Welfare Reform Act Receives Royal Assent

The Act applies to England, Wales and Scotland, but not to Northern Ireland, where local legislation will be produced in due course.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Yvette Cooper said: "This Act will help get more people into work and more families out of poverty too. It makes clear that almost everyone should be on a journey to work - either looking for work now or preparing for work in the future.  It will mean more support for people who face difficulties getting jobs but also greater responsibilities on people to take up that help".

Key measures of the Welfare Reform Act 2009 include:

• It abolishes income support – the Act sets out the framework for the future abolition of income support, and the movement of claimants to JSA, or to ESA.
• Lone parents with younger children will be placed in a ‘Progression to Work Group.’ There will be no requirements where the youngest child is under one; until age three the requirement will be to attend a periodic interview at the jobcentre; from three to six there will be a requirement - piloted first - to take part in training or other preparatory activities that fit within available childcare; and from seven there will be a requirement to look for work, but limited to school hours until the youngest child leaves primary school.
• People who have been unemployed long-term will be required to take part in Work for Your Benefits, a programme of full-time work experience with additional employment support
• Pilot an approach in which problem heroin and crack cocaine users on JSA and ESA  will, in order to receive their benefit, be required to sign up to a drug rehabilitation plan outlining how they will engage with the support available to help them to overcome their dependency

Royal Assent was given on 12 November 2009.