1994

US insurance company Unum Provident advise the UK government on ‘welfare reform’ to reduce the number of claimants of long-term sickness benefits.

What: Peter Lilley, secretary of state for social security in John Major’s Conservative government between 1992 and 1997, hires John LoCascio, a senior executive of US insurance company UnumProvident Insurance, as the official UK government adviser for ‘welfare claims management’ – To advise the UK government on how to reduce the number of claimants of long-term sickness benefits. 

Why significant: Seen by many to be evidence of the influence of corporate USA in shaping development of the UK’s approach to ‘welfare reform’.