Tighter control on unemployed benefit

Press, 21 July 1976, Page 3

Tighter control on unemployed benefit

PA Wellington i The Government has taken steps to tighten up procedures for drawing the unemployment benefit. The Minister of Social Welfare (Mr Walker) said in 1 Invercargill yesterday that the recent review of unemployment payments came after the controversial review of the domestic purposes benefit paid to solo parents, and was designed to prevent abuses of the benefit system. The survey revealed abuses of the system were fewer than had been expected. But he could not say what proportion of the present registered unemployed (there are more than 10,000) would be affected, or i how much might be saved

i on last year’s $5.5M unem- : ployment-benefit bill. i The new measures, which | had already been put into effect, would ensure that no- ’ one could draw the unem- I ployment benefit to make : themselves better off, the 1 Minister said. ; i With tight clamps oni i‘wages, the policy of increas:jing all social security bene- ■ I fits in line with increases in the cost of living index ■ ■ meant that some workers on ; • low wages could find that > their pay was less than thep > unemployment benefit. Any I t such worker who went on| the benefit would not re-1 1 ceive more than he had 1 : while employed. i The additional payments available to those in need ! would now not be paid to ■ single beneficiaries for the > i first six weeks of their reg- ' istering as unemployed, and i 1 for the first four weeks for i

married beneficiaries, unless genuine hardship could be proved, Mr Walker said. Applicants for the benefit would now have to prove that they had made genuine attempts to find work, and that they had made genuine attempts to retain employ■ment. The close investigation of the unemployment benefit had arisen from criticism that the Government had singled out the domestic purposes beneficiary for special attention. There had I been “some uneasiness in I the public mind” about possible abuses of the system, but the survey had shown abuses were not widespread. The aim of the kenefit was to help tide the unemployed over a difficult period, Mr Walker said, and the tightening up would help! ensure this continued to be its main purpose.