Cameron 'betraying whole generation of young people' over jobs

Published by Ross Macmillan for 24dash.com in Communities and also in Central Government, Housing, Local Government

David Cameron was today accused of betraying young people as grim unemployment figures showed a record number of 16 to 24-year-olds are out of work.

The Prime Minister said the latest figures were a "matter of great regret" but stressed that youth unemployment had been a long-term problem, and that the Government was taking action to improve education and back to work schemes.

At Prime Minister's question time in the Commons, Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "The truth is, he is betraying a whole generation of young people."

Unemployment jumped by 44,000 in the final three months of 2010 to just under 2.5 million, a jobless rate of 7.9%.

But the youth unemployment rate is now 20.5% following a 66,000 increase to 965,000, the highest figures since records began in 1992.

Mr Miliband said: "Inflation is rising, growth has stalled and 66,000 young people extra are out of work.

"Can you tell us whether you think your strategy is working?"

The Prime Minister said: "Of course today's unemployment figures are a matter of great regret, and it's a great regret particularly in terms of higher youth unemployment."

But, he added: "Youth unemployment has been a problem in this country for well over a decade, in good years and in bad.

"The level of youth unemployment went up by 40% under the last government, an extra 270,000 young people unemployed.

"What we have to do is sort out all of the things that help young people get back into work: that is a welfare system that doesn't help you get work, an education system that doesn't prepare you for work and its back-to work-programmes that under the last government simply didn't work."

On the wider economy "we are no longer linked with Greece and Ireland and those countries in the danger zone".

Mr Miliband said the UK was the only major European economy not to see growth in the last quarter of 2010.

He said former Cabinet Office chief economist Jonathan Portes claimed today that the Government was "wrong" to scrap the Education Maintenance Allowance and Future Jobs Fund.

Mr Miliband said the Prime Minister had praised the Future Jobs Fund as a "good scheme" before the election.

He asked: "Why don't you listen to young people and their families up and down the country and take real action to help them?"

Mr Cameron told the Labour leader Mr Portes had also said: "I would not excuse the previous government on this - they failed to wake up to the problem early enough."

The Prime Minister said 279,000 people took part in Labour's Flexible New Deal but only 3,800 secured long-term employment.

"What we have been doing on education, on welfare, on back-to- work programmes is not good enough. All those things need to change."

Mr Miliband said the Government's Work Programme, which Mr Cameron was "trumpeting as the answer to all the nation's problems" would have 250,000 fewer opportunities than under Labour's schemes.

"We know his view of social mobility is auctioning off a few City internships at the Conservative Party ball but, frankly, he is going to have to do better than that.

"The truth is, he is betraying a whole generation of young people. He is trebling tuition fees, he is abolishing the Education Maintenance Allowance and he is abolishing the Future Jobs Fund."

He urged Mr Cameron to "change course and help those young people who need help".

The Prime Minister said that, over the past 20 years, the Treasury had blocked attempts to invest the future savings from getting people into work in schemes to help find jobs.

"For the first time, under this coalition Government, we are going to be spending the future benefits in order to get people training and work now."

The Work Programme was "the biggest back-to-work scheme this country has seen since the 1930s".

On the row over the fundraising internships auction, the Prime Minister said Mr Miliband had been an intern for veteran left- winger Tony Benn and deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman.

"No wonder he is so left-wing, so politically correct and so completely ineffective."