Calls to cut bureaucratic restrictions and help young out of unemployment

17 October 2011

Efforts to get young people off of benefits and into work are being hampered by 'counterproductive' red tape, local government leaders stressed today.

At present, bureaucratic restrictions are preventing young people classified as 'neets' - not in employment, education or training - from longer term volunteering which could help them get back into work.

The Local Government Association, which represents 350 councils across England and Wales, is calling on the Government to scrap rules which hinder Jobseekers Allowance claimants from taking up voluntary work.

It comes as new figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that UK unemployment is at its highest level in 17 years, with 16 to 24-year-olds the hardest hit.

Youth unemployment rose to 991,000, its highest since records began in 1992, driving the jobless rate among eligible 16- to 24-year-olds to 21.3 per cent.

Cllr David Simmonds, Chairman of the Local Government Association's Children and Young People Board, said: “With almost a million young people now out of work, it is absolutely vital they get the opportunities they so rightly deserve.

"School and university leavers are having a really tough time of it at the moment. Those struggling to get their first foot on the career ladder should not be penalised by unnecessary and counterproductive benefit rules which deter them from gaining valuable work experience which also benefits good causes.

"We are not prepared to leave the next generation to fall into the trap of becoming isolated from society. Local authorities should be given all the flexibility they need to help equip jobseekers with the skills, confidence and real-life experience they need to find work.

"A lot of voluntary work is structured and involves a commitment that can give young people additional experience and help them into long term paid employment. The current benefit rules clearly need to be reviewed."

Current rules hinder nearly 1 million young people seeking jobs from committing to voluntary work for any more than two days, as they must always be available for work and be able to attend job interviews at 48 hours notice, with the threat they may have their benefits cut if they don't.

Instead, councils are proposing that local job centres should have the flexibility to arrange voluntary placements to help boost the job prospects of some unemployed young people while helping good causes in their areas.

The LGA is also calling for the current definition of 'neets' to be revised including formally recognising volunteering programmes as valid alternatives to education, training and employment to give young people a further incentive to participate in such schemes.

Currently young people undertaking voluntary work placements are still classified 'neets' and economically inactive.

Case studies:

Manchester City Council has used volunteering as a way of integrating 'neets' into community life. One scheme involved getting young people to carry out repair work on cemetery headstones. Many of them are ex-offenders or have grown up in care. As well as carrying out the maintenance work, the youngsters were encouraged to do two days work a week on personal development, including studying and training.

Young people in Rossendale, Lancashire, wanted to change public perceptions of them as 'yobs' and do something good for their community. They connected with Groundwork, an environmental charity, to set up Action Teams Rossendale to make their neighbourhood a better place to live. The group shared their findings with Rossendale Borough Council and other local partners and now has a permanent seat on the council's Police and Communities Together group. Reports of antisocial behaviour have dropped from six a week to six a month.

Enfield Council, in London, has a successful paid work experience scheme that pays the London living wage and is aimed at vulnerable young people. Participants are taken through all aspects of work, including the interview process, and then work in public facing roles. The scheme has seen more than 55 per cent of participants get into training, employment or further education.

Notes:

The Department for Work and Pensions' benefit rules enable people to volunteer providing they can make themselves available for interview within 48 hours and take up employment within a week. Charities and councils say this restricts volunteering opportunities for people not in employment.

The Institute for Volunteering Research report 'A Gateway to Work' found that 88 per cent of people looking for work believed volunteering would help them get a job, while 41 per cent of those in employment said volunteering had helped them get their current job. http://www.ivr.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/CD44F747-A05F-4EBE-BD81-F41281121C3C/0/A_Gateway_to_Work.pdf

In June the Local Government Association published proposals for helping to boost charities and volunteering. The report, 'Doing something big: how democratic leadership, community action and empowered individuals can build a better society' can be found here: http://www.local.gov.uk/web/10161/publications/-/journal_content/56/10161/64956/PUBLICATION-TEMPLATE

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