Green Assembly Member Jenny Jones criticises the Mayor of London’s ‘workfare’ scheme whose participants were half as likely to be employed by the end of it as those who did not, calling on the Mayor to “drop sanctions” (for those who did not participate) and “focus on meaningful support for young people struggling to find a job.”
Young people who completed a ‘workfare’ scheme set-up by the Mayor of London were half as likely to be in paid employment compared to those who didn’t complete it, an evaluation published by the Government reveals. The DWP found that 26 per cent of people who completed it were in employment by the end, compared to 44 per cent of those who refused to take part, and 60 per cent of those who dropped out midway through.
Jenny Jones has rebuked the Mayor for spending £12m on a scheme forcing the unemployed to undertake “pointless and unpaid work” instead of spending their time searching for work.
Despite this, 1,290 people were sanctioned (lost their benefits), mostly for refusing to participate, which also meant they lost access to Jobcentre training services. Two thirds of participants said the compulsory work experience didn’t leave them with enough time to look for a job.
Responding to the news Jenny Jones AM said:
“The Government and Mayor have quietly slipped out a report that shows workfare doesn’t work. He has spent £12m forcing thousands of young people to undertake pointless and unpaid work, when they would have been better off spending the time looking for a job. What’s worse, many young people who did just that had their benefits taken away, punishing them for boycotting a failed scheme.
“I hope the Mayor now takes on board the London Assembly’s call to drop sanctions and concentrate on meaningful support for young people struggling to find a job.”