NI Conservatives’ co-chair, Trevor Ringland, has described George Osborne’s announcement of ‘help to work’ measures, as a sign that the Conservative led government is not prepared to “abandon the long-term unemployed”.
“The chancellor is proposing special programmes to help people who have been jobless for over two years to find work”, Trevor explained. “That means requiring long-term benefits claimants to do some community work – to give them experience and get them back into the discipline of working, take part in training schemes – to provide important skills, or attend the job centre more regularly –to make sure everything possible is done to find a job.”
“There is good potential for government agencies to work with the voluntary sector in Northern Ireland to really provide the type of placements and the type of encouragement which can help people here back into work. Since it took over from Labour this government has implemented a profound change in policy, by signalling that it simply isn’t prepared to abandon the long-term unemployed, by parking them on benefits.”
“It is ensuring that work pays, by tapering benefits as people work more hours, it is providing options for training and making sure that having nothing to do is not an option. It is absolutely vital that people are not reduced to dependency, but are given opportunities, skills and incentives to get into work. That is something which is good for society, good for individuals and a principle which we in Northern Ireland should wholeheartedly support.”