Fixing the Benefits System

The British coalition government promised to sort out the benefits system but all it has done is make life more difficult for those people who are most in need of help. So now people with disabilities no longer have the dignity of a comfortable abode or the benefit of an accurate assessment of their needs. I suppose you could say they are truly sorted out. 

The coalition is doing a bang up job of wrecking the welfare state but Labour are the party that should shoulder most of the blame. They had twelve years of government and overwhelming majorities but still refused to institute much needed reforms to the benefits system. Instead it chose the cowardly path of keeping the poor hooked on a flawed system. 

So now, not only is the UK saddled with an errant democracy; it also has a welfare system that is both overburdened and now out of kilter. So here are some suggestions for fixing it:

 Scrap universal benefits. Entitlement to benefits should be means tested and linked to national development objectives. 

 Establish national standards and competencies for all staff working in the benefits system. Set up certificated qualification levels with specialist categories for assessors and managers. 

 Set up a national document/credential verification system for all benefit applications. 

 Clarify residency and habitual residence guidelines. 

 Rescind right to buy legislation. Allocate social housing based on prioritised need. Set regional guidelines for needs assessment indexed to national deprivation indices. 

 Eligibility for Child benefit should be available for a fourth child, and only up to a fifth child. Or should only be available for first four children. 

I'm not quite sure it's possible to find a perfect fix for the welfare system but it is at least possible to improve it.