Jonny Phillips Urges Benefit Reform to Drive Economic Growth

Managing Director of Strive Training Jonny Phillips is urging the administration of Prime Minister Andy Burnham to reform the Department for Work and Pensions benefits system to better facilitate sustained employment. Phillips argues that the government cannot rely solely on high-level productivity plans to achieve growth, advocating instead for targeted grant funding for lone parents, long-term unemployed adults, and people with disabilities.

Phillips specifically highlights the treatment of individuals receiving the Personal Independence Payment (PIP), stating that receiving such health and disability benefits should not be viewed as proof of an inability to work. He suggests that funding should prioritize providers who demonstrate that learners are progressing into and remaining in real jobs.

These calls for reform coincide with a government review of PIP led by DWP minister Stephen Timms. In a recently published interim report, Timms concluded that the PIP benefit is no longer fit for purpose in its current form. While the government has already increased funding for the Growth and Skills Levy and the Youth Guarantee, Phillips maintains that the system must value the support required to achieve employment outcomes, rather than focusing only on the outcomes themselves.