Local Lib Dems want more help for young unemployed in Streatham (Chris Nicholson)

Local Lib Dems want more help for young unemployed in Streatham

September 15, 2009 3:22 PM

Local Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesman for Streatham, Chris Nicholson has today welcomed Nick Clegg's new plans to fight youth unemployment, designed to help almost 1 million young unemployed. Latest statistics show that youth unemployment has sharply increased in the local area.

Youth unemployment in Streatham is disturbingly high, and figures show that the number of 18-24 year olds claiming Jobseekers Allowance has increased by 60% since August 2008. Chris Nicholson supports the new Liberal Democrat policies aimed at tackling chronic youth unemployment in Streatham so that they do not become a lost generation as a result of the recession.

Chris Nicholson dismissed Labour's record on youth unemployment saying, 'Despite Labour's costly schemes and initiatives they have plainly failed in their promise to end youth unemployment. We need to do more to ensure the young people of Streatham are given sufficient opportunities to find employment, training and support'. Under Labour there remain too few places in higher education, too few training opportunities and too many young people shut out of the job market for too long.

Office of National Statistics figures show that in 2008 the overall unemployment rate in Streatham constituency was 8.5%, up from 4.4% when Gordon Brown took office as Prime Minister in June 2007. It is feared the real scale of youth unemployment in Streatham is not even fully known.

Chris Nicholson is committed to reducing the youth unemployment rate in Streatham. That's why he's campaigning for young people to be given a right of access to training, apprenticeships, work experience or support in getting back to work. Commenting on the new policy Chris Nicholson today said, 'Labour's broken promises on employment have led to the youth of today becoming lost in a sea of unemployment, the Liberal Democrats plan to provide a lifeboat for this lost generation of young unemployed and in doing so nurture the talents of young people in Streatham'.

The Liberal Democrats propose to:

Fund more university and foundation places

Ensure nobody under the age of 24 claims Jobseekers Allowance beyond 3 months without proper access to training, work experience, support or apprenticeships

Introduce a 'Paid Internship' scheme whereby young people will be able to work for up to three months with any employer without cost to the employer

Fully fund adult apprenticeships, giving young people access to vocational training in the workplace

These initiatives could be paid for by immediately scrapping the VAT cut.