LETS and the Benefit System Available to Purchase

If the government is looking to reduce social exclusion (rather than exclusion from the tax system) then perhaps the next Green Paper could look at the advantages of local exchange trading systems. The DSS may treat participation in a LETS scheme as remunerated work. This creates the same set of problems and disincentives as work paid for in sterling for people claiming benefits. Last year, however, new guidance to DSS offices gave some local discretion, as Liz Shephard advises.