The Welfare Reform Act 2009 gained Royal Assent on 12 November 2009.
Key measures of the Welfare Reform Act 2009 include:
It set outs a framework which will see virtually everyone on benefits on a journey back to work unless they are carers, severely disabled or have very young children. Helping people into employment is the best way to lift families out of poverty.
Lone parents with younger children will be given the flexibility they need to prepare for work in the future and move closer to the job market. 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 overcome their dependency
Trailblazer areas will test a new right for disabled people to control how public resources are used to meet their needs
To reinforce the rights of both children and parents, child maintenance enforcement powers will be enhanced, and in England and Wales both parents will be required to register the birth of a child
The Act is available to view on the Legislation UK website.