• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.23-43
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• 2004

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the performance of New Deal under the New Labour government in Britain and examines the nature of New Deal with respect to workfare. The time difference of five years after the New Deal was put into effect shows that New Deal has contributed not only to include the socially excluded groups such as the young unemployed, the long-term unemployed, single parents, and the disabled into the labour market, but also to decrease the amount of income-based benefits providing for working generation. It can be said that the nature of New Deal under the New Labour is near to human capital development model rather than labour force attachment model. New Deal provides the opportunity of policy learning for the countries which pursue the reform of social security system to moving welfare beneficiaries being able to work into jobs. Policy learning can be summed up as follows. First, imposing mutual responsibility and obligations on unemployed person should be accompanied by implementing active labour market programmes of education and job training. Second, the delivery system which administrates workfare programmes should be decentralized in a local society. The cooperation between local government and enterprisers will be critical in implementing various employment programmes and moving unemployed person into jobs. Third, the case management for individual participating in workfare programme is necessary. The personal adviser should continue to provide employment services for the unemployed until he or she get a job and enter the state of self-reliance. Finally, the workfare programme should be firmly backed by the political leadership in order to overcome the oppositions of beneficiary groups under the existing social security system.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.46
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• pp.178-209
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• 2001

This paper aims to provide a critical assesment of Conservatives's and new Labour's social assistance reforms in the U.K. and their differential impacts on low income groups. During the period of 18 years in power, the Conservative governments enforced benefit recipients being capable of work to be out of benefits and to get into work. They employed not only 'carrots' to encourage beneficiaries being capable of work to have full-time work, but also 'sticks' to discourage them to depend on benefits. The reforms under the Conservative governments were closer to the workfare model. The new Labour government has continued to emphasize work regarding social security reform. It has raised 'from welfare to work' as the main reform objective. However, it has not necessarily focused on 'carrots and sticks' in order to get beneficiaries into work. Instead, the new Labour government has put its priority regarding social assistance reform on human capital development in order to develop the capability of beneficiaries for work. Britain under the new Labour government seems to be moving from workfare to activation model. These differentials between the Conservative governments and the new Labour government regarding social assistance reforms bring about the different policy outcomes. Under the Conservative government, social assistance programmes were prone to strengthen the state's control over benefit recipients and to increase stigma to them. Punitive, demeaning, stigmatising programmes of work and unending job search activities harm the bases of self-respect. On the contrary, the activation programmes under the new Labour government has contributed positively to both socially significant participation and autonomy of beneficiaries.