By Maeve McGoldrick
Image Credit: The Guardian
Benefit Busters was shown last night on Channel 4, questioning how to get lone parents off benefits when they are financially better off not working. It was the job of Hayley Taylor to find the answer, and she did this through her A4E Elevate course aiming to build single mothers’ confidence to get them back into the labour market. Or, was she bullying a group of slightly vulnerable mums, some of which had serious issues of debt and possible drink addictions, and neither of which Hayley had any professional qualifications in what so ever? I haven’t quite figured out what A4E stands for yet but it could be something to do with Accident and Emergency.
On the whole there were a number of job successes, and possibly one career success - that belonging to Hayley herself. I am still trying to figure out who benefited from this programme. It was apparent that the mothers were eager but profoundly lacking in confidence, it was apparent that the system was completely flawed but no Goverment Minister was interviewed as to why the current welfare reform bill hasn’t addressed the existing disincentives. It was also apparent that what the most vulnerable really need is intensive support, professional advice and guidance but instead they got ‘tough love.’
With the latest unemployment figures at a shocking 2.44 million, an increase of 220,000 in the past three months to June 2009 and talk of the real figure being 6 million getting the reform of the welfare system right is more important now than ever. The Jobcentre Plus is possibly the most popular venue in town right now; with a noticeable increase in the range of customers, and therefore an increase in the range of skills and capacity required by the staff, placing a heavy burden on Jobcentre Plus staff.
Current reforms mean government are employing large private organisations like A4E to deal with the long-term unemployed whilst they get to grips with the latest recession wave of white collar workers. The BBC Radio 4 programme “Face the Facts, the JCP isn’t working“, aired last Sunday interviewed people recently made redundant, people with impressive CVs and keen to find employment yet they were completely let down by the JCP service. The same frustrations voiced in this programme were echoed by the long term unemployed in our report Working Alongside.
Welfare must be a first class service for all: capable of responding to the needs of a varying population before it can justify imposing threats like benefit sanctions or sending people to boot camps.
We spoke to Guardian journalist Jenni Russell and yesterday in her article in the Guardian she eloquently and accurately pointed out that errors in the current, outdated and rigid system and poor quality, low paid, erratic employment is the problem, ‘the solution is nothing less that a rethinking of the welfare system fit for the 21st Century’, because, as Hayley concluded ‘the systems not right; it just seems backwards really’
Maeve I have just had a look at the Jenni Russell article and it is good and you and the author make some very valid points.
You are right it is hopeful that absurdities will be noticed by viewers and make non claimants realize that it is not as easy to claim money from the state as they might imagine.
It would be good if the media also noticed how much benefit to which citizens are entitled remains unclaimed ? how come they never talk about that??
Hi Robina,
thanks for your comments – quite right recognising that someone isn’t going to be better off in work should have picked up in the beginning with the better off in-work calculations and that should have been done with the lone parent personal adviser before the lady went onto A4E programme. I would imagine if it had of been then the lady would never have put herself though the horrific course in the first place though. I think Jenni Russell’s article really highlights the underlying problem: that the work is not adequate and the system is hugely flawed. There is a lot of talk about benefit scroungers at the moment and I think Benefit Busters would be a lot of peoples answer to this, if anything hopefully it will highlight that the answer is much more complex than that, though the media play a crucial role in forming public opinion on this.
Hi Maeve
I saw this programme and quite honestly did not know whether to laugh or cry
It just is not OK to make people (as you quite rightly describe as vulnerable) attend this kind of course and find them minimum wage work for possibly only a short period of time and make out this is as a success.It has to be long term support otherwise people fall again at the next hurdle which might be problems with childcare ,depression,ill health etc
Also how did they put the mum of four through this mind boggling course only to discover that she was better off on benefits anyway.There is no way that this could not have been spotted straight away by anyone with a half decent knowledge of benefits so one of the answers to this issue has to be make it financially better for a long term claimant to be in work than out.
At the end the trainer was invited to have tea at the mansion of the chief exec.This tells us a bit about the possible purpose and motivation of any private company trying to get people into work ..its the money folks