Work Or Lose Your Council Home

[jambutty]

The new housing minister Caroline Flint, hereinafter known as Skinflint, has come up with yet another Labour “CRACKPOT” idea. She has suggested that henceforth Council House Tenancy Contracts should include a clause that states something to the effect of, “Tenants must be in work or actively seeking work to keep their tenancy.” Or in other words if you are living in a Council house and you lose your job you could be liable to lose your home. Council House tenants can already be evicted if a member of the family is convicted of a crime and if any member of the family associates with a convicted criminal.

Having just moved to Housing from the Department of Work and Pensions it seems like Skinflint is trying to make a name for herself without a single thought of how it would affect the population. A bit like Tony Blair.

Has this woman not thought past her flash of inspiration?

Popular opinion on the Jeremy Vine radio show, from those in work and earning a decent wage is simply, “Yeh! Chuck the scroungers out.” My response, “Where to?”

It has recently been claimed that some 2 million people are in receipt of Incapacity Benefit fraudulently. So that’s two million on the streets straight away. Then there are the unemployment figures that vary from one to three million.

If Skinflint got her way there would be upwards on 3 million people homeless. Some would undoubtedly become a burden on the NHS as they fall ill and some would get residence in a prison. The rest would become a gang.

No doubt that there are scroungers and efforts should be made to get them into meaningful work but chucking them out on the street is not the answer.

Before coming up with yet another “CRACKPOT” scheme the government should try to find out WHY people are out of work. The greater majority thrown on the work scrap heap want a job but why should they take one that pays less than £6 an hour when the benefits of being out of work effectively pays them more.

The sooner the current government is shown the door the better. Unfortunately the alternative is no better.

[lancsdave]

She also suggest putting jobcentres on council estates. With a bit of luck she will be visiting one after the next elections where she will find the term jobcentre is actually nothing like what it sounds.

[panther]

people round here will be ok then, the council houses in hyndburn are no longer council owned, they are an housing association now arnt they?

[cashman]

as you say jambutty,the alternative is no better, the thing that would make a differance is for people en-masse to take to the streets, and we all know that will NEVER happen.as for miss Flint the old saying= put her brain in a budgie,and it will fly backwards, springs to mind.

[flashy]

Originally Posted by panther

people round here will be ok then, the council houses in hyndburn are no longer council owned, they are an housing association now arnt they?

HAHAHAHA was just about to say that cos i'm in a twin valley house

[Bonnyboy]

Another “Crackpot” idea as already said. Don’t you just wish that stupidity was painful .

[jambutty]

Originally Posted by panther

people round here will be ok then, the council houses in hyndburn are no longer council owned, they are an housing association now arnt they?

I think that you will find that if this idea ever got off the ground, housing associations would have to fall in line.

[MargaretR]

Originally Posted by cashman

the thing that would make a differance is for people en-masse to take to the streets, and we all know that will NEVER happen.

There were poll tax riots --- I remember some big rioting in Blackburn circa 1981 -- was that about polltax too?

If governments get really stupid and dont listen to the people it DOES happen

[WillowTheWhisp]

What on earth does she think that is going to solve? Has she seriously given it more than a moment's thought? Words fail me.

[blazey]

Originally Posted by jambutty

. The greater majority thrown on the work scrap heap want a job but why should they take one that pays less than £6 an hour when the benefits of being out of work effectively pays them more.

That's the kind of attitude that influences teenagers to get pregnant and not work. What's wrong with getting a job that pays less than £6 an hour? Is there no pride in simply having a job anymore? If you dont start at something then how can you ever work your way up to better things?

[Doug]

Not sure about all this, it’s the most vulnerable that lose out, i.e. kids, elderly relatives etc. Reduce or remove benefits form those that can work but chose not too, on the other hand how many would like to work but can’t get a job because of immigration policies operated by the HM Government.

Some Answers:

3 years National Services – 16 to 25 year olds.

5 years National Services (Front Line) – 16 to 35 year old Criminals.

End of the right to work for unqualified Immigrant workers irrespective of country of Origin.

Introduce National Works Projects for “Fit and Able” unemployed with skill building included.

[cashman]

Originally Posted by blazey

That's the kind of attitude that influences teenagers to get pregnant and not work. What's wrong with getting a job that pays less than £6 an hour? Is there no pride in simply having a job anymore? If you dont start at something then how can you ever work your way up to better things?

credited you with more sense, theres no pride in having less to spend on yer family,for those in that unfortunate position, just hope yer never in that position.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by blazey

That's the kind of attitude that influences teenagers to get pregnant and not work. What's wrong with getting a job that pays less than £6 an hour? Is there no pride in simply having a job anymore? If you dont start at something then how can you ever work your way up to better things?

Wake up Girl, most of the working population work for less than £6 per hour and will continue to do so for some time to come. They have pride in who they are. I would rather work for a fiver than ****** from the state.

I'm an employer, I pay 5.90 an hour, plus stoppages, plus uniform, plus Training, plus Fuel allowence and every thing else I have to pay to keep my staff in a job and me on the right side of the law. Don't tar people with the same brush........want a Job.

[jambutty]

Originally Posted by blazey

That's the kind of attitude that influences teenagers to get pregnant and not work. What's wrong with getting a job that pays less than £6 an hour? Is there no pride in simply having a job anymore? If you dont start at something then how can you ever work your way up to better things?

Blazey you are talking a load of codswallop as usual. Cocooned as you are in university, which mine and others of my era’s taxes paid for, you have no idea of the real world.

Far too many employers only pay the minimum wage because that is all the law says that they have to, in the full knowledge that if it was left to market forces they would HAVE TO PAY MORE. No one blames the employer for paying less than the real going rate. So don’t blame the worker for not wanting to work when more can be had on state benefits.

The real blames lies with the top 10% grabbing 90% for themselves.

[Stanleymad]

I want a job tho cant get one to fit in familywise, went to a shop yesterday whom were advertising a vacancy, only to be told a complex requirement, basically job is 16hrs contract over 6 days a week tho the employer needs extreme flexibility, hence why cant give me the exact hours of working cos basically i'd have to be avail from 9am -5.30pm during those days in case im called in, so really job is part time working & part time waiting so they can pick & choose my hours at leisure - totally inflexible to the applicant & they wonder why they cant fill the vacancy

Thats the biggest of the problem is that employers want big flexibility all one way Thing is they can afford to be picky in most cases cos the vacancy will be filled by eastern europeans whom can do strange hours because family is not directly living with them. Thats the problem we have now, working doesnt interact well with family life nowadays.