Dr Hayley Bennett, research associate at What Works Scotland, reflects on a talk given by Professor John Hills, from the London School of Economics about the complex nature of the relationship between citizens and the welfare state.

Author: Dr Hayley Bennett, What Works Scotland

Date: 7 April 2015

Dr Hayley Bennett , research associate at What Works Scotland, reflects on a talk given by Professor John Hills, London School of Economics (LSE) at the School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh.

Dr Hayley Bennett’s research interests include British employment policy, minimum income provision, and activation programmes. Professor Hills’ talk tackled the the politics of welfare spending and how the idea of ‘them’ (people who take from the system) and ‘us’, (people who pay into the system) distracts from the complex way that we all interact with different aspects of the welfare system over our life cycle

Research has shown that in contrast to the popular notion, welfare spending does not primarily support people who are unemployed. How can make policy reforms and changes to public services to support those in need (which will be ourselves at a different points in our lives) if we make decisions and reforms based on inconsistent use of terms and data?

We need to recognise the complex nature of the relationship between citizens and the welfare state and give this evidence a central role in policymaking and service delivery.

Read the post on the What Works Scotland blog