part i Increase the rewards for entering work, especially for those on low earnings and low hours. Reduce in-work poverty. Increase the incentives for low-earners to earn more, by reducing the highest benefit withdrawal rates they face. Reduce the cliff-edge effect of withdrawal from passported benefits. Eliminate the hours rules in the benefits system, to reduce the thresholds and barriers to progression in work. Make child-care support more accessible, especially for those working fewer than 16 hours Create a supply-side reform for child-care. Increase fairness and equity. Those with low or no earnings should be treated more equitably, with fewer unfair situations such as the couple-penalty. Reduce the penalty against working couples, especially low-earning couples. Reconnect the second adult in a couple with job support and strengthen conditionality around out-of-work benefits. Support positive behaviour. We want the system to support the positive behaviours that protect against long-term poverty, such as savings, greater home-ownership, and avoidance of the incapacity trap where possible. Reduce the mortgage penalty for low-earning households. Over time, the savings penalty should become less stringent. Those with reduced benefits because of capital should still stay connected to the job market. Reduce the incentives to move to IB, and recognise the work capacity of claimants, rather than their incapacity. Those receiving benefits on the basis of incapacity should still have the same financial incentives to work as all others. Reduce benefit dependency. The welfare state should be a personalised, efficient service that works to protect and empower the poorest and most vulnerable people. All too often, claimants are faced with a dehumanised bureaucracy. We want the system to be simple and empowering in its interactions with benefit recipients, thereby reducing the level of benefit dependency.
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