Extra NHS capacity and Jobcentre reforms at heart of Labour’s plan to ‘get Britain working’
Jobcentre reform will be at the centre of the Labour government’s plans to “get Britain working again”.
Tackling the increasing number of people out of work and relying on the state for income has become a major priority of the state, with welfare costs taking up a sizeable portion of government spending.
According to the government, more than nine million people are economically inactive, with 2.8 million on long-term sickness – a number which has risen significantly since the pandemic.
The government will today be publishing its plans to get more people into employment in the form of the Get Britain Working white paper.
The government says its main aim is “to target and tackle the root causes of unemployment and inactivity, and better join up health skills and employment support based on the unique needs of local communities”.
Ill health is noted as the “biggest driver to inactivity”, and “fixing the NHS” is identified as a key task to get people back into work.
The government also points out that £22.6bn was promised in the budget for the health and social care system, with hopes that clearing NHS backlogs will return unwell people to the workforce.
The government says it will in future announce measures to “overhaul the health and disability benefits system so it better supports people to enter and remain in work and to tackle the spiralling benefits bill”.
As part of this, the 20 NHS trusts in England with the highest level of economic inactivity will be given extra capacity to reduce waiting lists.
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‘The benefits system can incentivise and disincentivise work’
Liz Kendall, the secretary of state for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), said: “To get Britain growing, we need to get Britain working again.
“Our reforms will break down barriers to opportunity, help people to get into work and on at work, allow local leaders to boost jobs and growth, and give our children and young people the best opportunities to get on in life.”
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£240m for reforms
Key among the plans announced today are changes to Jobcentres – with a potential for the service to be rebranded and the name changed down the line.
The “outdated” system will be changed into a “national jobs and careers service”, according to today’s announcement.
The government says staff will be allowed more flexibility to help users of the service, moving away from the current “tick box” culture.
Some £55m will be spent on the transition – linking the scheme with the National Career Service – with the government hoping to use AI to help work coaches, and move more services online.
This package forms part of a greater £240m being pledged by Labour for reform.
A £125m tranche of this will be used to invest in eight areas in England and Wales to provide work, health and skills support, which will then be used as blueprints for the rest of the country.
Those not part of these schemes will be able to claim part of a £15m pot, with the government aiming to hand local authorities more power in employment.
Sir Keir, centre, and Ms Kendall, second left, say they want to get more people into work. Pic: PA
Some £45m will be spent on eight “trailblazer” youth schemes in areas like Liverpool, Tees Valley and the East Midlands.
This is part of the government’s plans to increase the number of young people in work or education, and will target “those most at risk of falling out of education or employment and match them to opportunities for education, training or work”.
There will also be a “youth guarantee” – with 18 to 21-year-olds in England all having access to apprenticeship, education or help to find a job. As part of this, the apprenticeship levy will be reformed.
A review will also be launched into how employers can be better supported to employ people with disabilities.
‘An end to blaming and shaming’
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “Our reforms put an end to the culture of blaming and shaming people who for too long haven’t been getting the support they need to get back to work.
“Helping people into decent, well-paid jobs and giving our children and young people the best start in life – that’s our plan to put more money in people’s pockets, unlock growth and make people better off.”
Helen Whately, the Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary, said Labour had made “no attempt to match the £12bn in welfare savings we promised in our manifesto”.
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Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, backed Labour’s plans – but said: “Success will also depend on ministers making the investment that’s needed in health services and quality training.
“Jobcentre staff must have a central role in redesigning their services, and devolution must never come at the cost of staff terms and conditions.”
Louise Rubin, who is head of policy at disability equality charity Scope, said the government must understand the “lack of trust between disabled people and the DWP” – and the potential this has to undermine the reforms.
The US Treasury Department sanctioned eight cryptocurrency wallet addresses linked to Russian crypto exchange Garantex and the Houthis.
The United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned eight crypto addresses that data from blockchain forensic firms Chainalysis and TRM Labs had linked to the organizations. Two are deposit addresses at major crypto platforms, while the other six are privately controlled.
Visualization of transaction flow related to OFAC sanctions. Source: Chainalysis
The addresses in question reportedly moved nearly $1 billion worth of funds linked to sanctioned entities. Most of the transactions funded Houthi operations in Yemen and the Red Sea region.
Slava Demchuk, a crypto-focused money laundering specialist and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime consultant told Cointelegraph that “the inclusion of Houthi-linked wallets reflects a broader recognition of crypto’s role in geopolitical conflicts and terrorism financing.” He added:
“The implications are far-reaching — compliance frameworks must adapt swiftly, attribution efforts will intensify, and decentralized platforms may face increased scrutiny.“
Demchuk highlighted that the situation reshapes the regulatory landscape. According to him, crypto “is now firmly within the scope of international security.
Who are the Houthis?
The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, are a Yemeni political and armed movement that emerged from the Zaidi Shia community. Originating as a revivalist and reformist group, they later became a major force in Yemen’s ongoing conflict.
Related: US DOJ says it seized Hamas crypto meant to finance terrorism
In recent years, the Houthis have engaged in attacks against both military and civilian vessels in the Red Sea with missiles and drones. In January, US President Donald Trump designated the group as a foreign terrorist organization.
