Good Local Economics
Across the country councils and voluntary sector organisations are preparing for the impact of welfare reform on their local communities. Matthew Jackson rounds up the initiatives and asks, is it enough?
The government is currently undertaking the biggest shake up of the UK’s welfare system in over fifty years. The welfare reform act 2012 is now in force and through it, government hopes to reduce the UK’s welfare benefit costs by £18bn over the next five years (further savings to the value of £3.75bn were announced in the 2012 autumn statement) and promote work as more beneficial than claiming benefit.
Across the UK places are rethinking local economic development. Recession and austerity may have prompted the rethink but, for many areas, the new economics is proving a more effective and equitable way to create and sustain communities
When the governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney last week announced rapid growth forecasts for the economy, local areas could be forgiven for not agreeing with his ‘glass half fall’ analogy. Traditional economics has not always served local areas well, and has in many cases made things worse. As austerity and financial collapse play havoc on local areas and their economic prospects, the realisation is dawning that traditional responses are not working. Places are questioning the traditional and opening their eyes to the alternative.
