Welfare to Work

In 1997 Gordon Brown introduced his "welfare to work" scheme amid much publicity and has boasted ever since of how many people this scheme has helped into work. The trouble is these claims like so many others of Gordon Brown's appear to be slightly flawed. The Daily Telegraph reports that

"Nearly half of benefits claimants who get jobs through Gordon Brown's flagship welfare-to-work programme are unemployed again six months later, a report has found.

The National Audit Office today reports that the New Deal scheme is effectively a revolving door between work and welfare for hundreds of thousands of claimants.

Department of Work and Pensions figures show that, in 2005-06, more than 3.6 million people who had previously been unemployed or economically inactive entered the workforce.

Many of them got jobs with the help of the New Deal programme, but the NAO calculated that 40 per cent are back on jobseeker's allowance within six months."

Well done Gordon, will you be reacting to this news with anything other than a cry of frustration that there are people who dare to disagree with you?