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Unemployed told: Find Work or Face Eviction |
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Wednesday, 13 February 2008 |
Unemployed people could be made to look for work as a condition of their council tenancies, Caroline Flint has said in her first major speech as housing minister.
Ms Flint has called for a 'national debate' on radical suggestions to break
the link between social housing and worklessness following a dramatic fall
in the number of council tenants in work over the past 25 years.
In a speech to the Fabian Society, she suggested new council tenants
who can work could sign "commitment contracts" when getting a tenancy,
agreeing to actively seek employment. She also set out proposals to
build more affordable homes for first-time buyers and families and for
council tenants to be given the right to claim compensation when services
fall short.
The jobseeking contracts could be extended to existing tenants in a move
which would affect up to a million people. As well as actively searching
for work, the documents would also require signatories to undertake skills
checks to ensure that they are equipping themselves for potential jobs.
The suggestion comes as statistics reveal the number of unemployed council
tenants has risen by 20% to 55% since 1981.
Ms Flint said: "The link between social housing and worklessness is
stark. I am concerned about what has been called a collapse in the number
of people in council housing in work over the past 25 years.
"Council housing was originally somewhere which brought together people
from different social backgrounds and professions but this has declined.
We need to think radically and start a national debate about whether we
can reverse this trend, and have strong, diverse estates with a mix of
people.
"Council and social housing must continue to support the most vulnerable
in society, but it should also be a springboard to opportunity, not just a
safety net.
"We all agree that social housing is about more than bricks and mortar -
more than handing over the keys and leaving tenants to get on with it for
the next thirty years. And it isn't so many years ago that a council house
was something to prize.
"I believe that we can recapture that sense of pride, creating a culture
within social housing that promotes opportunity and social mobility,
inspiring people to take control of their own lives."
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