(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...New Deal Scandal can reveal that Jobseekers on average are spending up to a fifth (20%) of their benefit seeking employment in the recession. Jobseekers Allowance is the minimum the law says you need to live on. This doesn’t include costs of seeking employment. TUC states this should be increased to £75 per week.
Jobseekers Allowance Rates
Type Amount Cost % of ASE Net Amount of Jobseekers Allowance*
Single (18-24)      £50.95      17.67%         £41.95
Single  (25+)       £64.30      14%           £55.30
Couples            £100.95     16.84%        £83.95  (£41.98 each)
ASE = Actively Seeking Employment; Â ”Amount” = what the law says you need to live on;
* the actual amount to “live on” after costs of finding employment.
Increasing to £75 per week and £61 per week would allow people to search for jobs without cutting in their payments. It is believed a lot of Benefit Scroungers don’t seek actively (often) employment solely because they can’t afford to.
Your thoughts on the proposed increase would be welcome from both sides!
People should read the latest edition of Private Eye. There is a article on bus privatisation and deregulation. As most will recognise, bigger bus companies have swallowed up their smaller rivals and as such have limited competition. Cooperation between companies on on tickets and timetables could easily make the bus more attractive to the public. However, this has been outlawed as ‘anti-competitive! This means that someone who has a job interview in the next town / city may need to get two buses from TWO different bus operators. This also means a doubling of bus fares as an all day or weekly saver ticket issued by one operator is not accepted by another!
Rather than reducing prices to attract new customers, bus operators have raised their prices to compensate for people deserting buses in favour of their own cars. Not surprisingly, this pushed ever more people into their cars, triggering more fair rises to maintain profits.
Those left using buses, usually the poorer members of society, including the jobless, are left to bear more of the financial pressure. Bus fares rose 17% above the rate of inflation between 1997 and 2008 while motoring costs fell 13%.
Here in Yorkshire, First Group responded to the economic downturn by raising fares and cutting services despite transport chiefs warning that such a response would reduce fare-paying passengers by 5% overall and up to 10% on certain routes. For example, here in Leeds, earlier this year, a standard one way adult ticket cost £1.50. The cost is now £1.70!
So it’s not surprising that 20% of benefits is used up seeking employment.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Take Ipswich for bus prices… (Ipswich Buses)
A Rover ticket used to be £2.50
The prices of fuel rocketed so they increased the prices.
The ticket went up to £2.80 – fuel prices decreased, and guess what? The ticket price stayed the same.
It was then withdrawn. later on it was reintroduced… at £5!
I don’t have the dates of these changes but at least in the last 5 years the price of that ticket has doubled. The service on the other hand has got worse.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I have to take a 40 minute journey to the next town just ten minutes away at £3.70 return each day as the bus has to go around all the villages, where at many of the stops no one gets on or off. This is to attend the “fraud training” scheme that shows me as in “training” rather than on JSA so as Gordon can fiddle the unemployment statistics. I am being forced against my will to do pointless tasks that achieve nothing so the training establishment can claim their huge wedge from the Gordonment to hide their failings with the unemployed. Brown is a crook.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I used to do jobsearch every day when i was unemployed i checked the local daily paper for vacancies(as per jobseeker agreement check local papers for job vacancies) and local weekly paper on a friday i also checked jobcentreplus website for job vacancies every day using the internet access which is free in the library a total of over 2 hours per week jobsearch yet i still got hassle from the jobcentre when i went to sign on if i hadnt applied for anything this usually resulted in the ea going into the computer and selecting a job and telling me i had to apply for it or benefit sanctions would be enforced example museum assistant golf museum st andrews when i phoned i was asked if i was a golfer answer no reply we prefer applicants who understand golf reply dont blame me mate i was told by the jobcentre i had to apply for this job or face benefit sanctions also your job description does not state must have knowledge of golf no offence but suggest the details are changed to state this can i have an application form yes gave personal details how many days a week do i work evry day including weekends but i will have to get a bus dont have a car(lie but i wasnt going to tell them that i did have a car) how will i get there on a sunday not my problem but if your on a sunday you have to come in
got application form made sure i stated had no knowledge of golf whatsoever did not watch golf on tv and did not understand the rules of golf needless to say i didnt get the job!
further example factory labourer temporary advertised by employment agency job details state flt and h&s cert desirable told i had to apply for it despite jobseeker agreement stating arthritis no heavy lifting sedentry work only ea excuse was it does not say heavy lifting is involved
phoned employmnet agaency job being interviewed for phone back later did so constant engaged phoned next day vacancy filled asked if flt & H&S cert needed and told yes asked why job details didnt say you have to have these certs not desirable as on job description reply dont know is heavy lifting involved yes these details arent on job details i have arthritis cant lift heavy weights and told by jc have to apply for it answer we will change that to say must be physically fit heavy lifting involved and no health problems
jc wouldnt tell me where in glenrothes this job is situated answer oh thats strange q well where is it ? a queensfield industrial estate q how long will the job last dont know could be 4 days could be four months cant say really reply thats no use to me thank you and guess what the vacancy was readvertised within two weeks but the job details did say must have flt & h&s cert and heavy lifting involved must be physically fit with no health problems so at least something happened
its a wonder the jc didnt make this vacancy a new deal placement then the company involved would have got someone to labour for them for no cost to them for six months !
Like or Dislike:
0 
0