The new Coalition Government has published a fuller version of its policy programme. 

Divided into 31 separate policy areas, it gives a more detailed insight into the Government’s direction and which Conservative or Liberal Democrat manifesto promises have actually been adopted.

In the policy areas of most interest to TAEN, the Government says it will:

• Review employment and workplace laws to ensure they maximise flexibility for both employers and employees, while protecting fairness and providing the competitive environment required for enterprise to thrive.
• Promote equal pay and take a range of measures to end discrimination in the workplace.
• Extend the right to request flexible working to all employees, but will consult with business on the best way to do it.
• End all existing welfare to work programmes and create a single welfare to work programme to help all unemployed people get back into work.  And it will ensure all Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants facing the most significant barriers, are referred to the programme immediately, not after 12 months.
• Investigate how to simplify the benefits system to improve incentives to work.
•  ‘Realign’ contracts with welfare to work service providers to reflect more closely the results they achieve in getting people back into work.
• Support and maintain the National Minimum Wage.
• Support a new ‘Work for Yourself’ programme for would-be entrepreneurs – giving unemployed people access to business mentors and start-up loans.
• Develop local Work Clubs – where unemployed people can gather to exchange skills, find opportunities, make contacts and provide mutual support.
• Draw on a range of Service Academies to offer pre-employment training and work placements for unemployed people.
• Restore the earnings link for the basic state pension from April 2011.
• Phase out the Default Retirement Age and hold a review to set an earlier date at which the state pension age starts to rise 66.
• End the rules requiring compulsory pension annuitisation at 75.
• Protect key benefits to older people such as winter fuel allowance, free TV licences, free bus travel and free eye tests and prescriptions.
• Simplify the rules and regulations relating to occupational pensions in order to re-invigorate them.
•  Support the creation of Local Enterprise Partnerships to replace Regional Development Agencies, although they may take the form of the existing RDAs in areas where they are popular.

There are still areas of importance to us that the coalition agreement doesn’t seem to cover, such as skills and training and health and well-being.  We look forward to understanding and hopefully influencing, developments in these areas.