Unemployment

Youth unemployment: councils can save a generation

Local authorities can do a lot to encourage young people into education, training or employments, helping rescue them from a life of long-term worklessness. But Whitehall needs to recognise this role and invest the necessary funds. Read more

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Local government’s hidden talents

The LGA is correct in calling for a greater role for councils in tackling youth unemployment. But why stop there? Town halls should make the case for assuming responsibility for the increasingly discredited Work Programme Read more

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The kids are alright

Forget the moral panics. Today’s young people are industrious and have high aspirations. The problem is an economy that can’t deliver  Read more

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Facts and fiction on welfare

Popular attitudes towards spending on welfare claimants are often based on ignorance and prejudice, fed by politicians and the media  Read more

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Perils of payment by results

Public bodies seem to be pursuing the use of payment by results with the vigour of a drunk in search of the next bottle of alcohol. Disaster looms unless there’s some sober consideration of where and when such an approach can work Read more

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Fighting poverty: yes, we can

Recycling old arguments against the Living Wage, on the grounds of affordability, misses the point about the real solutions to poverty Read more

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Universal Credit: not so simple

Most people support the principle of simplification behind the new Universal Credit system. But there are multiple design faults that risk undermining that aim 

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Contributing to the welfare divide

Pitting one set of benefit claimants against another is a dangerous game. What’s needed is a welfare system that is fairer all round Read more

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The power of public procurement

We should welcome Ed Miliband’s pledge that a Labour government would force private suppliers of public contracts to employ apprentices. But he could go much further Read more

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Dragging us all down

Unemployment is one of a number of factors keeping a lid on pay levels in both the public and private sectors Read more

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