Introduction

The relationship between rights and responsibilities is an issue of central importance to any notion of citizenship. It has already been made clear that this relationship is a dynamic one that is open to challenge and renegotiation over time. Indeed it has been argued in Chapter Three that in Britain the welfare component of citizenship is increasingly under the influence of a new political orthodoxy which is keen to stress that individuals have to accept certain responsibilities or duties in return for the right to specified benefits and services. The central focus of this chapter is, therefore, a study of some users’ views on what Deacon (1994) has called a ‘principle of conditionality’, that is, that eligibility to certain basic, publicly provided, welfare entitlements should be dependant on an individual first agreeing to meet particular compulsory duties or patterns of behaviour. Initially the extent to which the users endorse this principle in the three areas of welfare under consideration is discussed. A brief exploration of three related areas then follows. First, the issue of financial conditionality and access to social security benefits is considered. Second, users’ opinions on the desirability of an unconditional benefit in the form of a universally available citizen's income are explored. Third, the users’ reflections on the plausibility of applying a principle of conditionality to fiscal and occupational welfare is briefly discussed. Finally some concluding comments are offered.

Welfare rights and the ‘principle of conditionality’

Recent changes in legislation (eg the Jobseeker's Act, 1995 and the Housing Act, 1996) and many policy statements of the present New Labour government indicate that the issue of conditionality is very much part of contemporary political welfare debates. Although understandably there were on occasions a number of differing views on a particular issue within each group, in more general terms the extent to which users as a whole approved, or disapproved, of the imposition of a more conditional link between rights and responsibilities varies according to the specific area of welfare under consideration.