Turning Point letter to the Guardian on unemployment
Turning Point chief executive, Lord Victor Adebowale writes to the Guardian in response to the article 'Tories step up 'broken Britain' attack on Labour party' ( 26th August 2009)
"The Tories are right to recognise the numbers of people who were out of work even before the recession (Tories step up 'broken Britain' attack on Labour party, 26 August). While both parties have indicated that they want to ensure these people's needs are addressed, Turning Point's concern is that there are now large numbers of people coming on to benefits for the first time.
"We are in danger of ending up with two tiers of unemployed people: those who are fairly well-skilled and remain near to the job market; and those who have never been close to work and will be further marginalised by the recession.
"We need to take urgent steps to avoid this, and must ensure providers are given the right incentives to work with anyone who is referred to them, including those who need significant specialist support. One way of doing this would be to use a profiling tool to pick out the people who are hardest to help and give providers extra funds to support them. Without specialist support, there is a danger that people could be left to languish on benefits for years to come."
Victor Adebowale
Chief executive, Turning Point