Policy AnalysisThoroughfares, crossroads and cul-de-sacs: Drug testing of welfare recipients
Section snippets
Drug testing and the welfare reform in the UK
We can trace proposals to drug test those wishing to claim out-of-work benefits to the 2008 drug strategy.
[W]e do not think it is right for the taxpayer to help sustain drug habits when individuals could be getting treatment to overcome barriers to employment. So, we will explore the case for introducing a new regime which provides more tailored and personalised support than that which is currently provided. … In return for benefit payments, claimants will have a responsibility to move
Engaging stakeholders
The Green Paper invited members of the public and interested organisations to respond to the proposals through posing 29 questions, which resulted in responses from over 300 organisations including a number of drug action teams, drug treatment providers and drug sector organisations (DWP, 2008b).5
The US experience
Provisions to drug test welfare recipients were introduced though Section 902 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act 1996, forming a small component of a wide-ranging piece of legislation which transformed the provision of welfare in the US (see Midgley, with Stewart, Piachaud, & Glennerster, 2008). As we have already noted, not all states sought to introduce drug testing: initially the majority did not, and Michigan uniquely adopted a policy of universal drug
Concluding comments
Through charting the trajectory of proposals to introduce drug testing of welfare recipients in three countries, we have uncovered examples of policy cul-de-sacs in the US and policy thoroughfares in New Zealand and some US states. The position in UK is more complex and might be described as a policy crossroads. Whilst there are no plans at present to drug test welfare recipients, it has been widely speculated that once Universal Credit is implemented fully,11
Conflict of interest
None declared.
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