Petition Localise the Welfare Budget

Welfare spending on worklessness is around £90Bn but nobody owns the budget and it is nobody's job to get a return on the expenditure. If you qualify, you get it. Worklessness affects communities. If 5 people move off benefits into work, it transforms a street. Communities have an incentive to end worklessness. Government should delegate welfare spending to coummunities and give them a statutory duty to minimise worklessness. After a reasonable period, councils will have to find something economically active or socially useful for people to do. Those who refuse will lose their benefit. Communities are best placed to look after their own and ensure nobody gets left behind. They will not vote for paying people to stay at home. The £90Bn welfare budget should be a catalyst for community renewal, building skills and attracting inward investment. A city like Manchester would have a £1Bn budget to do this. Big government does not work. Localise welfare.