Paul Dornan
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861348449
- eISBN:
- 9781447303459
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861348449.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Research and Statistics
This chapter examines developments in social security policy in 2005. It discusses the continuation of the government's primary focus on reducing poverty through paid work, supplemented with ...
More
This chapter examines developments in social security policy in 2005. It discusses the continuation of the government's primary focus on reducing poverty through paid work, supplemented with means-tested benefits in the form of tax credits. It notes that these cover an increasingly wide range of those in low-paid work, following the extension of the working tax credit to those without children. It identifies the greatly extended role of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in delivering social security in the form of tax credits, as a significant development in social security policy. It involves extending the department's role to one of distributing income as well as collecting revenue, and in the process dealing with a significantly poorer population with different needs and expectations than the traditional client base of the Inland Revenue.Less
This chapter examines developments in social security policy in 2005. It discusses the continuation of the government's primary focus on reducing poverty through paid work, supplemented with means-tested benefits in the form of tax credits. It notes that these cover an increasingly wide range of those in low-paid work, following the extension of the working tax credit to those without children. It identifies the greatly extended role of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in delivering social security in the form of tax credits, as a significant development in social security policy. It involves extending the department's role to one of distributing income as well as collecting revenue, and in the process dealing with a significantly poorer population with different needs and expectations than the traditional client base of the Inland Revenue.