The white paper published as Cm. 7957 (ISBN 9780101795722)

The level of pensioner poverty has declined markedly since 1997. However, there are still 2 million pensioners in poverty and 1.1 million who live on below 50% of median income. The Committee considers this to be unacceptable, and in this report looks at what more the Government could do to lift pensioners out of poverty. Pension Credit has lifted large numbers of pensioners out of poverty. Take-up of Pension Credit improved rapidly after its introduction, but has since levelled off with many eligible pensioners still not claiming. Despite the best efforts of the Pension Disability and Carers Service (PDCS) it is seeing diminishing returns for its efforts. Take-up of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit amongst pensioners has also declined since 1997. Improving take-up of all three benefits would markedly improve pensioner poverty. Local Authorities need to work much more closely with PDCS, to ensure that information on people who may be eligible for Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit are (with permission) exchanged in both directions. This is not done at present and should therefore be trialled and depending on its success applied nationally. The Department has put a lot of effort into encouraging pensioners to claim Pension Credit, then directing them towards other benefits. The Committee concludes that there should be a single phone line for all three benefits.The lack of data PDCS collects on Pension Credit take-up, especially amongst vulnerable groups is a disappointment for the Committee and makes it very difficult for them to suggest ways to effectively target these groups.The automaticity pilots introduced in the Welfare Reform Bill is welcomed as is the Department taking a long term approach and seeking to find innovative ways to improve take-up. Among other benefits the Personal Expenses Allowance (PEA) is looked at, and also the differences between Disability Living Allowance (DLA) payable to those who become disabled under 65, and Attendance Allowance (AA), payable to those who become disabled after the age of 65. The Committee were impressed by the model used by Service Canada, which provides advice on all federal benefits, and provides signposting to other services. While no pensioner should be expected to work after 65, many would like to. Working longer can allow them to maintain social contacts, and to defer claiming a pension, something that can have a positive effect on their future income. The Committee calls for the Default Retirement Age to be abolished and for protection from discrimination for older workers to be strengthened, to ensure that every pensioner who wishes to can continue working. Past recessions have led to disproportionate numbers of older workers over 50 losing their jobs and never working again. The Department must not allow this to happen again.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is one of the fastest growing segments of the Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) industry. BPO is a strategy which promotes in a unique way either by putting-in new technology or applying existing technology to improve a process . IT-enabled outsourcing services use information technology in the processing and delivery of the services. These services are typically delivered through a telecommunications or data network, or other electronic media.

The construction trades once provided unionized craftsmen a route to the middle class and a sense of pride and dignity often denied other blue-collar workers. Today, union members still earn wages and benefits that compare favorably to those of college graduates. But as union strength has declined over the last fifty years, a growing non-union sector offers lower compensation and more hazardous conditions, undermining the earlier tradition of upward mobility. Revitalization of the industry depends on unions shedding past racial and gender discriminatory practices, embracing organizing, diversity, and the new immigrant workforce, and preparing for technological changes. Mark Erlich blends long-view history with his personal experience inside the building trades to explain one of our economy’s least understood sectors. Erlich’s multifaceted account includes the dynamics of the industry, the backdrop of union policies, and powerful stories of everyday life inside the trades. He offers a much-needed overview of construction’s past and present while exploring roads to the future.