By Jaimie Kaffash
12 August 2009
The Audit Commission has warned that unemployment could remain high for three years after the end of the recession despite positive initiatives from council leaders to mitigate the effects of the downturn.
The commission’s report, When it comes to the crunch, was released on August 12, the same day that unemployment statistics from the Office for National Statistics showed that 2.4 million people were out of work – a 14-year high.
The report claimed that the recession would be in three ‘waves’, the last of which could see some regions facing longer-term problems. These include domestic violence, alcoholism, drug addiction and youth unemployment. It warned that the length of the ‘second wave’ of the recession – in which unemployment would rise rapidly, with further rising social costs in terms of poor health and crime – was impossible to predict.
Steve Bundred, chief executive of the Audit Commission, told Public Finance: ‘Experience from the past has been that recovery is slow to begin and so unemployment may remain high for anything as long as three years after the recession has been declared to be over.’
But he added that local authorities could help avoid the longer-term problems. ‘There is no doubt that councils are facing financial pressures and public expenditure is going to be tight. Some of the things that councils can sensibly do regarding the social impacts of the recession don’t cost a great deal of money,’ he said.
‘Councils need to plan and think where their priorities for spending will be and where they can find additional resources,’ he added.
Mark Luntley, finance director at the Local Government Association, argued that councils could find low-cost preventative measures to long-term problems. ‘It’s not necessarily how much money is spent, but whether the support is well designed and properly targeted,’ he suggested.
‘Local government often is in the front line of dealing with long-term problems – so addressing this area is a priority. And, as the democratically elected authorities,councils are best placed to decide priorities and ensure efficient responses that are relevant to the local area.
Wigan council was singled out by the commission and the LGA for its initiative in working with GPs to provide counselling and employment advice to patients with stress-related illnesses.
Susan Gambles, head of regeneration at Wigan, said: ‘In the unemployment statistics released today, Wigan is the only Greater Manchester authority that has seen a reduction in unemployment. It is obviously a difficult climate, but we feel some of the interventions we have used as part of the worklessness agenda made a difference to our residents.
‘Reducing the long-term effects of the recession is one of our top priorities. It is something we are continually working on and across the board. We’ve been continually working to reduce the impact and provide as much support as possible to the community and the businesses.’
12 August 2009
The Audit Commission has warned that unemployment could remain high for three years after the end of the recession despite positive initiatives from council leaders to mitigate the effects of the downturn.
The commission’s report, When it comes to the crunch, was released on August 12, the same day that unemployment statistics from the Office for National Statistics showed that 2.4 million people were out of work – a 14-year high.
The report claimed that the recession would be in three ‘waves’, the last of which could see some regions facing longer-term problems. These include domestic violence, alcoholism, drug addiction and youth unemployment. It warned that the length of the ‘second wave’ of the recession – in which unemployment would rise rapidly, with further rising social costs in terms of poor health and crime – was impossible to predict.
Steve Bundred, chief executive of the Audit Commission, told Public Finance: ‘Experience from the past has been that recovery is slow to begin and so unemployment may remain high for anything as long as three years after the recession has been declared to be over.’
But he added that local authorities could help avoid the longer-term problems. ‘There is no doubt that councils are facing financial pressures and public expenditure is going to be tight. Some of the things that councils can sensibly do regarding the social impacts of the recession don’t cost a great deal of money,’ he said.
‘Councils need to plan and think where their priorities for spending will be and where they can find additional resources,’ he added.
Mark Luntley, finance director at the Local Government Association, argued that councils could find low-cost preventative measures to long-term problems. ‘It’s not necessarily how much money is spent, but whether the support is well designed and properly targeted,’ he suggested.
‘Local government often is in the front line of dealing with long-term problems – so addressing this area is a priority. And, as the democratically elected authorities,councils are best placed to decide priorities and ensure efficient responses that are relevant to the local area.
Wigan council was singled out by the commission and the LGA for its initiative in working with GPs to provide counselling and employment advice to patients with stress-related illnesses.
Susan Gambles, head of regeneration at Wigan, said: ‘In the unemployment statistics released today, Wigan is the only Greater Manchester authority that has seen a reduction in unemployment. It is obviously a difficult climate, but we feel some of the interventions we have used as part of the worklessness agenda made a difference to our residents.
‘Reducing the long-term effects of the recession is one of our top priorities. It is something we are continually working on and across the board. We’ve been continually working to reduce the impact and provide as much support as possible to the community and the businesses.’
