Government drawing up plans to help relocate the unemployed

I agree expat, whole heartedly. I don't know any good solutions or even have any ideas that would make a difference, but as other posters have said, I think, historicaly populations ahve always moved. i guess what I am trying to say is there may not be a government scheme solution.

there's a lot of history like that, mini.

but things have moved on.

things are very different from the 1930s, and i, for one, am very glad for this.

'scuse typos

A bit of history, whih may not be acurate. In the 1930's we had a 'depression', many moved to areas where there was work... the woollen mills in the Bradford/ Shipley area. My partents were part of this, they lived in lodgings and sent their money home to their families.They were aged 14. I guess this wasn't planned, just neccessity.

Sympathies elvislives, I really hope you don't get caught up now in all the inevitable restructuring and redundancies the coalition have started.

withorwithoutyou, yes it was, and that's where we've ended up.

Stuck I was just going to say exactly the same thing. Unfortunately, the sale of local authority housing and the stupid regulations about not using the money raised to build more housing...

And, although I know this one isn't popular, this obsession with having to own your own home is not exactly working out well for a lot of people (wildly off topic, however).

Oh this is just a gimmick.

Until we embark on a massive program of social housing building...

Which of course will never happen.

Almost all of the domestic (ie excluding the mess the bankers made) economic problems are down to a housing shortage.

More housing - bring down rents. Bring down rents, more people will be able to afford to work and lose their housing benefit.

They will also of the own voilation in many cases, move to areas with work if they knew they could get an affordable (be it private or council) home during the transition period.

No to mention the social improvements of people living in decent homes.

We need more houses!

Part of the problem is that a lot of the jobs that are open are often low pay and low job security. You could be thrown out of work in 6 months. Who will move from secure HA and HB payments for that?

Talking to people I know on benefits they say that is a lot of the problem. Taking any short term or risky job means you come off benefits and if the job is lost it takes ages to get back on benefits again and often people go into debt on the gap between the last pay packet and the benefit coming in.

ok - just imagine - this thing gets up and running, unemployed people (and I' guessing here that only those on JSA - so those "fit for work" would be included in this scheme) take up the chance to move out of a shit hole to somewhere where they can find work.

what happens to the people/area they've left behind? The area of high unemployment (and probably poverty too).

Elvislives was your move part of the Lyons Review? We had some of that at work too - people forced to relocate from the SE to Bristol, where house prices are pretty astronomical anyway!

Why shouldn't people move for work?

I work in the public sector and the last Govt decided to move several thousand jobs out of the South East. My choice was take redundancy or move out of the SE and I chose to move, and stay in work.

We were in the catchment of 2 very good primary schools, and in a grammar area. We've ended up being in a really expensive area where we can't afford to live anywhere near work, nowhere near any good schools and looking at a secondary school that gets 24% GCSEs. Our only upside on that score is we've got 8 years until Y7 so I'm hoping things will change.

We also left everybody we knew and family (including 2 of our own DCs).

My grandparents did a similar thing in 1937 when they left family and friends in Sheffield and moved to Bath for work.

If it's good enough for us to do then it's good enough for anyone else.

Perhaps big employers should be asked to provide housing again for their workers, like they used to, or at least contribute to the building?

Top of the list isnt' a guarantee of housing.

And again, the lists are already have tens of thousands of people sitting on them.

What about them?

The trouble with this is, well, there is little to no social housing available in many areas of high work concentration.

They're putting them at the top of the housing lists in areas of high work, Forlorn.

Which, what does that mean for all those at the top of that list already?

Where do they go?

Oh, and have you seen the lists in areas of high work?

god i bet a lot of people in central londong would KILL to have council housing here.
its lovely a lot of it ( not all admittedly)
and lots of jobs.

come on over!

i think the point is that they will guarantee housing and that an area where there is employment will be used.

But the non-benefit person has a job to go to.

They also have choice in where they live.

The HB person has to go where a landlord will take the HB.

Probably yet another ghetto.

but the point is that if housing etc was arranged/guranteed its not a bad idea

its no more hassle than a non benefit person moving as their job changes...

It's not, Forlorn.

When a) there's actually a place for you to go and live. Again, we're talking about people on benefits who will not have a job when they arrive. So they'll need a landlord who takes HB. A guaranteed one, too b) money. Not just for the moving costs, but also because it will take at least a month before your new council pays out your HB, so at least the first month's rent will need paid as well as the moving costs.

Then, there's no guarantee the person will actually be able to get a job.

i dont see hwy movign to get a job is such a horrendous proposal

That, too, Fanjo.

Also, when you exchange, you still need to cover ALL moving expenses.

Since council properties do not come with white goods, you're talking about a lot of money.

Also, if someone doesn't drive, that means they have to hire someone to move them.

trouble is, belle, you have to find someone willing and able to swap with you. and if your HA/council property is a flat, good luck with that!