The announcement noted that “the Houthis’ activities threaten the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade.” The group was recently struck by a US bombing campaign.
Related: Binance claims’ no special relationship’ with Hamas, argues to dismiss lawsuit
Garantex: Russia’s crypto laundromat
Garantex is a Russian crypto exchange that was sanctioned and shut down in early March after purportedly helping money-laundering efforts. At the time, Tether — the leading stablecoin operator and issuer of USDt — froze $27 million in USDt on the platform, forcing it to halt operations.
The platform has reportedly shifted millions of dollars as it sought to reboot under its new brand, “Grinex.”
In mid-March, officials with India’s Central Bureau of Investigation announced the arrest of Lithuanian national Aleksej Bešciokov, who was alleged to have operated the cryptocurrency exchange Garantex.
The arrest of the alleged Garantex founder was based on US charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
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Lawmakers in the US states of Minnesota and Alabama filed companion bills to identical existing bills that if passed into law, would allow each state to buy Bitcoin.
The Minnesota Bitcoin Act, or HF 2946, was introduced to the state’s House by Republican Representative Bernie Perryman on April 1, following an identical bill introduced on March 17 by GOP state Senator Jeremy Miller.
Meanwhile, on the same day in Alabama, Republican state Senator Will Barfoot introduced Senate Bill 283, while a bi-partisan group of representatives led by Republican Mike Shaw filed the identical House Bill 482, which allows for the state to invest in crypto, but essentially limits it to Bitcoin (BTC).
Twin Alabama bills don’t explicitly name Bitcoin
Minnesota’s Bitcoin Act would allow the state’s investment board to invest state assets in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and permit state employees to add crypto to retirement accounts.
It would also exempt crypto gains from state income taxes and give residents the option to pay state taxes and fees with Bitcoin.
Source: Bitcoin Laws
The twin Alabama bills don’t explicitly identify Bitcoin, but would limit the state’s crypto investment into assets that have a minimum market value of $750 billion, a criterion that only Bitcoin currently meets.
26 Bitcoin reserve bills now introduced in the US
Introducing identical bills is not uncommon in the US and is typically done to speed up the bicameral legislative process so laws can pass more quickly.
Bills to create a Bitcoin reserve have been introduced in 26 US states, with Arizona currently the closest to passing a law to make one, according to data from the bill tracking website Bitcoin Laws.
Arizona currently leads in the US state Bitcoin reserve race. Source: Bitcoin Laws
Pennsylvania was one of the first US states to introduce a Bitcoin reserve bill, in November 2024. However, the initiative was reportedly eventually rejected, with similar bills also killed in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Related: North Carolina bills would add crypto to state’s retirement system
Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wyoming are the five states thathave rejected Bitcoin reserve initiatives. Source: Bitcoin Laws
According to a March 3 report by Barron’s, “red states” like Montana have faced setbacks to the Bitcoin reserve initiatives amid political confrontations between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
Additional reporting by Helen Partz.
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Update (April 3, 5:43 am UTC): This article has been updated to add information on the STABLE Act and GENIUS Act.
The US House Financial Services Committee has passed a Republican-backed stablecoin framework bill, which will now head to the House floor for a full vote.
The Committee passed the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act, with a 32-17 vote on April 2, with six Democrats voting in favor.
The bill was introduced on Feb. 6 by committee Chair French Hill and the chair of its Digital Assets Subcommittee, Bryan Steil — reportedly drafted with the help of the world’s largest stablecoin issue, Tether.
Source: Financial Services GOP
The bill would provide rules around payment stablecoins, a crypto token tied to a currency such as the US dollar, and aims to ensure issuers give information about their business and how they back their tokens.
During an earlier markup session, the committee’s leading Democrat, Maxine Waters, who later voted against the bill, criticized her Republican peers for “setting an unacceptable and dangerous precedent” with the STABLE Act.
She said President Donald Trump could use the bill to allow his family’s stablecoin to be used in government payments, and argued the bill validates Trump “and his insiders’ efforts to write rules of the road that will enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else.”
In late March, the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial crypto venture launched a stablecoin, World Liberty Financial USD (USD1). Meanwhile, the US Housing Department, which oversees social housing, was reportedly looking to experiment with using stablecoins for some of its functions.
Stablecoin GENIUS Act also weaves through Congress
Other stablecoin-related bills are also working their way through Congress, including the Republican-led Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, which lays out oversight and reserve rules for issuers.
Related: Crypto has a regulatory capture problem in Washington — or does it?
The US Senate Banking Committee voted through the GENIUS Act in an 18-6 vote on March 13, after Senator Bill Hagerty, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, updated it following consultation with the Committee’s Democrats.
Before the vote, Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said the updated GENIUS Act made “significant improvements to a number of important provisions” in areas such as consumer protections and authorized stablecoin issuers.
Both the STABLE Act and GENIUS Act will now wait until debate time on the floor of the House and Senate, respectively, before they head for a floor vote.
Crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett reported on X that two unnamed crypto lobbyists said there is likely to be “a coordinated push behind the scenes over the next few weeks to get the two bills to mirror each other, as there are still some differences between them.”
Doing so would “avoid having to set up a so-called conference committee which is formed so members from both chambers can negotiate to create a final version of the bill everyone agrees on,” she added.
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