Britain's long-term unemployed could be forced to carry out compulsory manual work or risk losing their welfare benefits under plans being put forward by the government, newspapers reported on Sunday.
The US-style scheme would see the long-term jobless ordered to take up four-week placements in order to get them used to having a full-time job.
The idea is part of major reforms, due to be unveiled this week, to make cuts to Britain's huge welfare bill, reduce dependency on benefits and weed out those earning money but not declaring it, papers said.
"What we are talking about here is people who have not been used to working having both the opportunity and perhaps a bit more of a push as well, to experience the workplace from time to time," Foreign Secretary William Hague told BBC TV.
"The vast majority of people in Britain will think that is the right thing to do."
Shortly after the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition took power in May, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith unveiled plans to simplify the complex web of benefits available to reduce errors and inefficiencies.
Duncan Smith said the system had become regressive and was not giving people the right incentive to work as many were financially better off unemployed.
Under his plans separate benefits for items such as housing, income support or incapacity will be replaced by a "universal credit" system whereby individual households would get a single welfare payment to ensure those in work would be better off.
The Observer newspaper said that in return, long-term unemployed would be told to take up work placements of at least 30 hours a week for a four-week period.
If they refuse or fail to complete the programme, their jobseekers' allowance, worth 64.30 pounds a week for those over 25, could be stopped for at least three months.
Charities, local councils, voluntary organisations and private companies will be contracted to provide the placements, which could involve gardening, clearing up litter or painting schools, the Sunday Times reported.
"We will shortly be bringing forward further proposals on how to break the cycle of dependency blighting many of our communities and make sure work always pays," a spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions said.
The proposals echo similar schemes in the United States, but do not go as far as the system there which limits the time people can claim benefits.
"The message will go across; play ball or it's going to be difficult," Duncan Smith told the Daily Telegraph on Saturday.
Harriet Harman, deputy leader of the opposition Labour Party, said they would wait for full details of the reforms before deciding whether to oppose the measures but added she believed some of the proposals were unfair.
"Without jobs, welfare reform won't work," she told BBC TV.
In 2009/10, the government spent 87 billion pounds on benefits and tax credits for people of working age, dwarfing most other items of government spending.
The government estimates that some 1.4 million people in Britain have been on out of work benefits for nine or more of the past 10 years.
Pathaan
Director: Siddharth Anand
Stars: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham
Rating: 3/5
The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
Match info
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Man of the match: Cheikhou Kouyate (Crystal Palace)
Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver review
Director: Zack Snyder
Starring: Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Ed Skrein, Sir Anthony Hopkins
Rating: 2/5
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
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The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
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Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
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ROUTE TO TITLE
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Starring: Glenn Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
List of alleged parties
May 15 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at
least 17 staff members
May 20 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'bring your own booze'
party
Nov 27 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary
Gavin Williamson
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Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
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Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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Company name: Blah
Started: 2018
Founder: Aliyah Al Abbar and Hend Al Marri
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and talent management
Initial investment: Dh20,000
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 40
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Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
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KEY DATES IN AMAZON'S HISTORY
July 5, 1994: Jeff Bezos founds Cadabra Inc, which would later be renamed to Amazon.com, because his lawyer misheard the name as 'cadaver'. In its earliest days, the bookstore operated out of a rented garage in Bellevue, Washington
July 16, 1995: Amazon formally opens as an online bookseller. Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought becomes the first item sold on Amazon
1997: Amazon goes public at $18 a share, which has grown about 1,000 per cent at present. Its highest closing price was $197.85 on June 27, 2024
1998: Amazon acquires IMDb, its first major acquisition. It also starts selling CDs and DVDs
2000: Amazon Marketplace opens, allowing people to sell items on the website
2002: Amazon forms what would become Amazon Web Services, opening the Amazon.com platform to all developers. The cloud unit would follow in 2006
2003: Amazon turns in an annual profit of $75 million, the first time it ended a year in the black
2005: Amazon Prime is introduced, its first-ever subscription service that offered US customers free two-day shipping for $79 a year
2006: Amazon Unbox is unveiled, the company's video service that would later morph into Amazon Instant Video and, ultimately, Amazon Video
2007: Amazon's first hardware product, the Kindle e-reader, is introduced; the Fire TV and Fire Phone would come in 2014. Grocery service Amazon Fresh is also started
2009: Amazon introduces Amazon Basics, its in-house label for a variety of products
2010: The foundations for Amazon Studios were laid. Its first original streaming content debuted in 2013
2011: The Amazon Appstore for Google's Android is launched. It is still unavailable on Apple's iOS
2014: The Amazon Echo is launched, a speaker that acts as a personal digital assistant powered by Alexa
2017: Amazon acquires Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, its biggest acquisition
2018: Amazon's market cap briefly crosses the $1 trillion mark, making it, at the time, only the third company to achieve that milestone
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Rating: 3.5/5
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
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Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
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Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
A QUIET PLACE
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If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
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4. Go to chrome://settings/searchEngines in the address bar and find the Chat with Gemini shortcut under Site Search
5. Open a new tab and type @ to see the Chat with Gemini shortcut along with other Omnibox shortcuts to search tabs, history and bookmarks
The Mother
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