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The UK Government’s employment minister visited Blackwood last week to discuss plans to ‘Get Britain Working’.

Labour’s Alison McGovern was invited to Blackwood Miners’ Institute for a roundtable discussion on welfare and employment support on Friday June 6.

Along with Newport West and Islwyn MP Ruth Jones, and Caerphilly Council deputy leader Jamie Pritchard, Ms McGovern met with residents, advisors from the Citizens Advice Bureau, and members of the council’s employment support team.

The employment support team has received funding from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, as well as from the Welsh Government, to run a scheme supporting those deemed most vulnerable in the job market.

The scheme provides one-to-one support, mentors, and training programmes geared towards getting people into work.

However, there was no invite to the roundtable for Blackwood’s three independent councillors, with Cllr Kevin Etheridge expressing his disappointment at being “kicked into touch again”.

What does the government want to do?

The UK Government wants to boost the number of people in employment, and has vowed to overhaul Jobcentres and improve workers’ rights to address this – promising the “biggest reforms to employment support in a generation”.

A public consultation on the government’s plans to fix the “broken” welfare system is running until June 30.

Ms McGovern said the current system “locks people out of work” and “holds our people and our country back”.

The minister said: “Millions of people are being denied all the benefits of good work. Our reforms will protect the most vulnerable and give people the support they need.

“That means helping people to stay in work when they fall ill, helping them back to work after an absence and making sure disabled people and people with health conditions get proper employment support and the same chances and choices as everyone else.” 

‘Determination to make it better’

Since the consultation began, Ruth Jones MP said she had received “hundreds” of calls and emails from constituents sharing their thoughts on the proposals.

Ms Jones continued: “We all want the system to do what it is supposed to, which is to help people who can work, to do so – while providing security and dignity for those who cannot.

“I am particularly interested in proposals for a new right to try work, and removing the need for people with lifelong disabilities to attend needless eligibility reassessments.”

Ms Jones added: “We all came to the table with our own experiences of the welfare system, and we left with a determination to make it better.

“I would encourage all my constituents to take part in the consultation by June 30, because it is only by learning from experience that we can begin to put things right.”

Cllr Pritchard meanwhile described the meeting as an “important opportunity to listen, learn, and explore practical ways to help people overcome barriers and build brighter futures”.

He said Caerphilly Council are “taking great strides” to support people into employment, noting the council’s Employment Support Team’s target to support more than 1,000 under-employed people over the next year.