PLANS to get benefit claimants back into work have been welcomed.

Council chiefs hope the Government's controversial White Paper on welfare reform will enable them to drive down Stoke-on-Trent's soaring unemployment rate.

But there is some division about whether the tougher approach to benefits claimants will be effective.

The proposals unveiled yesterday by Work and Pensions Minister James Purnell are aimed at getting up to one million long-term benefits claimants into employment.

Key points include getting the parents of children over the age of seven to find work, assessing Incapacity Benefit claimants to find them suitable employment and withholding benefits from anyone who refuses to seek work, undergo training or take up a suitable job offer.

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Figures show that up to 48,000 of Stoke-on-Trent's 186,000 adults claim benefits, with 19,000 on Incapacity Benefit.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council and the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership are aiming to plough about £42 million into a range of initiatives to get 3,000 people a year back into work.

Elected Mayor Mark Meredith said he wholeheartedly supports the Government's approach.

He said: "I agree that people's talent should not be wasted and that's why the welfare state needs to be proactive in helping people get back into work.

"If anyone is playing the system then taxpayers' money should not be wasted on them.

"Work is good for people and leaving them on benefits with no support would quite simply be cruel."

He added: "Stoke-on-Trent City Council is investing in programmes to ensure our people are better equipped to find work."

Portfolio holder for culture and enterprise, councillor Hazel Lyth, said: "Tackling worklessness is high on the city council's agenda and is critical to the future sustainability and growth of the city.

"Finding work can often be daunting and difficult for residents who have been out of employment for a long time. Whether it is volunteering or finding the extra training and support to get on the career ladder, the council is dedicated to tackling worklessness in the city."

Councillor John Daniels, who chairs Stoke-on-Trent City Council's economic development overview and scrutiny committee, said: "Worklessness in Stoke-on-Trent is certainly a massive issue.

"There are pockets of the city where as much as 40 per cent of the adult population is unemployed, which is frightening.

"I think that if you are receiving benefits and you have got something to contribute to society then you should be able to do your bit."

He added: "People should be encouraged to go back into work, but where you have two or three generations of a family that have never worked in their lives then something fundamental has gone wrong and something has to be done about that."

But two of the city's MPs said they had reservations about how some of the tougher policies in the White Paper would be implemented.

Mark Fisher, MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, said: "I think the principle of the White Paper is fine.

"But what I want to see is the level of discretion and acceptance in the proposals, because there are a lot of people in Stoke-on-Trent who simply cannot get back into work and it is no good being tough with people who are too disabled to get work."

He added: "Sometimes what looks good to ministers in Westminster does not work so well in practice."

Fellow MP Joan Walley, who represents Stoke-on-Trent North, said: "We need to be encouraging people back to work, but we need the right skills there to support them as well, to ensure people can set out on a path that will give them the confidence to get back into work."