Calls for crisis intervention as jobless in region ‘lose all hope’

Politicians are calling for emergency support for the region’s basket case economies where the proportion of people out of work has now reached 16 per cent or higher.

A new analysis of labour market figures shows in the run-down estates of Leeds East, the worst-hit constituency in Yorkshire, unemployment amongst working-age men has soared to a staggering 28 per cent.

Also severely affected are Bradford West, Bradford East and Doncaster North – the constituency of Labour leader Ed Miliband. Bradford West has the fastest-growing unemployment in the country.

Official job centre statistics reveal the scale of the challenge ahead in constituencies where there appears little prospect of private sector growth.

In Hull North, where one in six people are now classed as unemployed, there are more than 40 people on Jobseekers’ Allowance for every vacancy which comes available.

As part of its ongoing Give us a Fair Deal campaign, the Yorkshire Post is calling for targeted help from the Government for key deprived areas where unemployment and a chronic lack of growth are relentless concerns.

Steve Houghton, leader of the local council in Barnsley – the town with the highest youth unemployment in the region – said the level of Government support is woefully inadequate.

“It is a real worry,” he said. “What we are getting into now is inter-generational long-term unemployment. You meet kids who say ‘my granddad never worked, my dad never worked, and now I’ll never work’.

“They don’t see any hope and it has an impact on social cohesion beyond the problem that they don’t have any money in their pockets. People are getting resigned to unemployment and it’s a very bad thing.”

A recent analysis by the Yorkshire Post suggested as many as 100,000 young people could be out of work across the region – raising fears of a “lost generation” who will never have the chance to make their way in the world.

But George Mudie, the MP for Leeds East – where the overall unemployment rate is now 22 per cent – said the problem stretches far beyond the disaffected youths he sees wandering around his own constituency.

“So many of the kids have never had any work and don’t see any prospect of work, and goodness knows what it is doing to them,” he said. “But it is not only the youngsters. It’s the over-40s and the over-50s. People who have worked hard and taken the chance to buy a house, and suddenly the work is not there any more and they cannot keep up the standard of life they have fought for. They are losing their homes and it is all slipping away.”

Mr Mudie stressed that targeted support is vital for the most deprived communities, calling for intervention street by street, family by family.

“It is hard work addressing these cases one by one, but it is the only way to do it,” he said.

“But the politicians don’t have the patience for this type of work, and the officials in London just see a bunch of figures rather than real people.”

There is at least some cause for optimism in Leeds, with the council set to establish a new apprenticeship academy as part of the much-vaunted “City Deal” agreed this week. It wants every young person in the city placed in employment, training or work as quickly as possible.

Bradford, too, is to establish an apprenticeship “hub”, with figures showing it has two constituencies where unemployment is now above 16 per cent – double the national average.

Bradford West MP George Galloway has warned the city is becoming “almost a twilight zone” following the latest devastating round of private sector job losses – nearly 500 at travel firm Thomas Cook.

“What we are seeing is a crime against young people,” he said. “Bradford is the youngest city in England (in demographics terms) yet it has some of the very worst schools. The over-arching economic situation is catastrophic and yet they are talking about regional pay rates and trying to solve this with neo-liberal economics.”

In Hull North, where it is more difficult to find work than any other part of England, local MP Diana Johnson criticised the Government for a lack of co-ordination in its approach.

“The Government needs to stop taking spending power out of our local economy,” she said. “The Caravan Tax and talk of regional benefits and pay are the latest examples of this.”

The city is pinning its hopes on the renewables sector as the best chance of resurrecting industry and creating private sector growth.

Ms Johnson said it is critical to target skills and training to make certain it is local people who benefit from the opportunities once firms such as Siemens set up their wind turbine factories in the city.

“We need to ensure that local youngsters are ready for Siemens and new green energy jobs coming to Hull,” she said. “There needs to be more attention to vocational education locally, especially in subjects such as engineering. The Government’s abolition of the Educational Maintenance Allowance and higher tuition fees are also serious issue in keeping young people in poorer areas in education.”

Ministers insist they are doing all they can to address the issue, having launched a “youth contract” to help young people back into work.

Last month the Government went further, recognising the growing local and regional dimensional aspect to the problem for the first time.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced that young people in 20 key hot-spots – including Barnsley, Hull and Rotherham – would be able to access subsidised apprenticeships programmes after six months on the dole, instead of the usual nine.

But a spokeswoman at the Department for Work and Pensions used national figures last night when she insisted there are many jobs available.

“We know that times are tough, but nationally Jobcentre Plus takes 10,000 vacancies every day, and the Work Programme provides tailored support for those looking for employment,” she said