The UK government has recently announced plans to evict people from their homes who are unemployed and deemed to be not putting enough effort into their jobsearch activities if they are living in council houses [social housing.]
I've a question. If made homeless by the government, where are these people supposed to live? Some sort of hostel, or the workhouse maybe, or even in cardboard boxes? Well, they'll have to live somewhere, and this accommodation, whatever it is, will have to be built for possibly hundreds of thousands of people, at great expense - and ironically might even be of a superior standard to where tenants were previously housed, because some of these estates are dreadful places to live. Personally, I'm glad I'm living in private rented accommodation; although this can have its problems too, and I bet the government will soon be on my case, although like anyone else who is unemployed I have to prove already that I'm actively seeking work.
One aspect of the new policy I do agree with though, is the idea of siting jobcentres in the areas where people are unemployed; the council estates and pit/mill villages. Some of these communities can be very isolated and insular, and the idea that you're supposed to get into town to look for jobs several a week can be very expensive for people on low incomes. YOU DON'T GET A FREE BUS PASS IF YOU'RE UNEMPLOYED - although many people don't realise this fact.
I'm really angry about this. Why does the government think most people are unemployed? Yes, there are a few skivers, but the vast majority of people who find themselves unemployed are not to blame for their circumstances. Either there are no appropriate jobs where they are, or they are genuinely unemployable and it wouldn't be economically viable to train/re-train them because of their age or poor health.
