By David Williams
24 June 2010
The government’s decision to axe two job-creation schemes worth a total of £1bn has been called into question.
The abolition of the £450m Young Person’s Guarantee and £515m Jobseeker’s Guarantee came in a package of spending cuts and suspensions outlined by Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander last week.
Both schemes were set up by the previous government in response to the recession. Under the Young Person’s Guarantee, jobseekers aged 16 to 24 were entitled to training or work placements if they had been out of work for six months. The Jobseeker’s Guarantee gave similar assurances for anyone out of work for two years.
But Matt Whittaker, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, which specialises in policy for low earners, said the move was ‘troubling’.
Details of the government’s new work programme, which is expected to pay employment agencies according to how many people they find work for, was still scant, he added. And it would not come into force in time to fill the gap left by the axed schemes.
‘That’s all very well, but at the moment the private sector is still very weak – where are the jobs coming from?’ Whittaker asked. ‘It’s not enough for the government to get out of the way – the private sector still needs a helping hand.’
Other funding taken away include £450m earmarked for North Tees and Hartlepool Hospital and £25m for the Stonehenge Visitor Centre.
Of the £8.5bn suspended projects, almost £7bn is for a joint procurement programme between the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Transport for search and rescue helicopters.
Smaller projects now under review are a £12m libraries modernisation programme, a £25m fund to help universities make money from innovations and a £12m investment in Sheffield’s retail quarter.
24 June 2010
The government’s decision to axe two job-creation schemes worth a total of £1bn has been called into question.
The abolition of the £450m Young Person’s Guarantee and £515m Jobseeker’s Guarantee came in a package of spending cuts and suspensions outlined by Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander last week.
Both schemes were set up by the previous government in response to the recession. Under the Young Person’s Guarantee, jobseekers aged 16 to 24 were entitled to training or work placements if they had been out of work for six months. The Jobseeker’s Guarantee gave similar assurances for anyone out of work for two years.
But Matt Whittaker, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, which specialises in policy for low earners, said the move was ‘troubling’.
Details of the government’s new work programme, which is expected to pay employment agencies according to how many people they find work for, was still scant, he added. And it would not come into force in time to fill the gap left by the axed schemes.
‘That’s all very well, but at the moment the private sector is still very weak – where are the jobs coming from?’ Whittaker asked. ‘It’s not enough for the government to get out of the way – the private sector still needs a helping hand.’
Other funding taken away include £450m earmarked for North Tees and Hartlepool Hospital and £25m for the Stonehenge Visitor Centre.
Of the £8.5bn suspended projects, almost £7bn is for a joint procurement programme between the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Transport for search and rescue helicopters.
Smaller projects now under review are a £12m libraries modernisation programme, a £25m fund to help universities make money from innovations and a £12m investment in Sheffield’s retail quarter.
