Government drawing up plans to help relocate the unemployed

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Does anyone else find this a bit scary? Or is it a good idea?

Well, from that article what they are proposing is ways to help people move, rather than compelling them, which does sound sensible.

Yes, I suppose that is better..the original article I read was scaremongering and implying there would be forced relocation.

Am interested to hear what everyone else thinks.

Not outrageous for sure. I used to live in Corby which is in the south/midlands but is populated by a lot of scots because their grandparents moved down for work.

It doesn't make sense to live somewhere where there are limited to no jobs when you can move somewhere where there are jobs!

As ever, the problem is finding affordable housing in the areas where there are jobs.

Someone on HB and living in a Housing Association property is going to find it hard to move to a job in an expensive city if teh job is minimum wage and there are no Housng Association property availabe and if HB is cut as well.

The price of property has massively distorted our economy and just saying 'move house' is a lot harder than the Govt is admitting even for well off people in god jobs. On top of that, would anyone on here want to move to a job in a different place if they just got their DC into a 'good school' in a 'good catchement area' and the place with the job only had poor schools? I think not.

I also wonder what will happen to the jobless areas if everyone moves away...

I think it is a really shocking idea. What about family and community? Terrible idea.

I think it's wrong to call this a gimmick because there is obviously a major programme at the moment to reform the welfare state and challenge the status quo. If relocation is made a lot easier then I can see it's going to be more difficult for someone long-term unemployed to justify staying where they are and still expect the full support of the state.

and what about the unemployed in private rentals, or even living in their own homes who can't afford to move either?

Not totally a bad idea if its executed effectively

Its what used to happen in the olden days, people moved where there was work, hence the rise of cities. Families and communities manages to survive.

I'd hope they'd be a certain amount of consistency across people in different situations, who want to move and who meet certain criteria. Private rental could potentially move into council/housing association rental. Home-owners might get a contribution to removal costs.... just guessing.

What if you still couldn't afford to move though, and lots of people did move out of your area, it would be dead, become even more deprived, and the only people who would take houses there might be drug addicts etc.

penelopepitstops, that's where you're wrong. families and communities don't always manage to survive.

What happens to families and communities when the family members cannot find employment?

Employment is the most important thing to everyone - to the individual so they can earn a living and to the community who depend on these people spending their money.

Chil - you're awfully optimistic there about them opening up the opportunity to those in the private rental and own homes.....

Optimistic but arguably practical. If there's a chance to get someone off long-term unemployment and self-sufficient I can see it would be worth HM Gov spending a few hundred quid or bumping them to the top of a housing list in another town to do it.

Relocation isn't going to be appropriate for everyone and it won't be the first thing suggested but it has to be an option on the table rather than keeping people trapped in a jobless ghetto.

Wouldn't the money be better spent in getting companies to relocate to the areas of high unemployment? Otherwise you just create ghettos and make the problems of poverty so much worse.

"If it only applies to council tenants who are unemployed and willing to relocate then that does not necessarily equate to an awful lot of people"

I think you'll find that 'willing' to relocate becomes less relevant the longer someone remains unemployed in future. The more options presented, the more this will be the case. Look out for similar initiatives coming down the pipe.

"Wouldn't the money be better spent in getting companies to relocate to the areas of high unemployment?"

That already happens in designated areas. Several government departments have also relocated. But it's a case of mountains and Mohammed... easier to move house than to move a factory.

Prolesworth

Labour is much more mobile than employment. That's why people migrate thousands of miles.

Housing availability is a real issue but by encouraging small-scale organic housebuilding with councils able to keep more of the financial benefits arising, the coalition is making some really good progress. It's amazing how much you can achieve by just aligning the incentives correctly! Grant Shapps is a really excellent housing minister.

Labour has absolutely nothing to say on housing, given their dire record. Labour policy on housing failed utterly. Their stupid targets which required low-cost housing on every single new project made it economically unfeasible to build new developments. A rather complete example of the depressing failure of centralised over-management.