100 Maternity Payment; Child Benefit rate for the first child is raised 20 percent; IS rate for children ages zero to ten is raised April 2000 Child Benefit rate is raised again APPENDICES 187 April 2001 Launching of Children’s Tax Credit, which is worth up to £10 per week and paid to families on low incomes, regardless of whether the parents work (payment goes to the parent with the highest income) April 2002 Sure Start Maternity Payment is raised to £500; Children’s Tax Credit amount is doubled for children under age one April 2003 Child Tax Credit replaces Children’s Tax Credit, integrating benefits for children across programs and making payment to the parent who is the main carer; Maternity Allowance (paid maternity leave) extended from eighteen weeks to six months; two weeks...