Member News
By Steve Webb - 5th February 2010
The discussion about unemployment is crowded with statistics which convey nothing of the desolation unemployment can cause. The drop in headline unemployment last week was only a tiny part of the story. There were devastating figures buried in the same release which show 75,000 people are not looking for work because they are ‘discouraged’, and 755,000 young people are not in full-time education or work but are not looking for work.
These two groups encapsulate why more must be done to help people who find themselves out of work because of the recession. We need to intervene and offer help far earlier if we are to prevent people, especially young people, becoming despondent and trapped in a vicious cycle of unemployment and poverty.
That is why the Liberal Democrats have pledged to offer young people access to further education, internships, training or work programmes after 90 days out of work. We do not think it is right to abandon young people, often in the midst of their first attempts to find work and start a career, for up to six months without the chance to do something to improve their employability.
Firstly, the Liberal Democrats want to ensure that young people forced to rely on Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) of £50 for their income are not prevented from improving their skills or appealing to employers. That is why we will offer all young people a ‘training allowance’ while they complete a three-month internship with an employer. It will allow people from the poorest backgrounds to enjoy the same opportunities as those who are better off, and ensure all young people have a chance to complete some work experience.
It is true that graduates are being hit hard by the recession as companies cut their intakes, but there remains a strong relationship between low skills and unemployment. We want to help the 90 per cent of unemployed 18-24 year olds who have lower than degree-level qualifications and want to add to them. JSA rules mean that young people can’t return to college and complete courses while claiming. We will increase the Adult Learning Grant from £30 to £45 a week to make it affordable to return to college and complete their first level 2 or 3 qualifications.
We will also fund an extra 15,000 foundation degree places. Foundation degrees focus on a particular job or profession and are the equivalent of two-thirds of a full honours degree. They are fully flexible qualifications which allow students to study part-time or full-time to fit their lifestyle. All these measures will improve a young person’s chances of getting a job by improving their work experience and skills.
We also believe that government investment must continue to stimulate the economy and create jobs early in the next parliament. We want to rebalance the British economy and build it again on solid, sustainable and green foundations. We have identified £3.5bn of current government expenditure which will fund an economic stimulus and job creation plan.
Together with our banking reforms, which will end the dependence of the British economy on the City of London, this plan will kick-start economic growth on stronger foundations than before, ensuring growth and jobs last like they should.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd