The welfare state is designed to create a basic standard of living for all, especially those who cannot earn money to live off from employment because of ill-health or economic conditions that reduce job opportunities.

There are concerns, though, that the long-term unemployed become entrenched in joblessness and see the ritual signing-on for their benefits as an end rather than a means to survive until such time that they are able to find paid employment.

Now new rules have come in which will force job-seekers to take greater pains to prove that they are not only actively seeking work but are “job-ready” – fully up to speed with the job market, prepared for interviews with up-to-date CVs and interview skills, and ready to apply for jobs as they become available.

There will be some who welcome this move as a concerted effort to get so-called “benefit scroungers” off the dole and earning money themselves, while others will see it as the latest set of unfair hoops the Government has created for the unemployed to jump through if they want to retain their Jobseeker’s Allowance.

If used wisely, this tightening up of regulations could drive some kind of middle ground between those two polarised opinions. Yes, those who genuinely cannot work or find work should be given as much help as the State can manage. And those who are simply living off benefits with no desire to work will be shown that this is just not acceptable.

Rather than being seen as a stick with which to beat the unemployed, this could be a carrot to encourage them into jobs so long as there is proper support to help them be as competitive as they can be in the job market.