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13,600 children live in jobless households
Reporter: Lobby Correspondent
Date online: 26/01/2010
MORE than 13,000 children in Oldham are growing up in homes dependent on jobless benefits.
Figures from the Office of National Statistics show the problem is worst in Oldham West and Royton, with 6,920 under-18s being raised in a home reliant on benefits, including job-seekers’ allowance, incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance.
A breakdown reveals 5,200 children in Oldham East and Saddleworth and 5,740 in Ashton, which includes Hollinwood and Failsworth, live in homes where a parent or guardian is claiming means-tested benefits.
The overall figure for Oldham borough is 13,600, of which 4,090 are children under four-years-old.
Across the country, 2.39 million under-18s live in households needing to claim benefits.
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Theresa May said: “This is yet more evidence of Labour’s failure to tackle worklessness and welfare dependency.
“These figures show even before families started to feel the full impact of the recession far too many parents were stuck in benefit dependency.
“We have the highest proportion of children growing up in workless households in all of Europe.
“We desperately need to turn this situation around. The only solution is the kind of radical welfare reform that Conservatives have been calling for.”
The Department for Work and Pensions said the Child Poverty Bill currently going through Parliament will commit this and successive Governments to eradicating child poverty by 2020.
A DWP spokesman said: “Since 1997, we have lifted 550,000 children out of poverty, and there are now over 290,000 fewer children living in workless households, but we are not complacent.
“We know that work is the best route out of poverty, which is why we committed £5 billion to getting people back to work. This is in addition to our welfare reforms which will keep everyone who can work, close to the labour market.
“Investments made since the Budget 2007 will lift a further 500,000 children out of poverty.”
The figures come days after the latest unemployment figures showed the number of people claiming jobless benefits in Oldham has fallen for the fourth consecutive month.
Have Your Say
Tony Blair and Gordon Browns broken britain at its best!
far too many people here are relying too much on benefits. they're still benefits no matter what they might try and change the names to.
what ever happened to the idea that you worked hard to get a good job and earn a decent living to give you and your future family a decent lifestyle? its all gone wrong!
and time and time again labour use the "child poverty" excuse to reward more money to families whilst taxing the workers.
its time we stopped giving away money to people who blatantly do nothing but take take take out of the system.
ok. now is a trying time for many. but over the last 10 years we've had a boom so whey have these figures been rising way before the recession?
Since the 80's and prehaps earlier, jobs have been leaving this country and given to the east!
There are a number of reason for this, strikes, price increases, wages increases, tax increases etc......Conserbatives and Labour all had a part to play, so did the populas of England...... so put you money where your mouth is! And lets start look and getting our business back, our industry back then we can talk about reducing the joblessness!
Stop the accountants selling this country---and Shut that door!
how many of these people are actively seeking a job?anyone who watches the jeremy Kyle show every morning will see these people of both sexes many of them from Oldham who have no intention of working and seem happy to spend all their benefits on booze and drugs and let the rest of the country keep them which ever political party grasps the nettle and sorts this problem out will get my vote
While the government are prepared to give people more money in benefits than they can earn going out to work then the situation in Oldham will never get any better.I know of families who are now into the third generation and still no one is working,they tell me that they would need 3 jobs each just to draw the money they are currently receiving for doing nothing.You cant blame them for taking what is being given out on a plate.
the some of main benifits need to be reviewed. unemployed after 6 months should not get money direct. instead vouchers for basic goods to get by.
child benefit should be scapped. its now seen as finiacially attractive to have kids just to get the money and even a house!
and incapacity benifit should only be for incapacitated! if you can still do things then should get out there and work. or if you want benifits you should do volunteer work to earn it. this is why our country is in a mess! the free money to the lazy and irresponsible has to stop!
Perhaps Mr Hibbert would like to comment on this latest nugget of things going well under Gordon Brown.
By A G H @ 26/01/2010 13:12:50
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