The
latest phase of the government’s tough-but-fair approach to welfare reform has
been unveiled, with two new schemes encouraging jobseekers to get off
benefits and into work.
As part of a pilot project,
unemployed people in Brougham are being handed over to private consultants Head
First for ‘Empowerment Training’. The 1:1 courses, which are compulsory for all
claimants referred by a Jobcentre advisor, consist of the jobseeker enduring 20
minutes of derisory laughter from an ‘Empowerment Coach’, then being made to
literally grovel to qualify for their next benefit payment.
A
spokesman for Brougham Jobcentre explained: “This is a service run by skilled
professionals and is designed to empower customers and motivate them to step up
their efforts to find work.”
The DWP also confirmed that
claimants who refuse to attend the sessions or walk out would risk having their
benefits stopped.
The
spokesman added that the “innovative” and “personalised” scheme was already
showing positive results, as the number of claims in Brougham had dropped by 10%
since it was introduced.
However the scheme is not so
popular with claimants, who have dubbed it “humiliation therapy”. One person,
who did not want to be named, said: “I lost my job and I was already in debt,
and then I was referred here, they said for ‘advice’. I was called into a room and I asked: ‘How am I going to pay my gas bill?’ The guy just pointed to his
shoes and said: ‘You can start by licking these.’”
When
challenged on the controversial methods of the programme, government minister
Liam Hoban said, “We are facing an epidemic of worklessness which demands bold
new solutions. Rather than complaining, jobseekers should be grateful that
we’re giving them an opportunity to boost their employability skills. If they
can’t find work on their own and are taking money from hard-working taxpayers,
then they obviously need help to change their attitudes and be more resilient
if they’re going to be of value to employers again in the future. If they won’t
do the right thing and accept that help then I think it’s perfectly reasonable
to show them that a life on benefits won't be worth
living.”
Alongside this new approach, the
DWP is trialling a new nationwide online scheme, run in partnership with
private firm Virtua, which it says has been set up in response to
concerns from taxpayers about how benefit money is being spent. 200 people
claiming Universal Credit are being identified and tracked on a database which
can be viewed by the public at the website www.benefittracker.gov.uk.
Subscribers can also follow the movements of particular jobseekers via Twitter.
It is expected that within a year registration on the site will be mandatory
for anyone claiming out of work benefits.
The site, which is automatically
updated in response to community interactions or when jobseekers make purchases
with Universal Credit funds, is now active and is being updated daily. Tweets
which have appeared so far include the following:
#UC1295383 9.03am: Neighbour reports curtains drawn, music
heard last night, no answer to mobile - To monitor
further
#UC0539355
11.35am: Jobseeker spent £1.50 on takeaway coffee - Adviser to
give counselling re: savings of home
consumption
#UC0839258
15.47pm: Feedback from agency: jobseeker declined offer of 4 hours work 5-9pm
Reason: “not enough notice” - Sanction applied
#UC0459382
10.30am: Jobseeker failed to attend Positive Thinking session, no reason given
- Sanction applied
#UC0922521 9.45pm: Message received from Police Community Liaison Unit - This claim is no longer active
Defending
the scheme against accusations of intrusiveness and bullying, a government
spokesman said it was “in the public’s interest to see how their money was
being spent,” and “those who were making genuine efforts to find work and not
hiding a luxury lifestyle should have no reason to object.”
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