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Jobless Britain: One in five homes relies entirely on benefits
Last updated at 09:22am on 30.08.07
Children's Minister Beverley Hughes disclosed this week that £21billion had been spent on pre-school programmes
Job centres across the country will be busy with many of the three million unemployed householders
The number of households in which nobody works for a living rose to more than three million this summer, official figures revealed yesterday.
Among them were a growing number of lone parent families - the first increase in the figure for single parent homes entirely dependent on benefits in five years.
The statistics point towards a failure for Labour's policy of spending billions on benefits, childcare and incentive schemes intended to persuade those without jobs - and single mothers in particular - into employment.
The figure of three million workless homes is particularly bleak because it includes only those where there is someone of working age - defined as between 18 and 65 whether claiming a disability or not, but excluding students.
Last month the Whitehall spending watchdog attacked ministers for their failure to reduce workless numbers.
The National Audit Office warned that those living in workless households are at risk of permanent joblessness and poverty and face falling into a spiral of ill-health and crime.
Yesterday's figures from the Office for National Statistics show the number of men and women of working age who live in homes where nobody has a job has risen to 4,348,000, the highest since 1999 and a 181,000 jump in a year.
Their children - those under 18 whether in full-time education or not - number 1,798,000, bringing the total in workless households to 6,146,000.
The ranks of children in homes where no one works has risen thanks to the increase in workless lone parents. There were 15,000 more single parents without work this summer than last.
Growth in the tally of workless single parents comes despite huge government spending on trying to persuade lone mothers to take jobs.
Gordon Brown's flagship benefits, tax credits, cost £16billion a year and are tailored towards helping single parents.
Further billions have been pumped into subsidised childcare to try to help single parents looking for work.
Children's Minister Beverley Hughes disclosed this week that £21billion has been spent since 1997 on schemes such as Sure Start and early years education programmes.
Only one in five of the homes listed as workless is thought to include anyone who is actively looking for a job.
The Tories linked the figures to crime and social breakdown.
Chris Grayling, the party's work and pensions spokesman, said: "These figures are a damning indictment of the failures of government policy.
"We are seeing the consequences of this failure in many of the social problems that we now see in our streets and our communities."
Peter Hain, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said: "There are more than a million lone parents with a job, an increase of over 300,000 under this government."
The analysis from the Office for National Statistics shows that couples with children are the least likely to be without work. Only just over one in 20 families led by a couple is workless.
The greatest concentration of homes where nobody of working age has a job was in London.
Nearly a quarter of homes in the capital, 23.9 per cent, had nobody who admitted to having employment or an earned income.
In the North-East, 19.4 per cent of homes, nearly one in five, are reckoned workless.
In the North-West the figure is 18.2 per cent.
Reader views (17)
Workshy = Labour voter. Brown can still do the math even though he is not Chancellor anymore.
- Dan, Manchester
So we're handing out benefits to people who go ahead and spend it on luxuries like cigarettes and alcohol.
If I was to work for minimum wage in London I couldn't afford Sky+, booze and cigarettes but if I sit at home every day then the government will pay for it!
Benefits should be in coupon form. Food, shelter, clothes and books.
No TV, fags, alcohol or luxuries.
- Doc, London
The important fact here is 80 percent of homes don't claim benefits.
- Daveb, London
The immigrants have proved that there is plenty of work if you go out and look for it and work hard.
I am so fed up of scroungers who do nothing and expect people like me to pay for them and their families.
If you don't pay into the state you don't deserve anything back, i.e. young women who decide to become single mothers do not deserve any money. Harsh but fair.
It's about time the tax paying law abiding citizens of the UK stood up for ourselves and made clear we are anot going to take anymore
- Roberta, Croydon
Fly writes "So nearly 40% of the North is on the dole."? The answer is no, but employers' organisations have been largely unimpressed with the basic maths and literacy skills of the workforce.
If in the North-East, unemployment runs at 19.4% and the North-West figure is 18.2%, then overall, the average percentage for these two areas is 18.8%, not nearly 40%.
- Jowo, London
Perpetual unemployment benefit and endless youth education are a hidden wages policy, protecting a declining pool of unskilled and semi-skilled employment. Successive governments have deferred the problem and only as qualification inflation has affected the skilled and professional sectors it is receiving attention. Politicians benefit the most from the expansion of dependency, creating a permanent constituency for the application of policies and a PR illusion of effectiveness for a decreasingly engaged electorate.
- Eric, London
And while we have a benefits 'system' things will never change, well they will, but for the worse I fear.
- Steve, London
This is frankly disgusting. There are plenty of homeless people who could benefit from even the slightest help and funding instead of pumping cash into those on benefits who seem to be entitled to free cigarettes, beer and Sky. Whereas the homeless are striving to find a place to eat or sleep. If the government insured that those on benefits were not allowed to spend money or cigarettes/alcohol and other luxuries using a food voucher system then there would be plenty more money for those who really need it.
- John, London
Reduce the amount of money we pay these scroungers or make them work on community projects for their dole money, at least that way they can do something to improve their own community and we all get something back for the money we pay them.
- Terry Roll, London
So nearly 40% of the North is on the dole. If this is indeed true why are we encouraging so many migrants to the UK to fill all these jobs when we clearly have an endless supply of lazy people in this country. No wonder this country is a falling apart.
- Fly, London
One in five homes who are more than happy to vote for New Labour then. Nothing like stealing from the hard working to buy votes is there Brown?
- Frank, Home Counties, England
Why the surprise? If you offer money for doing nothing, there are plenty in contemporary Britain who will bite your hand off and lie in bed. Benefits should only be paid to the unemployed upon two conditions: 1. A strict means test and record of job seeking and 2. A proven record of contributing to the system from which they wish to receive benefits.
- Roy G, Solihull, England
With half the country dependant on Labour for a job or benefits, Labour have a captive vote so it's a success of policy.
- Joe Mullen, London
Throwing money at these people doesn't work. My father had an accident when I was young and we lived on benefits for a year. However, we now have too many people living off benefits as a career choice. How can Labour justify so many people living off benefits when we are allowing immigrants in to work. It's senseless!
- Jan, London
It will continue to get worse as it's so easy to get away with. We hear of so many people who 'choose not to work', normally those with countless kids with a variety of parents. It should not be a matter of choice. There is far too much emphasis on 'rights', nowhere near enough on 'responsibilities'.
- Paul, London
Wow, someone is listening to David Cameron. He has spent the last few months telling us that the benefit system penalises couples and now we have 15,000 more workless single parents and more single parents overall. Well done on stopping the 5-year decline.
- Mike, Swindon
This is appalling.
- John, London
