The aspect of dependency is an incredibly important one for us to be looking at, and there is a huge body of evidence about the negative impact of long-term welfare dependency. I will read from some of the findings from the 2011 Welfare Working Group report, Reducing Long-Term Welfare Dependency. They state, "for most working age people, paid work is beneficial to overall well-being, and long-term absence from paid employment can be harmful." They've also found that "There is growing consensus that joblessness is particularly harmful to mental and physical health. There is increasing evidence that long-term benefit receipt has harmful effects on confidence, skills and future employability." We must keep central to this discussion the children, and their findings that "For parents with … children, long-term benefit receipt is strongly associated with poor results for children. Children raised in long-term benefit dependent families are likely to suffer adverse health effects, poorer educational achievement and reduced aspirations." 